Writing and compiling stories of the women who lost their lives in WWII is an on-going project. This list is a sampling of the women's WWII stories you will find on Fold3. There are hundreds more to still be told.

AINSWORTH - Nurse Ellen Gertrude Ainsworth

Shrapnel pierced Nurse Ellen Gertrude Ainsworth's chest but she stayed with her patients saying there was nothing the enemy could do to scare her. She died four days later.

BALLENGER - Corp. Tech. Maxine Ballenger

Being on a furlough doesn't keep Corp. Tech. Edith 'Maxine' Ballenger safe. Her army transport plane crashed upon takeoff, killing all on board. She was 22.

BANKSTON - PFC Mary H. Bankston

Mary was a member of the all black Six Triple Eight, the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, who is just now receiving recognition for their work overseas in WWII. PFC Mary H. Bankston, PFC Mary J. Barlow and Sgt. Dolores Mercedes Browne were killed in a jeep accident in France. Not given a military funeral as was afforded other women who died during this time, members of the battalion cleaned the bodies for burial, took up a collection and buried them in coffins made by German prisoners. After the war, the bodies were not sent home although many others were.

BARLOW - PFC Mary J. Scrumpee Barlow

Mary was a member of the all black Six Triple Eight, the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, who is just now receiving recognition for their work overseas in WWII. PFC Mary H. Bankston, PFC Mary J. Barlow and Sgt. Dolores Mercedes Browne were killed in a jeep accident in France. Not given a military funeral as was afforded other women who died during this time, members of the battalion cleaned the bodies for burial, took up a collection and buried them in coffins made by German prisoners. After the war, the bodies were not sent home although many others were.

BENNETT - Corporal Naomi Ann Bennett

Parents in Indiana send three of their children into the military in WWII. Their two sons survive being overseas among heavy fighting including being wounded. Their sacrifice came from their daughter who was stateside.

BESLEY - Staff Sergeant Laura Earlene Besley

Filled with adventurous spirit and a desire to see the world, Laura Besley got her wish. Killed in a plane crash, along with 20 others, she was lost in a remote area of New Guinea. It took weeks for the military to rescue three survivors.

BILLINGS - 2nd Lt. Margaret May Billings

Working in a hospital ship's operating room full of wounded Marines, Nurse Margaret Billings was killed by a Japanese kamikaze plan as it crashed right into the surgical ward.

BLEVINS- 2nd Lt. Jane Marcum Blevins

Jane, who grew up in Oneida, Tennessee, went straight from nursing college into the army. She aided the wounded in the China-Burma-India Theater. She lost her life, along with many other medical personnel, in a crash in Ledo, India.

BROWNE - Sgt. Delores Mercedes Browne

Delores was a member of the all black Six Triple Eight, the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, who is just now receiving recognition for their work overseas in WWII. PFC Mary H. Bankston, PFC Mary J. Barlow and Sgt. Dolores Mercedes Browne were killed in a jeep accident in France. Not given a military funeral as was afforded other women who died during this time, members of the battalion cleaned the bodies for burial, took up a collection and buried them in coffins made by German prisoners. After the war, the bodies were not sent home although many others were.

BROHINSKY - PFC Rose Brohinsky

A fashion model, New York City's Rose Brohinsky was a beautiful and gutsy WAC. Her plane disappeared off the coast of Africa.

CHAMPAGNE - Corporal Cecil (Cecile) A. Champagne

A U.S. postal clerk in Louisiana, Cecile took her experience into the Army. As a WAC, Sergeant Champagne handled mail to and from home for thousands until she lost her life to meningitis.

CHAMPLIN -WASP Pilot Jane Dolores Champlin

Jane was a determined aviatrix who had two surgeries in order to fly. During a night training flight, she became the first woman killed at Avenger Field, the home base for training WASPs.

CHESLEY - 2nd LT. Frances Olive Chesley

Working in a hospital ship's operating room full of wounded Marines, Nurse Frances Chesley was killed by a Japanese kamikaze plan as it crashed right into the surgical ward.

CLARKE - WASP Pilot Susan Parker Clarke

An experienced pilot, Susan Clarke was at 1500 feet when she slammed into a mysterious something and came down nose first into the earth. What caused her collision was never discovered.

