While at the university she became a private pilot through the Civilian Pilot Training Program. Harmon learned to fly Piper Cubs at College Park Airport as part of the Civil Aeronautics Authority program. She joined the Women Airforce Service Pilots against her mother's wishes, who thought WASPs "were all just awful, just probably loose women". Over 25,000 women had applied to the program; Harmon was one of 1,830 accepted, and one of 1,074 who earned their wings. She completed six months of flight training and ground school, as well as at least 500 flight hours. After training at Avenger Field in 1944, she served at Nellis Air Force Base, flying trainers PT-17 and BT-13, the AT-6 Texan, and the B-17 Flying Fortress. Harmon's job was to fly with men who needed retraining in instrument flying — she said she served as a lookout, "to make sure that we didn’t run into any other airplanes". Following the war, Harmon had a 25-year career as an independent real estate appraiser, working for Associated Appraisers in Beltsville, Maryland, until retiring in the early 1990s.
A lifelong resident of Maryland, and in recognition of her role model status, having been a trailblazing female pilot during WWII, in 2016 Ms. Harmon was posthumously inducted into the Maryland Women's Hall of Fame. The following is the inscription on the plaque placed in her honor at the hall: "It was a man's world, but we did something really great that was needed for the war effort... There is never a day that I don't think how lucky I am to be a U.S. citizen and a Maryland resident... Carpé Diem!"
Ms. Harmon learned to fly at the College Park Airport on the campus of the University of Maryland, from which she graduated in 1941. Her WASP artifacts are on permanent display at the College Park Aviation Museum.
Controversy over WASP benefits
WASPs had been assigned to non-combat operational duties, such as ferrying cargo, delivering new planes, training male pilots, and dragging targets for other pilots. Because they flew domestic missions, the Army had classified WASPs as civilians rather than veterans, and they were not eligible for veterans' benefits, including being laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery. Army Air ForcesCommanding GeneralHenry Arnold had championed WASP benefits to Congress, but male pilots objected that the women were taking their jobs, and Congress denied the women veterans' status. President Jimmy Carter signed legislation in 1977 granting WASPs veteran status, and in 2002 the Army granted military funeral honors to WASPs, including eligibility for inurnment at Arlington National Cemetery. Harmon was honored with a Congressional Gold Medal in 2009. However, in March 2015, secretary of the Army John McHugh ruled that due to a technicality in the 1977 legislation, WASPs did not have status in the Army, and were only eligible for burial in cemeteries administered by the Veterans Administration. Representative Martha McSally and Senators Barbara Mikulski and Joni Ernst introduced legislation in 2016 to reinstate inurnment rights for WASPs at Arlington. The legislation was passed unanimously by both houses of Congress, and President Obama signed it into law in May 2016. Elaine Harmon's wish to be laid to rest at Arlington was honored on September 7, 2016.
