Oregon-born Hazel Ying Lee joined the Chinese Flying Club of Portland in 1932 and earned her pilot’s license. When Japan invaded China in 1933, she left America to help — but the Chinese government would not allow women to fly. Under constant bombing she returned to Oregon for safety.

After Pearl Harbor, she quickly enlisted and became the first Chinese-American woman U.S. military pilot. She transported planes between sites. One engine failure led to an emergency landing in a Kansas farm field.

Transporting planes was risky as they were rushed off the assembly line with all-kinds of problems and missing parts. New plane models were routinely introduced but came with hasty, incomplete training. As a result, Hazel was among the 38 WWII women pilots who died transporting thousands of planes in America. Hazel gave her life in the WWII effort. We are grateful

— During her Air Force training, she forgot to buckle her seatbelt properly. When the pilot did a loop, it sent her flying out of the plane. Her quick actions with her parachute saved her. Mistakes make us stronger.