High Desert Park named after World War 2 veteran Dorothy Jensen Blanchard

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – The City of Albuquerque is honoring a woman who served in World War Two. The city named High Desert Park after Dorothy Jensen Blanchard, one of the first women to join the Navy through the Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service, or "WAVES."

Serving from 1943 to 1952, Blanchard worked at the Pentagon and shaped national defense policy. She died last year at 101 years old.

The city said Blanchard helped open doors for women in the military, and her family said she would have been touched by Thursday's tribute.

Albuquerque City Councilor Dan Champine is also working with the City of Albuquerque's Parks and Recreation Department to create exhibits at the park to tell Blanchard's story.