COOPER -Sergeant Doris F. Cooper

May Day calls were clear, then disappeared as did the plane of Doris Cooper, who had run her family's Illinois restaurant. A sergeant, she was leading 17 WACs the day they all vanished.

CORRA - 2LT Helen Corra

A United States Army nurse, Helen Corra was dedicated to helping others. In December of 1944, it is believed she drowned in the freezing Seine River in France. While part of her story is lost to time, her sacrifice is remembered.

CRAIG - Corporal Marie Jackson Craig

A famous sculptor of her day, Marie had studied art in the United States and Europe. She exhibited in famous galleries and institutes. Despite an amazing talent and career, she set it aside to serve her country. She was on duty when she was killed in an army mail truck accident.

DAVIS -WASP Pilot Margie L. Davis

Lost at night, WASP Pilot Margie Davis decided to set her AT-6 down in a field. The dark emergency landing was the demise of a pilot remembered as ìa real airman.î

DUSSAQ -WASP Pilot Katherine Applegate Dussaq

Nationally renowned detective and forensic expert, Kay Dussaq, left her famous career at her nation's call. A WASP Pilot, Dussaq lost her life in a plane with engine trouble.

ECKERT - 2nd LT Evelyn Catherine Eckert

Working in a hospital ship's operating room full of wounded Marines, Nurse Evelyn Eckert was killed by a Japanese kamikaze plan as it crashed right into the surgical ward.

EDWARDS -WASP Pilot Marjorie D. Edwards

Compelled by Pearl Harbor, teacher Margie Edwards yearned to be a WASP. Achieved by flying lessons and determination, her life was lost bailing from a smoking plane.

ERICKSON -WASP Pilot Jane Elizabeth Erickson

Neither saw the other approaching the same runway from two different directions. Tower error is no consolation for the loss of WASP Pilots Jayne Erickson and Mary Howson.

EVANS -Second Lieutenant Anna Jane Evans

Anna lived by the motto, "What's worth doing at all is worth doing well." President of her class at Rutgers University and student of physical therapy at the Cleveland Clinic, she demonstrated that motto.

FAIR-PFC Alethia May Fair

Alethia May Fair was not the usual recruit. She was 49 years old when she enlisted and assigned to office work. It wasn't as simple as it sounds. Alethia's life was lost in a plane crash in the jungles of Shangri-La.

FLANNERY -PFC Flossie D. Flannery

An all-American girl, Flossie Flannery went from 4-H club fun, Sunday school parties and class plays to war. Her plane vanished over the sea far away from home in Indiana.

FLUCKEY -Corporal Helen E. Fluckey

Helen Fluckey served her country as a U.S. Marine. She trained as an aviation machinists' mate. Over two thousand miles from home, she fell ill and died before family could arrive to be with her. She was 22.

FORT -Second Lieutenant Cornelia C. Fort

A flight instructor from Tennessee, WASP Cornelia Fort was ferrying BT-13s to Love Field in Dallas, Texas when one of the men's landing gear clipped Fort's airplane, sending it plummeting to earth.

FRIEND -PFC Frieda C. Friend

July 1942: Meet one of the first women in the army, Frieda Friend. She served in the original WAACs and then the WACs, Women's Army Service Corps. 1945: Missing in Action.

GARDINER -2nd Lieutenant Ruth Gardiner

2nd Lt. Ruth M. Gardiner was the first U.S. Army nurse to be killed during World War II. The Ruth M. Gardiner General Hospital was dedicated in her honor, the first U.S. Army hospital to be named after a nurse or a woman.

GASVODA -First Lieutenant Christine Annette Gasvoda

Christine Gasvoda made numerous trips as the flight nurse ferrying wounded men from D-Day and other battles back to the states. One flight into Germany to evacuate more wounded took her life.

GILLIS -PFC Marion Carol Gillis

World traveler Marion Gillis had traveled 30,000 miles, recorded 17,000 feet of motion picture film and crossed the equator four times before becoming a WAC and dying in a crash over Shangri-La.

GOLLINGER -PFC Mary Gollinger

Fighting for her adopted country, her plane went missing over the sea. Among the lost forever was naturalized American citizen Mary Gollinger.

