At the start of WWII, there were hundreds of female pilots who loved to fly. When war broke out, these women lobbied the US government to be included in the war effort as pilots. The government refused as they saw no benefit to having women pilots in the military. As the war progressed, the U.S. military struggled to complete aviation tasks with the available male personnel. They finally accepted the assistance of female pilots in the war effort.

After a rigorous selection process, a select group of young daring female pilots became pioneers and heroes. They were the Women Airforce Service Pilots – WASPs – the first women trained to fly American military aircraft. The WASPs served by ferrying and testing aircraft, towing targets, and training men to fly.

Over 1,100 women served as WASPs. 38 died overseas during their service. Because the military did not consider them military personnel, the women had to “pass the hat” to afford to bring their fallen sisters home. One of the WASPs who died was from Wisconsin – Margaret June “Peggy” Seip. They were disbanded in Dec 1944.

In the late 1970’s, the women finally received veteran status for their service. Dorothy Swain Lewis served as a teaching pilot to other WASPS, flying P-39s, P-40s, B-26 Marten Maruauder. She remained a pilot, sculptress, and artist after her WWII service. She designed the WASP statue, which has several copies across the US.

The base of The WASP statue has the inscription:
“We Live in the Wind and the Sand and our Eyes are on the Stars.”

The Highground WASP tribute was dedicated July 31, 2006. The Travel channel visited The Highground and filmed the WASP tribute as part of their “Monumental Mysteries” program. The Highground’s WASP segment aired on August 15, 2014.