It's About Time

 

In July 2009, President Obama signs bill to award WASPS Congressional Gold Medals.

Yesterday, a group of very special women received recognition that was sixty-six years over due.  These Women Air Force Service Pilots or WASP, for short, became the very first female pilots to fly military aircraft for the U.S. military services. The women joined the U.S. Air Force in the 1940’s ,  and their duties included ferrying planes to male fighter pilots, chemical missions, teaching men how to fly, and running training missions. They were stationed at 120 military bases around the world.

During World War II, more than one thousand women flew military air craft.  The WASP program was initiated in 1943 when the war was at its peak and the United States suffered from a shortage of pilots.  Requirements to become a female Air Force pilot were more rigorous than for a male pilot, including more experience as a pilot.   The women were paid less than men and the women had to pay for their own lodging, food, and uniforms, unlike the men.  Also, unlike the men, the women held no military rank, and instead were classified as civilian flight officers.

Thirty-eight of these women were killed in service and were returned home at their families’ expense without any official ceremony.  Those that survived also had to pay for their journeys home and the WASP records remained sealed until 1980.  

After the end of World War II, these women were mostly forgotten.  It was not until 1979 that the women were accorded veteran status and could avail themselves of veteran services.  And, now, sixty-six years later, President Obama awarded each of them a Congressional Gold Medal in Washington D.C.  

Many of these brave and pioneering women have died, but it is estimated that 300 still survive and that about 200 attended yesterday’s ceremony.