GOWEN - Harriet Elizabeth Gowen

A fun-loving woman who raised the morale of troops in New Guinea through her Red Cross work, she died in fighter jet crash in the swamps there and was MIA until her recovery in the 1990s.

GREENWOOD -2nd LT Ida Marie Greenwood

Working in a hospital ship's operating room full of wounded Marines, Nurse Ida Greenwood was killed by a Japanese kamikaze plan as it crashed right into the surgical ward.

GRIMES -WASP Pilot Frances Fortune Grimes

Pilot Frances Grimes was one of the female pilots who had a significant impact on American airpower during World War II . Her life ended when her Banshee dive bomber stalled.

HANNA -PFC Eleanor Pauline Hanna

A ribbon-winning baker at the county fair, Eleanor Hanna's story begins simply enough in small town Pennsylvania and ends in the infamous jungles of Shangri-La, half a world from home.

HARTSON -WASP Pilot Mary Pauline Hartson

An expert engineering test pilot and instrument instructor, Pilot Mary Pauline Hartson could not bail out in time when her plane failed, spun and plummeted to the earth.

HOLDEN -Corporal Velma Holden

She left the mountains of Ashville, North Carolina for the shores of Africa only to never return home. Corporal Velma Holden and her WACs vanished.

HOLLINGSWORTH -PFC Odessa Hollingsworth

Like father, like daughter. WWI and WWII. PFC Odessa Hollingsworth's father gave his legs for his country and she gave her life.

HOWSON -WASP Pilot Mary Holmes Howson

Neither saw the other approaching the same runway from two different directions. Tower error is no consolation for the loss of WASP Pilots Jayne Erickson and Mary Howson.

KEENE -WASP Pilot Edith Clayton Keene

One of the first graduates of the stepped-up WASP program, Edith Keene was an experienced pilot who trained cadet navigators. All of her experience did not help when her aircraft failed her.

KENT-Sergeant Helen Greene Kent

A war widow at age 22, Helen Greene Kent joined the WACS after her pilot husband lost his life over Antwerp. Her sacrifice doubled when she lost her own life in a crash in the jungles of Shangri-La.

KING -PFC Alice Dana King

Dana King once won a speech contest on 'Real American Character' then she demonstrated it by joining the WACs and losing her life.

KORENSKY -Seaman Second Class Elizabeth "Betty" Korensky

The first WAVE killed in WWII, Betty Korensky was a Philadelphia girl who was the child of Russian Immigrants. She volunteered to serve her country and was killed in a explosion at the Norfolk Naval Yard.

LA FAVE - Flight Nurse Thelma Myrtle LaFave

Volunteering for the dangerous mission of a flight nurse meant flying into enemy territory in unmarked planes. 2LT Thelma LaFave was on a mission to rescue the wounded when her plane just disappeared.

LANDAU -PFC Mary M. Landau

Mary Landau left her home in New York to serve her country and wound up in a mountain plane crash in a New Guinea jungle where she would remain for years until her body was recovered.

LAVILLE - Corporal Germaine Catherine Laville

Marine Germaine Catherine Laville lost her life trying to save a life. She escaped the burning building where she taught aerial gunnery only to rush back inside to answer a cry for help. It is said "She was remarkable."

LAWRENCE -WASP Pilot Kathryn "Kay" Barbara Lawrence

The one woman in a class of 100 men in her university aviator class. She was smart, athletic and gutsy. She also gave her life in WWII when her plane plummeted to the ground.

LEE -WASP Pilot Hazel Ah Ying Lee

An experienced WASP pilot, Hazel Ah Ying Lee lost her life to human error when too many planes approached the airport at once and the control tower became confused.

LEO -Second Lieutenant Nancy J. Leo

There are 5,075 American service men and just one woman buried at the Luxembourg American Cemetery. Second Lieutenant Nancy J. Leo, a WWII nurse, is that one woman.

LILES -PFC Wilma Eva Liles

Texas schoolteacher Wilma Liles left her students and classroom behind to join the war effort. PFC Wilma Liles, missing in action, never returned to her students.

LOOP -Lieutenant Paula Ruth Loop

A college grad and an expert pilot, Paula Loop had flown in every state in the United States and served as an instructor to British cadets. She died alone, on duty, in a forest crash - causes unknown to this day.

