Meet Elaine Harmon, a WWII veteran with a unique dying wish.
Before she died, Elaine Harmon wrote a letter that she left in a fireproof lockbox for safe keeping.
It was found by her family shortly after her death. Handwritten on cream-colored stationary, it contained one simple request. A dying wish.
The letter left by Elaine Harmon. Photo via CBS Evening News/YouTube.
"I would like to be buried in Arlington Cemetery,” it said. “Even if there are no ashes left, I would like an empty urn placed at Arlington.”
She knew, more than most people, how hard that would be to accomplish.
Harmon first learned to fly in 1940 during college at the University of Maryland.
Her mother, Margaret, was always against it, describing the activity as "unladylike." But her father was supportive and happily signed the initial permission slip necessary for Elaine to begin flight school.
Elaine D. Harmon.
In 1942, with World War II in full force, Army general Henry "Hap" Arnold formed the Women's Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) after a suggestion by first lady Eleanor Roosevelt.
The idea was to give female pilots, many of whom had more flight experience than male pilots, a chance to help the war effort. Female pilots from all over the country started racking up flight hours in preparation, eager for the opportunity.
WASPs in 1944. Photo via Defense Video Image Distribution System.
25,000 women applied, and only 1,830 were accepted. Elaine Harmon was one of them.
After joining the WASPs, Harmon was stationed in Las Vegas, where she delivered planes and trained new pilots.
She and her fellow WASPs were as essential to the World War II effort as any male soldier. By providing training and support, they helped lead the Allies to victory.
Over time, though, their accomplishments would be slowly forgotten.
38 WASPs died during WWII. None of them received military benefits, and none were buried with any traditional military honors. In December 1940, the WASPs were disbanded without veteran status and with little thanks from their government. Even their families were banned from flying Gold Star flags, signifying a military death in the family.
Photo via U.S. Air Force.
After the war, Harmon returned to her home in Silver Spring, Maryland.
Records of the WASP program remained classified by the U.S. government for 35 years.
In the 1970s, the Defense Department announced that it would officially allow women to fly military aircraft on behalf of the United States. Many media outlets reported that this was happening for the first time in history, utterly ignoring the WASP program from 30 years earlier.
Photo by Hudson/Topical Press Agency/Getty Images.
Shocked, Harmon and former WASPs from all over the country mobilized and began speaking and campaigning to Congress, arguing that now was the time to recognize the WASPs as veterans who served the U.S. military.
President Carter agreed and signed a law in 1977 granting the women of the WASP program full veteran status.
Decades after WWII, Elaine Harmon was officially a veteran. However, there was one thing left.
Photo by Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Images.
Despite full recognition, the U.S. Army maintained that it could not legally allow WASPs to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. That remained true until 2002, and when the first WASP funeral was held at Arlington, Harmon was in attendance.
Arlington is the most famous military cemetery in the country, and is the resting place of over 300,000 veterans. Being buried there is an honor for the deceased and their families — a recognition that you are one of the heroes who died fighting for your country.
On Sept. 7, 2016, Elaine Harmon was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery.
Terry Harmon (right), Elaine's daughter. Photo by Tom Williams via AP Images.
Surviving WASPs from around the country flew in to attend the funeral and speak. “Finally, we’re over the last fight," said Florence Reynolds, a fellow pilot and friend. “I wanted to be here to make sure they didn’t fuss it up.”
Volunteers flew World War II-era warplanes overhead, and Lt. Col. Christine Blice-Baum read from a poem called “Celestial Flight,” written by a fellow WASP.
"She is not dead," read Blice-Baum. "You should have known ... that she is only flying higher, higher than she's ever flown."
Photo by Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Images.
Being buried at Arlington National Cemetery caps off Elaine Harmon's significant and historic military career — and at long last, honors her dying wish.
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There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."