WWII WASP to Speak at June 17 Marine Corps League Meeting
Marjorie Ellfeldt Rees, 88, will tell about her experiences as a World War II pilot, at the monthly meeting of the Simpson-Hoggatt Detachment of the Marine Corps League, 7 p.m. Thursday, June 17, at the Disabled Veterans of America building, 8787 Old Santa Fe Rd. in Kansas City, Mo.
Rees flew military planes as part of the Women Airforce Service Pilots, known as WASPs. A Prairie Village, Kan., resident, she was one of only 1,800 women accepted for training and 1,074 who graduated and became civilian pilots. Last July President Barack Obama signed a bill recognizing Rees and the other women pilots. The WASPs were also honored in Washington, D.C., in March receiving Gold Medals, the highest award given in honor of civilian service. In the 1970s the WASPs had also received retroactive militarization, and are now recognized as veterans.
The event is free, and all veterans and active duty military from all service branches as well as nonveterans are invited. For more information call Commandant Ken Spencer at 913-362-8383.
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About the Marine Corps League: President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the federal charter in 1937. Membership numbers more than 60,000 nationally, and is open to current and honorably discharged Marines and to Navy medical corpsmen. http://www.mcleague.org. The Simpson-Hoggatt Detachment was formed in 1925 in Kansas City, Mo.
MARINE CORPS LEAGUE
Simpson-Hoggatt Detachment
Charles Barnes, Lot Z-8, Lake Lotawana, MO 64086
Release Date: June 7, 2010
Contact: Susan Pepperdine, 913-262-7414, cell 913-205-5304, or susan@pepperdinepr.com
2 comments:
Thank you for posting this. I talked to Marjorie, and she is amazing. Hope a lot of people come to hear her story on June 17.
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