Last Surviving WASP Member to Join International Air & Space Hall of Fame

WWII aviator Nell ‘Mickey’ Stevenson Bright, 105, will be honored at the San Diego Air & Space Museum on November 21.

Meg Godlewski

Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at 10:06 AM ET

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Edited By:

Travis Tingle

Nell ‘Mickey’ Bright waits for a formation review at Avenger Field in Texas in 1943. [Credit: Texas Woman’s University Libraries]

Key Takeaways:

Nell "Mickey" Stevenson Bright, the last surviving member of the WWII Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP), will be inducted into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame.
As a WASP, Bright was one of over a thousand women who flew diverse military aircraft in noncombat roles during WWII, performing critical duties despite their classification as civilians without veteran benefits.
Bright later played a key role in advocating for the WASP's recognition, successfully achieving retroactive military veteran status for them through legislation signed by President Jimmy Carter in 1977.

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Nell “Mickey” Stevenson Bright, the last living member of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP), will be inducted into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame on November 21 at the San Diego Air & Space Museum.

The WASP were created during World War II as a means of supporting America’s military operations. Record-setting aviator and businesswoman Jacqueline Cochran was the director of the program. She had influence in Washington, D.C., and was able to persuade the military to embrace women pilots in noncombatant roles to free up the men for flying combat.