LUTZ -Lieutenant Aleda Lutz

Flight nurse Anita Lutz was killed while caring for 15 wounded soldiers aboard a plane. She was the first nurse to receive the Distinguished Flying Cross.

MARTIN -Nurse Kathryn L. Lloyd Martin

Newlywed Kathryn Lloyd Martin wore her nurses' cap three weeks before she took it off and donned an army uniform cap. 1st Lt. Kathryn Lloyd's plane came in too low marking the end of her story. She was 24.

McBRIDE -PFC Evelyn L. McBride

The life she gave for our country is the stuff novels are written about, a vaudeville and silent movie actress, married to a 1920s pro ball player, then single mother and at the end, a WAC.

McKINNEY -PFC Alice Pauline McKinney

A family of sacrifice - Brother Ed had malaria in New Guinea. Brother Bill died in Germany. WAC Pauline McKinney, their sister, vanished flying over the ocean near Africa.

McLEAN- 2nd LT Helen Montez Ray McLean

One of the first nurses from her Veteran's Hospital to step up and volunteer for the Army Nurse Corp, Montez died in a frightening nighttime accident not far from her base, Fort Forrest in Tennessee.

McMONAGLE -TEC3 Marion Virginia Walk McMonagle

Marion McMonagle was almost too old to enlist. Joining at age 43 after losing her two children, her husband, mother, father and only brother. Even so, she stepped up to serve and die in service.

MORGAN -WAVE Henrietta Hickman Morgan

One of only 50 students out of 900 selected for early graduation from naval training at Smith College, Lieutenant Henrietta Hickman Morgan was an aide to the Director of Convoy and Routing in Washington.

MERCER - Petty Officer Henrietta Fern Mercer

Wave Henrietta Mercer opened doors for women in aviation as a WWII aviation machinist and plane inspector. Her parents lost both a son and a daughter, both in service stateside during the war.

MORROW -Nurse Marjorie Gertrude Morrow

The 95th attracted disaster. Nurse Gert Morrow fled her bombed hospital ship in a lifeboat. Later lands with troops in Sicily as Germans fought land and air. Then Gert was killed in the Battle of Anzio.

MURDOCK -Ruth Bullard Murdock

A music major at Rutgers, she took her love of music into her work with The Red Cross, organizing recreational clubs for servicemen across Europe until she was killed in a crash over Turin, Italy.

NAIMER -Sergeant Belle G. Naimer

Both Belle and her fiancee lost their young lives to WWII plane crashes. His was in Europe and hers was in the jungles of Shangri-La in New Guinea. Two sacrifices. Too Young.

PALOWITCH - Second Lieutenant Mary Rita Palowitch

Charming with a keen sense of humor, she was an aerial gunnery instructor. Marine Mary Rita Palowitch lost her life while teaching when the building caught on fire and she could not escape.

PUCHALLA -PFC Rose Puchalla

Rose worked a Rosy the Riveter-type job long before we'd heard of Rosy. A welder and flame cutter, she took her muscles and experience and became a WAC, who gave her life in WWII.

RICE -PFC Mildred E. Rice

She'd packed her bags, said her good-byes and boarded the first leg of a long journey back to Missouri from Africa. A WWII WAC, Mildred Rice was never seen again.

RICHARDSON -Flight Nurse Eloise Richardson

One day, when caring for her patients, Flight Nurse Eloise Richardson went missing and was never seen again. Her plane, crew and patients presumably lie in the ocean near the Solomon Islands.

ROOMSBURG -PVT Tony Pearl Roomsburg

Newly graduated teacher, Tony Roomsburg, starts New Year 1944 off enlisting in the WACs. Eighteen months later, she's part of one of the largest group of women missing in action in WWII.

ROZZELLE -PFC Helen Fay Rozzelle

The Rozzelle family suffered great loses in WWII. Daughter Helen Fay Rozzelle, a WAC, went MIA off the coast of Africa. Her brother, 1LT Richard E. Rozzelle, a pilot, went MIA off the coast of Italy.

SEYFERT -PFC Leona M. Seyfert

She moved from operating a press in a Chicago laundry to working with troops in Africa by joining the WACs. Leona Seyfert's service in WWII ended when her plane evaporated over the sea.

