
Image

Helen Richey in her WASP uniform, circa 1944.
Credit: Courtesy Aviation Museum of Kentucky, George Gumbert
As a member of the Women's Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) during World War II, Helen Richey was one of the more than 1,000 women pilots who ferried planes and performed other services before the WASPs were disbanded late in 1944. Unable to find employment as a flyer after the war was over, Richey took her own life in 1947.