Remains of Whidbey Island pilots to return this week

WHIDBEY ISLAND — The remains of the two pilots from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island who died in a crash last month will be returned this week.

Around 7 p.m. Monday, Lt. Serena “Dug” Wileman, 31, will return to Oak Harbor, the station reported. The Wallin-Stucky Funeral Home in Oak Harbor was set to release more details about a procession for her arrival Monday night. The funeral home invited the community to come show support as Wileman’s remains return to Whidbey Island.

Weather permitting, veterans service organizations said they would be meeting at 6 p.m. at Frontier Building Supply, 33860 Highway 20, Oak Harbor. If no parking is available, check for spots on NE Regatta Drive.

Lt. Cmdr. Lyndsay “Miley” Evans, 31, will return to Anacortes later in the week. As per her family’s wishes, her arrival will be private, according to Naval Air Station Whidbey Island.

Wileman and Evans are returning from Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, home of the U.S. military’s largest mortuary.

“The families of both LT Wileman and LCDR Evans wish to express their gratitude for the gracious support from the local and surrounding communities these past weeks,” the station wrote on Facebook.

On Oct. 15, Evans and Wileman crashed in a Boeing-made EA-18G Growler from Electronic Attack Squadron 130 in remote, steep and heavily wooded terrain about 30 miles west of Yakima. The squadron, based at the station north of Oak Harbor, is known as the “Zappers.”

Evans and Wileman, both from California, bonded over their dogs. Evans had an Australian Shepherd named Nyx and Wileman had Riley, a chihuahua and dachshund mix.

Evans enlisted in the Navy after her time at the University of Southern California. She was commissioned as an officer out of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, commonly known as ROTC. She attended flight school at Naval Air Station Pensacola. The Navy said she “always carried herself as a humble yet strong leader.”

Last year, Evans was part of an all-female flyover at the Super Bowl. She joined the Zappers in September 2023. For the 2024 fiscal year, she was awarded the Growler Tactics Instructor of the Year. Evans was also awarded two Single Action Air Medals and three Strike Flight Air Medals.

Wileman was commissioned in 2018 and joined the squadron in late 2022, her first assignment after flight training. The Navy said she was “known for her heart of gold, passion, and unrelenting smile.”

Wileman earned three Strike Flight Air Medals.

Wileman was survived by her husband Brandon, also a Naval aviator she met in flight school.

Evans and Wileman had recently returned from a 9-month deployment with their squadron aboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower. While deployed, the squadron carried out operations in the Southern Red Sea, Bab al-Mandeb Strait and Gulf of Aden “to maintain the freedom of navigation in international waterways,” the Navy said in a press release in July.

“More than just names and ranks, they were role models, trailblazers, and women whose influence touched countless people on the flight deck and well beyond,” the Navy wrote in a social media post identifying the fallen pilots.

The cause of the crash remained under investigation, according to the Associated Press.

Jake Goldstein-Street: 425-339-3439; jake.goldstein-street@heraldnet.com; X: @GoldsteinStreet.