On this week’s American Legion Tango Alpha Lima podcast, guest Erin Miller discusses her advocacy effort to honor the final wishes of her grandmother who served with the WASPs.
The American Legion Tango Alpha Lima podcast kicks off Women’s History Month with special guest Erin Miller, who discusses how she was able to honor her grandmother’s World War II service. This week’s episode is available in both audio and video formats here.
Miller is the proud granddaughter of Elaine Danforth Harmon, a member of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP). Her grandmother’s last request was to be laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery, which was denied by the Army which runs ANC. Miller led a grassroots campaign to have a law passed to recognize the service of WASPs for internment and inurnment eligibility at ANC.
“When I was little I thought everyone’s grandma was a pilot in World War II. That’s a good job for grandmas,” said Miller, the author of “Final Flight, Final Fight” and “What Grandma Did,” a children’s book. “But when I got older I learned that wasn’t what most grandmas did.”
After Harmon died in 2015, an American Legion post hosted a service to honor her, Miller said. Harmon, who was in the penultimate class of WASPs, was eligible for and received VA benefits but was not eligible for ANC burial, according to the Army.
“That’s when I started this campaign so my grandmother could be laid to rest where she wanted to be,” said Miller, whose father was a Marine Corps helicopter pilot during Vietnam.
Now, she shares her story with school students and others about what she learned during her advocacy and social media campaign that resulted in the legislation receiving approval.
Also on the podcast, co-hosts Jeff Daly and Ashley Gorbulja-Maldonado discuss the record number of reported sexual assaults by the service academies. Other topics include fake vaccine cards, changing VA disability ratings and more.
This episode is among more than 110 Tango Alpha Lima podcast for veterans, servicemembers and others. All episodes are available in both audio and video formats here. You can also download episodes on iTunes, Stitcher or other major podcast-hosting sites. The video version is available for viewing at the Legion’s YouTube channel.
- Tango Alpha Lima