The WASP Girls.

Photos via CNN 

Women have been doing amazing things for many, many, years that have been labeled as "traditional male pursuits" and sometimes we don't hear much about them. Today during the Rose Parade the world got to know about a group of gutsy female pilots in their 90's that gave so much for our country 70 years ago - in fact 8 of them attended today's parade and rode on the float that honors them, titled "Our Eyes Are on the Stars".

A very special group of 1,102 women made up the Women Airforce Service Pilots Program (WASP) & flew planes during World War II  (some were just 18 years old and couldn't even drive yet!)  their job? To test repaired military aircraft (how scary is that!?) train male pilots, and to ferry non-flying male service men around the country.  38 of these women died while serving.

Eventually the women who had been so valued were dismissed when the male pilots came home from war and recognition for their service never came. They have mostly been forgotten from the history books and their stories never told.  When they came home and wanted to continue their careers & use their training, some were instead offered jobs by the airlines as stewardess's rather than pilots. (I'm still shaking my head at this one...)

Most people are not aware that the WASP program existed and what these women did back in those days that was pretty ballsy and amazing.

I'm glad that their story is being told. I know a lot of us think what these women did was pretty rad in many ways.  RESPECT.