Keynote Speaker: Lessons in Perseverance from the Women Airforce Service Pilots of World War II.

The Women Airforce Service Pilots served with the U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF) during World War II and then were promptly forgotten. More than 1,100 women fought for the chance to serve their country and went on to fly every plane the USAAF had. They ferried planes from the factory floor to the coasts so they could be shipped to the men overseas, test-flew aircraft that had been repaired, towed targets behind their planes to train ground gunners—who always used live ammunition—and performed any other domestic flying job the USAAF needed done. Their work was heralded as vital to the war effort. Then, in December 1944, they were sent home. There were enough men available to do their jobs, and the women, including the 38 who died flying for their country, were quickly forgotten. The story of their fight to serve, to fly, and to be remembered, offers lessons in perseverance that continue to inspire.