The Women Airforce Service Pilots of WWII, known as the ''WASP,'' was created in 1942 and were the first women to fly American military aircraft, they also served as the catalyst that allowed for the integration of women pilots into the Armed Services.
These women pilots flew more than 60 million miles in every type of aircraft — from the PT-17 and AT-6 trainers, the fastest attack planes such as the A-24 and A-25 or heavy bombers such as B-17s or B-29s.
Paid $250 a month, the women were not officially part of the military; they received no benefits, no honors.
And their work was dangerous. Thirty-eight of the pilots were killed in service, but the military would not allow the flag to be put on a coffin because they were considered civilians.
Now, some 65 years after their service, a group of former WASPs were honored in Washington Wednesday with the Congressional Gold Medal.
According to the legislation authorizing the Congressional Gold Medal signed by President Barack Obama in July, the women pilots flew fighter, bomber, transport and training aircraft. More than 25,000 American women applied for training, but only 1,830 were accepted and took the oath, while 1,074 of them successfully completed the six-month Air Force training.
The WASPs eventually were stationed at 120 Army air bases all across America, the group was disbanded on Dec. 20, 1944.
The WASP military records were sealed and classified by the military, making the unit's existence unknown until the records were declassified in the 1980s. In 1977, Congress voted to give members of the WASP veteran status, but they did not get their Air Force medals until 1984.
All of the surviving WASPs are their late 80s or older. Fewer than 300 Women Airforce Service Pilots are still alive. About 175 of them, along with hundreds of family members, have traveled to Washington for the ceremony at the Capitol.
As part of the commemoration, the former pilots attended a wreath-laying ceremony Tuesday at the Air Force Memorial just outside Washington to remember their colleagues killed in the line of duty.
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas; Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Maryland; and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Florida, pushed a bill through Congress to honor these women by awarding them the medal, given as an expression of national appreciation for distinguished achievements and contributions, according to the House of Representatives' Office of the Clerk.
"This is a largely overlooked veterans group. They haven't gotten the medals they deserve, the recognition they deserve," Ros-Lehtinen told reporters.
While some of the WASPs say the medal itself is a nice gesture, more importantly they say they hope the publicity will teach younger generations about their accomplishments and remind some still skeptical men just how capable women are.
