She was born in Woodburn, Oregon, on July 10, 1916 to Ralph and Frances Kocher, and grew up on the family's small farm. She decided she wanted to fly airplanes when she was eight, after reading The Red Knight of Germany, Floyd Gibbons's biography of World War I flying ace, Baron von Richthofen. Her initial introduction to flight was when she took a biplane ride at a state fair, which inspired her to take flying lessons. Olsen earned her private pilot's license as a civilian in the 1930s, taking her checkride in a Taylorcraft. Three years later, she was flying twin-engine P-38s, with a total of. Prior to joining the WASPs, Olsen flew with the Woodburn Flying Club, the Civil Air Patrol in Portland and The Dales and worked as a dance instructor in Portland. She was reportedly one of only three women in the Portland area to have a private pilot's license.
Woman Airforce Service Pilot (WASP)
Olsen joined the WASPs in 1943 when the program was created. A petite woman, tall Olsen embarked on a weight-gaining regimen to make the required minimum. There were more than 25,000 applicants, of which 1,879 were accepted and 1,074 graduated. Olsen was a member of class 43-4, which included 152 students. Her training began in February, 1943, at Houston Municipal Field along with half of her class. The other half of the class reported to Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas. She initially hated her training, but stuck with it to avoid the embarrassment of dropping out. She encountered difficulties when her fiancé died and she took time off to attend his funeral, putting her behind the rest of her class. Despite being sick with a cold on her return, she passed a checkride; this avoided her being put back a class, although she continued to struggle to catch up. She graduated on August 7, 1943. After graduation, her assignment was to the Sixth Ferrying Group in Long Beach, California. She flew 61 missions, and was one of only twelve women certified for night flight. Olsen would take a pair of good shoes with her on ferry flights, so she could go on dancing dates with men at her destination before having to take off on her next flight. She would leave her name and address in the cockpits of planes she had ferried, to be found later by the combat pilots. Two such pilots wrote her postcards, one reporting that the plane "performed perfectly", in spite of having been previously flow by a woman. She enjoyed flying low to frighten people on the ground, flying inverted, and doing whatever she wanted, regardless of the rules. These violations of regulations were not viewed kindly be her commanding officers, with one incident of exceeding safe aircraft operating speed resulting in an official reprimand. WASPs were not, at the time, considered military personnel; she is listed in the :File:Long Beach Army Air Field California Sixth Ferrying Group.pdf|Sixth Ferrying Group personnel book with the title of "Civilian Pilot". When the WASP program ended in 1944, the pilots were discharged at their home base, with no transportation allowance to get back home. WASPs were retroactively granted veteran status as part of the GI Bill Improvement Act Of 1977. According to Olsen, she flew more than 20 different aircraft models, both Army and Navy types. Her favorite type was the P-51. A friend, Debbie Jennings, said she disliked flying bombers because in fighters, "she was by herself and could do whatever she wanted". According to her son, "She felt bombers were like driving buses" and her daughter noted that Olsen felt the P-38 was "an old woman's plane".
The extent of her post-war flying is unclear. One source says she flew commercially for Western Skyways. Other sources state she never flew commercially, and not at all after having children. Olsen is reported to have never flown privately after the war; she is quoted as saying, "Why would I want to fly a Cessna when I've flown a P-51?" After the war, she married Harold W. Olsen, and moved to University Place, Washington. The couple had a daughter, Julie, and a son, Kim. Olsen ran antique shops after raising their children. Nerve damage from a dental procedure left her deaf for many years. At the age of 80, she received cochlear implants which restored her hearing. In 2010, Olsen was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal to commemorate her service. In 2015, she was honored with a flyover of Seattle's Boeing Field by vintage aircraft for her 99th birthday. In 2016, Olsen celebrated her 100th birthday at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. Also in attendance were fellow WASPs Alta Thomas, Betty Dybbro, and Mary Jean Sturdevant. Olsen died on July23, 2019, at her home in University Place, Washington, aged 103, and was given military honors at her funeral. Prior to her death, she was one of 38 WASPs still alive.
