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The New York Times
The Caucus
World War II Women
Pilots to Receive Medals
By Bernie Becker,
nytimes.com from the Web, July 1, 2009
During World War II, more than 1,000
female pilots became the first women to ever take the controls of American
military planes. Now, more than six decades later, members of the Women
Airforce Service Pilots will receive the Congressional Gold Medal, one of
America’s highest civilian honors.
President Obama will make the award official in the Oval Office this afternoon,
signing a bill that sailed through Congress in just three months. The
medals will be given to the roughly 300 members of the group still living, as
well as to the deceased pilots’ survivors.
Senators Kay Bailey Hutchison, Republican of Texas, and Barbara Mikulski,
Democrat of Maryland, introduced the legislation, which they say will give long
overdue public recognition to the pilots.
“The Women Airforce Service Pilots of World War II were trailblazers and true
patriots,” said Ms. Mikulski in a release announcing the legislation.
“They risked their lives in service to our nation, but for too long their
contribution to the war effort has been undervalued or under recognized.”
With male pilots in short supply during World War II, W.A.S.P. pilots took to
the skies, flying a wide range of non-combat assignments: transporting
cargo, hauling targets for shooting practice, flying drones and even training
other pilots, including men.
The corps was disbanded in late 1944, deemed no longer necessary with Allied
forces nearing victory.
During their service, W.A.S.P. members were considered civilians, meaning they
received no benefits or honors. (The families of the 38 pilots who died
received no burial assistance, nor were they given an American flag for the
casket.)
And once their service ended, the pilots, who had bankrolled their own training,
also had to pay their way home. In 1977, more than three decades after the
war ended, Congress enacted legislation granting veterans status to W.A.S.P.
members.
The Associated Press reported last week that, for many of the remaining pilots,
publicizing their story was just as important as receiving the medal. A
National W.A.S.P World War II Museum already exists at a site where the pilots
trained, in Sweetwater, Tex.
“Americans will hear about this and they will be curious enough to try and find
out who those women were,” Deanie Parrish, who now lives in Waco, Texas, told
the A.P. “Don’t go to the history books, because it wasn’t there.”
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