The first all-female flyover occurred Saturday at the funeral service of Rosemary Mariner, a retired Navy captain who broke barriers for women in the military herself by becoming the first female jet pilot.
The tribute, known as the “Missing Man Flyover,” has four jets flying above a funeral in formation before one aircraft breaks away. It is used to honor aviators who served in the military.
The “Super Hornet” jets were flown at the funeral in Maynardville, Tenn., by Cmdr. Stacy Uttecht, Cmdr. Leslie Mintz, Lt. Cmdr. Paige Blok, and Lt. Cmdr. Danielle Thiriot. The women are from squadrons based at Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia.
Mariner died at the age of 65 on Jan. 24 from ovarian cancer, a diagnosis she had received five years before. The Navy said in a statement that she was the first female military aviator to achieve command of an operational air squadron.
Mariner was born in Harlingen, Texas, and raised in San Diego. She graduated from Perdue University with a degree in aeronautics and, after becoming one of eight women to first enter training to military aircrafts, received her wings in 1973. By 1990, she was the first to command a squadron in the run-up to the Gulf War. She retired as captain in 1997.
