They were among only a few women to fly combat missions over land, the Navy's Carrier Strike Group 2 said on Monday.

Lt. Cmdr. Lyndsay "Miley" Evans, a naval flight officer, and Lt. Serena "Dug" Wileman, a naval aviator, both 31 years old and from California, died on Oct. 15 when their aircraft crashed near Mount Rainier.

Two aviators who died when their fighter jet crashed last week near Mount Rainier during routine training were a trailblazing female duo who recently returned from a Red Sea deployment, the Navy said.