Centenarian Nell Bright Remembers Her Trailblazing Role as the Last WWII WASP
Nell Stevenson Bright, who turned 105 this June, is the final surviving member of the Women Airforce Service Pilots, a WWII program that ferried aircraft and trained pilots.
In 1943, Nell Stevenson met the qualifications for the newly created Women Airforce Service Pilots, a program designed to free male pilots for combat by assigning women to ferry, test, and train with aircraft. Of the 25,000 applicants, only 1,830 were admitted and 1,074 finished the intensive curriculum covering navigation, physics, Morse code, meteorology, military law and mechanics. Bright piloted almost every type of U.S. Army Air Corps aircraft, becoming one of the first women to command a B-25 bomber, though she never saw front-line action.
Post-war, the WASPs were initially classified as civilians and denied veteran status until a 1977 law, a change Bright lobbied for with Senator Barry Goldwater’s assistance. Now living at Legacy Village in Sugarhouse, Utah, she turned 105 in June and continues to share her story to ensure the legacy of the WASPs endures.
Why it matters
Her story highlights the overlooked contributions of women in WWII and the fight for their veteran recognition.
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