Maggie Gee graduated from Women Airforce Service Pilots training at Avenger Field, becoming one of only two Chinese American women to serve as a WASP.
On December 4, 1944, Maggie Gee graduated from the rigorous Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) training program at Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas. She was among a small cohort of women selected to serve as military pilots during World War II, flying aircraft for the U.S. Army Air Forces in non-combat roles such as ferrying planes, towing targets, and testing aircraft—jobs that freed male pilots for combat duty.
Gee was one of only two Chinese American women, alongside Hazel Ying Lee, to become WASPs, making her graduation a landmark moment in the history of both aviation and Asian American achievement. At a time when both racial minorities and women faced severe restrictions in military and aviation roles, her acceptance into the WASP program and successful completion of training demonstrated exceptional skill and resolve.
As a WASP, she flew various aircraft including the AT-6 Texan, honing skills that were extraordinary for any pilot of the era, let alone a young Chinese American woman. The WASP program was disbanded in December 1944, shortly after her graduation, and members did not receive military recognition until decades later—in 1977, they were finally granted veteran status, and in 2009 awarded the Congressional Gold Medal. Gee's service laid important groundwork for the eventual integration of women into the U.S. Air Force.