Born: 11 January 1918, United States
Died: 19 March 1982
Country most active: United States
Also known as: NA
The following is republished from the Federal Aviation Administration. This piece falls under under public domain, as copyright does not apply to “any work of the U.S. Government” where “a work prepared by an officer or employee of the U.S. Government as part of that person’s official duties” (See, 17 U.S.C. §§ 101, 105).
Verneda Rodríguez McLean was born on January 11, 1918, in Chicago, Illinois, to a Danish mother and a Guyanese father. Rodríguez was inspired to take flight by female aviation pioneers and the film Christopher Strong, where Katherine Hepburn played a female pilot. She graduated from WASPs training on August 4, 1944, and reported for duty at Moore Field in Texas as a tow pilot. Her fellow WASPs called her “Roddy” and described her as a good friend who was fond of poetry. It appears she took after her mother’s complexion, having blonde hair and fair skin. After the war, Rodríguez worked as an aircraft accident analyst at Longley Air Force Base in Virginia.
During the 1970s, she was active in the fight for veteran status for the WASPs. She died on March 19, 1982, and was the first WASP to be buried with full military honors in Arlington National Cemetery.