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WWII’s Last Living WASP Pilot, 105, Is Finally Getting Her Place in Aviation History
Nell “Mickey” Bright flew B-25 bombers, towed targets for live-fire training and helped support the U.S. war effort. After World War II, airlines laughed off her attempts to become a commercial pilot.
Photo credits to Beyond The Call
At 105, Nell “Mickey” Bright has outlived every other known member of a pioneering group of American women who flew military aircraft during World War II. More than eight decades after she answered the Army’s call, she is preparing to receive another major recognition.
Bright, the last living Women Airforce Service Pilot (WASP), will be inducted into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame on November 21, 2026, at the San Diego Air & Space Museum.
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Her wartime service was far from ceremonial. Bright was among the first 20 women selected to train on the B-25 bomber. At Biggs Field in Texas, she flew target-towing missions while ground gunners practiced shooting with live ammunition. She also flew at night so searchlight crews could train on locating aircraft.
The WASP program attracted more than 25,000 applicants. Only 1,830 women were accepted, and 1,074 completed training and earned their wings. Between 1942 and 1944, these pilots ferried military aircraft, towed targets and performed other assignments that freed male pilots for duties elsewhere in the war effort.
But their contribution did not translate into equal recognition.
When the program was disbanded in December 1944, its women pilots were sent home as civilians. They had not been formally incorporated into the armed forces and initially received neither military discharge papers nor veterans' benefits.
Bright later tried to find work as an airline pilot. Instead, she recalled, the airlines laughed her out of their offices.
She eventually built a career outside aviation, becoming one of the first women stockbrokers in Phoenix. She also raised a family and continued working until she was 85.
The fight for recognition took decades. In 1977, Congress granted WASP veterans status, finally acknowledging their wartime service. In 2010, surviving WASP members received the Congressional Gold Medal.
Bright also helped advocate for that recognition. Now, as the last surviving member of the group, she says she welcomes the attention because she wants people to remember the WASPs and what women can accomplish.
Her induction into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame will recognize a career that history once pushed aside. The women who flew military aircraft when their country needed pilots were sent home without the status given to many of their male counterparts. Bright's story is a reminder that their contribution did not end when the war did.
Editor’s Note: Nell “Mickey” Bright turned 105 in June 2026. Her induction into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame is scheduled for November 21, 2026. The WASP program was a civilian organization supporting the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II; its pilots were not classified as combat pilots.
