INDIALANTIC, Fla. -- Excitement fills her voice as Teri Eno of Indialantic talks about her mother's flying exploits during World War II.

On one occasion, Darlene Eno was able to safely land a plane with severe mechanical problems. "She got out of that aircraft and kissed the ground," Teri Eno said.

It's with equal excitement that Teri Eno talks about the Congressional Gold Medal, the nation's highest civilian award, her late mother and other WWII pilots she flew among as Women Airforce Service Pilots will receive today in Washington, D.C., Local 6 news partner Florida Today reported.

Eno and her sisters, Tina Eno and Toni Adcock, will be among the family members and veteran women pilots receiving the medal at Wednesday's celebration, which puts them among such other distinguished recipients as George Washington, Charles Lindbergh, the Wright Brothers, Mother Teresa and the Tuskegee Airmen.

Eno and her sisters will represent their mother, who died in December 1991.

"This is an incredible thrill and honor," Teri Eno said. "Just to be able to witness this and receive the medal for her" is an honor.

Teri Eno said her mother grew up on a farm in Iowa and never gave up her dream of flying, convincing her parents that's what she should do.

"When a plane would fly over she would run outside and stare at the plane," Teri Eno said. "She took some flying lesson in a crop duster and a Stearman. Her dad gave her $250, wished her good luck and sent her across the country to join this group of women."

More than 1,100 WASPs served in WWII. They tested and ferried aircraft from factories to bases and delivered aircraft for repair. Some of the women helped to train their male counterparts on various aircraft. Thousands more applied to be WASP pilots. Only a relative few made the cut and went on to fly military aircraft. Thirty-eight died while flying for the Army Air Corps.

All those who served are being honored today in Washington, D.C. Fewer than 300 are alive, but not all are well enough to attend the ceremony, some attendees said. Family members will represent those who have died and those too frail to attend.

The women flew all types of military aircraft to fill in for male counterparts. They all learned to fly before joining the WASPs.

The women's work freed up the men for active service overseas.

When American male pilots began returning from the war, the program ended and the women were promptly sent home.

"When these women were dismissed from the service, they were dismissed," Teri Eno said.

They weren't considered part of the military. It wasn't until 1977 before they received veteran status.

The celebration today in Washington includes a remembrance ceremony at the World War II Memorial and a reception with the attendance of senior Department of Defense officials at the Women in Military Service for America Memorial.

Teri Eno's sister, Toni Adcock, who lives in Lake Martin, Ala., said her mother was flying an aircraft when she realized that she'd stored the maps she needed for the flight back in the cargo area. She had to land the plane in an open field, open the cargo area, dig out her maps and take off again. She thought nobody would ever know about it until she landed.

Her supervisor, however, asked how the landing went in the farm field. She had grain in her landing gear.

She flew airplanes such as the AT-6 Texan, BT-13 Valiant and P-47 Thunderbolt, one of the most storied fighters of World War II.

"They loved it," Teri Eno said.

Marie Michell wasn't so fortunate on a training flight over the Mojave Desert. She was one of 38 WASP who died in service.

Her niece, Cheryl Marie Michell Van Riper of Palm Bay, said her aunt was not scheduled to fly that day but took the place of another pilot.

"She agreed to take a flight for her roommate because her roommate had a toothache," Michell Van Riper said. "Something went wrong with the airplane."

The B-25 crashed in the desert. In 2005, personal items were recovered from the crash site.

Wednesday, Michell Van Riper will represent her aunt at the ceremony.

"This is probably the happiest moment of my life," she said. "I'm so proud of my aunt. I'm proud of all these ladies."