- Nell Stevenson Bright, the last surviving female pilot of World War II, celebrated her 105th birthday June 20.
- She trained pilots and flew various aircraft, including B-25 bombers, during combat.
- Bright’s story highlights women’s contributions during the war and the challenges they faced post-war.
SALT LAKE CITY — She was 21 years old at the start of 1943, thumbing through an issue of Flying Magazine, when an article caught her eye.
With World War II at its height, the U.S. Army, the story reported, was looking for female pilots.
The new program was designed to free up more male pilots for combat while women pilots did necessary behind-the-scenes work on the home front by testing planes, ferrying aircraft, transporting cargo and training new pilots…