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WASPs Soar in D.C.
Female pilots who volunteered to fly during World War II receive high honors during a March 10 ceremony on Capitol Hill — more than 60 years after their service.
D
uring World War II, a group of
female pilots flew 60 million miles in every type of military aircraft.
They transported servicemembers, towed targets for gunnery practice, and tested re- paired planes. Though not allowed to fly in combat, 38 of the women lost their lives. Now, female pilots who served during
World War II have received Congressional Gold Medals, the highest civilian honor given by Congress. A two-day event held in Washington, D.C., in March included a wel- come reception and a gold medal ceremony to honor their achievements. Hundreds of people, including about 200 surviving pi- lots and their family members, gathered at the U.S. Capitol for the ceremony. During World War II, Gen. H.H. “Hap”
Arnold formed the Women Airforce Service Pilots, or WASP, to make up for a shortage of male pilots. About 25,000 women responded to newspaper ads and PSAs to join the first female flight train- ing program in the U.S. Of more than 1,800 women selected for the program, 1,102 graduated. After the WASP was disbanded in
December 1944, the military determined its existence had never been cleared by Congress and denied WASPs veteran ben- efits. It wasn’t until 1977 that Congress
THIS MONTH IN HISTORY
■ On June 14, 1775, the U.S. Army was founded. The Continental Congress in Philadelphia authorized the recruitment of 10 companies of riflemen to serve for one year.
PHOTO: STAFF SGT. J.G. BUZANOWSKI, USAF
recognized them as veterans. Fewer than 300 WASPs are alive today.
F
When the Music Stopped
amily members and servicemembers
gathered at Arlington
National Cemetery in Vir- ginia Feb. 25 to remember 19 members of the U.S. Navy Band who were killed on that date in 1960 when their plane collided with a Brazilian com- mercial airliner. It was the first such tribute in 50 years. The Navy Band per-
formed the Navy hymn, “Eternal Father, Strong to Save,” at the ceremony. A bugler played taps and family and friends of the band members watched as wreaths of lil- ies and chrysanthemums were placed by the graves of 14 of the musicians who are buried in Arlington Cemetery. The crash occurred at the height of
the Cold War, on President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s “Operation Amigo” goodwill tour in South America to counter Soviet influence in the region. Members of the band were heading to Rio de Janeiro to play at a U.S. embassy reception, where Eisenhower would host Brazilian President Juscelino Kubitschek, when their four- engine Navy transport plane collided with a twin-engine Brazilian airliner as it ap- proached the city in foggy weather. MO
J U N E 2 0 1 0 MI L I T A R Y O F F I C E R 67
Betty Wall Stohfus,
a Women Airforce Service pilot, sings along to “The Star- Spangled Banner” at a ceremony honoring female pilots during World War II.
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