SCHUTTE - PFC Thelma H. Schutte

Thelma Schutte opened the doors of opportunity for future women. She was a WWII Woman Marine, a Marine pilot and and aviation mechanic. At desk duty, she pressed for in-flight duty and achieved it. Thelma died while in service.

SHALOVICH -PFC Helen Adella Shalovich

The daughter of Polish immigrants, Helen Shalovich became a U. S. Marine to help win WWII. While serving at Camp Lejeune, Helen lost her life in an accident and never returned home to her parents and brother.

SHEA -First Lieutenant Wilma R. Vinsant Shea

Married just six months, Wilma, who was always called "Polly" for her short stature, volunteered to replace another flight nurse. That decision led to the end of her life in a stormy plane crash.

SHEETZ -Nurse Carrie Sheetz

I've have never once been sorry that I'm in this grand old Army. Of course, I miss home but you can't win a war by being selfish, 2nd LT. Carrie Sheetz wrote home before dying in a hospital bombing.

SIGMAN-Nurse Blanche Faye Sigman

Described as the Angel of Caring and as a Heroine, First Lieutenant Blanche Sigman was the Chief Nurse at the massive 95th Evacuation Hospital and died during a bombing raid of the hospital.

SILVER -Pilot Gertrude Tompkins Silver

Everyone from archeologists to divers have searched for 75 years to find Pilot Tommy Tompkins, the only missing member of the Women Airforce Service Pilots of World War II. The mystery continues.

SLANGER -Lieutenant Frances Slanger

She escaped Poland after WWI to avoid persecution. A frontline nurse, Frances became famous after her death for her letter to Stars and Stripes newspaper. Her words were read across this country.

SNAVELY -Emma Mae Snavely

One of the unsung heroines, Emma Snavely, a psychiatric nurse in the European Theatre, dealt with patients stricken by the horrors they witnessed. After losing her life over there, she was buried in France.

STANKE - 2nd LT Dorothy Mildred Stanke

Working in a hospital ship's operating room full of wounded Marines, Nurse Dorothy Stanke was killed by a Japanese kamikaze plan as it crashed right into the surgical ward.

TAYLOR - Lt. Martelia Taylor

Martelia Taylor encouraged her younger sister, Jane, to join her in the Nurse Corps. Martelia died in Paris so only Jane came back home to their family.

THOMEY - Red Cross Staff Aide Leona Amelia Thomey

a veteran teacher of many years, Leona Thomey left her students at Denfeld High School when called to serve. Half-way across the world, she died in service in a crash in India.

VON ARX -Sergeant Mabel Althea Von Arx

Althea Von Arx was the only woman on a routine cargo flight from Guam to the Philippines. Once the plane took off, it was never seen or heard from again.

WARLICK -PFC Ruth Eldeanne Warlick

"Mayday! Mayday!" Those distress calls in 1945 were the last heard from the plane carrying Ruth Warlick and other WACs. The plane disappeared off the coast of Africa making Ruth another WWII sacrifice.

WELZ- WASP Pilot Bonnie Jean Alloway Welz

Pilot Bonnie Jean Alloway was on a routine flight that ended tragically. A wheel hit a gopher hole upon landing. When the plane flipped, Bonnie Jean lost her life..

WILLIAMS -Bonnie Loree Mulkey Williams

From a small Arkansas town, Bonnie Williams probably never dreamed of seeing Africa. Her tour of duty was one from which she never returned. Bonnie went MIA off the coast of Africa in 1945.

WINDHAM - PFC Emma James Burrows Windham

Two planes collide and took PFC Emma Jane Burrows Windham's life. She was a pilot, the Army’s first woman crew chief, the only female flight engineer killed while performing her duties and she believed to be the first WAC to die in the European Theater.

WOOD - Pilot Elizabeth Taylor Wood

Women said WASPs were unwelcome on the base. When WASP Pilot Betty Taylor crashed, was it foul play or accident? Nearly 80 years later, speculation continues.

WYCKOFF -Dr. Cornelia Ann Wyckoff

First Lieutenant Cornelia Wyckoff was the only woman doctor to die in service in WWII. A doctor's daughter and a brilliant student, Dr. Wyckoff could not fight off the infection that took her.

Women Who Lost Their Lives in World War II