Hazel Ah Ying Lee was the first Asian American woman to earn a pilot's license, fly for the US military and fly fighter aircraft. She spent her early years in Portland's Chinatown and was admitted to the Chinese Flying Club in Portland, a training ground that sent 32 young Asian American pilots to China to fight the invading Japanese forces in 1932 and 1933. During World War II, Hazel was a Women Airforce Service Pilot (WASP) and broke through gender and race barriers to accomplish her dream of flying. She was a larger-than-life personality unafraid to question the limiting beliefs of society.

Historian Susan Tate Ankeny is a member of the Oregon 8th Air Force Historical Society and the Association des Sauveteurs d'Aviateurs Alliés (the Association of Rescued Allied Airmen) which finds and memorializes World War II crash sites in France. Susan left a career in teaching to research and write about her father and his escape from Nazi-occupied France resulting in the 2020 publication of The Girl and the Bombardier: A True Story of Resistance and Rescue in Nazi-Occupied France. The great-granddaughter of Oregon pioneers she lives in Vancouver, Washington.

Enjoy 15% off your hotel stay on History Pub nights! Show your ticket at check-in.

These events are open to everyone interested in Pacific Northwest history, and beyond! Often co-sponsored by local or state historical and civic organizations, we bring you experts, scholars, first-person experiencers, historians and documentaries expounding on topics from indigenous history to the birth of Portland, early explorers to hop growing, and on and on! It's like being back in the classroom - except this time you get to settle into comfortable seats and enjoy a drink or two with dinner while you listen and learn.

This event is eligible for a History Pub Stamp