Lt. Cmdr. Danielle Thiriot participated in the first ever all-female flyover Feb. 2 in Maynardville, Tennessee. Officially referred to as a “Missing Man Flyover,” the tribute was part of the funeral service for retired Navy Captain Rosemary Mariner, who passed away on Jan. 24 following a long fight with cancer.
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| Thiriot, Bottom Left |
“I watched the twin towers fall from my high school history class on September 11, 2001 and signed up for NROTC a few months later,” Thiriot said. “After seeing fighter squadrons in action while completing NROTC summer training in college, I loved the camaraderie, professionalism, and ethos of the fighter ready room and knew I wanted to fly.”
Thiriot graduated in 2007 from Harvard University with a degree in Government and Religious Studies. She completed flight training and received her Wings of Gold in May 2010. Thiriot recently completed a tour at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. as Flag Aide to the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral John Richardson.
After completing flight training in 1974, Mariner was designated a naval aviator and received her Wings of Gold to became the Navy’s first female jet pilot, flying the A-4E/L “Skyhawk” and the A-7E “Corsair II”. She also was the first female military aviator to achieve command of an operational air squadron. During Operation Desert Storm, Mariner commanded Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron Thirty-Four (VAQ-34). In 1982, she reached yet another milestone by being among the first females to serve aboard a U.S. Navy warship, USS Lexington, and qualifying as a Surface Warfare Officer.
Mariner retired from the U.S. Navy in 1997 after obtaining the rank of Captain and logging seventeen carrier arrested landings, or “traps,” and completing over 3,500 flight hours in fifteen different aircraft.
The Missing Man Flyover is a special tribute honoring the service of aviators who have died serving their country. The maneuver features four aircraft flying above the funeral service in formation as one of the aircraft leaves the formation and climbs vertically into the heavens.
All of the aviators who participated in the flyover are from squadrons based at Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana flying F/A-18E/F “Super Hornets.”
Thiriot graduated in 2007 from Harvard University with a degree in Government and Religious Studies. She completed flight training and received her Wings of Gold in May 2010. Thiriot recently completed a tour at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. as Flag Aide to the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral John Richardson.
After completing flight training in 1974, Mariner was designated a naval aviator and received her Wings of Gold to became the Navy’s first female jet pilot, flying the A-4E/L “Skyhawk” and the A-7E “Corsair II”. She also was the first female military aviator to achieve command of an operational air squadron. During Operation Desert Storm, Mariner commanded Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron Thirty-Four (VAQ-34). In 1982, she reached yet another milestone by being among the first females to serve aboard a U.S. Navy warship, USS Lexington, and qualifying as a Surface Warfare Officer.
Mariner retired from the U.S. Navy in 1997 after obtaining the rank of Captain and logging seventeen carrier arrested landings, or “traps,” and completing over 3,500 flight hours in fifteen different aircraft.
The Missing Man Flyover is a special tribute honoring the service of aviators who have died serving their country. The maneuver features four aircraft flying above the funeral service in formation as one of the aircraft leaves the formation and climbs vertically into the heavens.
All of the aviators who participated in the flyover are from squadrons based at Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana flying F/A-18E/F “Super Hornets.”