Elizabeth Strohfus

Elizabeth Wall Strohfus (November 15, 1919 – March 6, 2016) was an American aviator and pioneering member of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) during World War II.

Early life Strohfus was born on November 15, 1919, in Faribault, Minnesota, the fifth of her parents' six children. She graduated high school in 1937 and worked at the Rice County Courthouse in the Register of Deeds office. After meeting a member of the local Sky Club, an all-male aviators club, Strohfus borrowed $100 from a local bank, utilizing her bicycle as collateral, and joined. She worked as a Sky Club volunteer in exchange for a chance to fly.

Strohfus was the recipient of two Congressional Gold Medals for her service in the WASPs and was inducted into the Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame. The Experimental Aircraft Association named an AT6, Strohfus's favorite aircraft in the service, after Wall.

Strohfus died from complications from a fall at the Milestone Senior Living Center in Faribault, Minnesota, on March 6, 2016, at the age of 96.