[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 41 Engrossed in House (EH)]


                 In the House of Representatives, U.S.,

                                                     November 10, 1999.
Whereas during World War II women in the United States were recruited into the 
        Armed Forces to perform military assignments so that men could be freed 
        for combat duties;
Whereas, despite social stigmas and public opinion averse to women in uniform, 
        women applied for military service in such numbers that enrollment 
        ceilings were reached within the first several years;
Whereas during World War II women served in the Army in the Women's Army 
        Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) and the Women's Army Corps (WAC);
Whereas these women served the Army by performing a variety of duties 
        traditionally performed by men;
Whereas in 1943 the Army removed the auxiliary status of the WAAC units, in 
        unspoken recognition of the value of their services;
Whereas almost one-half of World War II WACs served in the Army Air Forces as 
        officers and enlisted personnel, with duties including such flying jobs 
        as radio operator, photographer, and flight clerk;
Whereas 7,315 of these Army Air Forces WACs were serving overseas in all 
        theaters of war in January 1945;
Whereas General Eisenhower stated, ``During the time I have had WACs under my 
        command they have met every test and task assigned to them; their 
        contributions in efficiency, skill, spirit, and determination are 
        immeasurable'';
Whereas at the end of the war 657 women were honored for their service in the 
        Women's Army Auxiliary Corps and the Women's Army Corps, receiving 
        medals and citations including the Distinguished Service Medal, the 
        Legion of Merit, the Air Medal, the Soldiers' Medal for heroic action, 
        the Purple Heart, and the Bronze Star;
Whereas in 1946 the Army requested that Congress establish the Women's Army Corp 
        as a permanent part of the Army, perhaps the single greatest indication 
        of the value of women in the Army to the war effort;
Whereas during World War II women served with the Army Air Forces in the Women's 
        Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS), the Women's Flying Training 
        Detachment (WFTD), and the Women Air Force Service Pilots (WASPs);
Whereas women serving with the Army Air Forces ferried planes from factories to 
        airfields, performed test flights of repaired aircraft, towed targets 
        used in live gunnery practice by male pilots, and performed a variety of 
        other duties traditionally performed by men;
Whereas women pilots flew more than 70 types of military aircraft, from open-
        cockpit primary trainers to P-51 Mustangs, B-26 Marauders, and B-29 
        Superfortresses;
Whereas from September 10, 1942, to December 20, 1944, 1,074 WASPs flew an 
        aggregate 60,000,000 miles in wartime service;
Whereas, although WASPs were promised military classification, they were 
        classified as civilians and the 38 WASPs who died in the line of duty 
        were buried without military honors;
Whereas WASPs did not receive official status as military veterans until March 
        1979, when WASP units were formally recognized as components of the Air 
        Force;
Whereas during World War II women in the Navy served in the Women Accepted for 
        Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES);
Whereas approximately 90,000 WAVES served the Navy in a variety of capacities 
        and in such numbers that, according to a Navy estimate, enough men were 
        freed for combat duty to crew the ships of four major task forces, each 
        including a battleship, two large aircraft carriers, two heavy cruisers, 
        four light cruisers, and 15 destroyers;
Whereas WAVES who served in naval aviation taught instrument flying, aircraft 
        recognition, celestial navigation, aircraft gunnery, radio, radar, air 
        combat information, and air fighter administration, but were not allowed 
        to be pilots;
Whereas, at the end of the war, Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal stated 
        that members of the WAVES ``have exceeded performance of men in certain 
        types of work, and the Navy Department considers it to be very desirable 
        that these important services rendered by women during the war should 
        likewise be available in postwar years ahead'';
Whereas during World War II women served in the Marine Corps in the Marine Corps 
        Women's Reserve;
Whereas more than 23,000 women served at shore establishments of the Marine 
        Corps, and by the end of the war, 85 percent of the enlisted personnel 
        assigned to Headquarters, Marine Corps were women;
Whereas during the war women were assigned to over 200 different specialties in 
        the Marine Corps, and by performing these duties freed men for active 
        duty to fight;
Whereas during World War II women served in the Coast Guard in the Coast Guard 
        Women's Reserve (SPARs);
Whereas more than 10,000 women volunteered for service with the Coast Guard 
        during the period from 1942 through 1946, and when the Coast Guard was 
        at the peak of its strength during the war, one out of every 16 members 
        of the Coast Guard was a SPAR;
Whereas the SPARs who attended the Coast Guard Academy were the first women in 
        the United States to attend a military academy, and by filling shore 
        jobs for the Coast Guard SPARs freed men to serve elsewhere;
Whereas by the end of World War II more than 400,000 women had served the United 
        States in military capacities;
Whereas these women, despite their merit and the recognized value and importance 
        of their contributions to the war effort, were not given status equal to 
        their male counterparts and struggled for years to receive the 
        appreciation of the Congress and the people of the United States;
Whereas these women helped to catalyze the social, demographic, and economic 
        evolutions that occurred in the 1960's and 1970's and continue to this 
        day; and
Whereas these pioneering women are owed a great debt of gratitude for their 
        service to the United States: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This resolution may be cited as the ``Honoring American Military Women for 
Their Service in World War II Resolution''.

SEC. 2. COMMENDATION AND RECOGNITION OF WOMEN WHO SERVED THE UNITED STATES IN 
              MILITARY CAPACITIES DURING WORLD WAR II.

    The House of Representatives--
            (1) honors the women who served the United States in military 
        capacities during World War II;
            (2) commends these women who, through a sense of duty and 
        willingness to defy stereotypes and social pressures, performed military 
        assignments to aid the war effort, with the result that men were freed 
        for combat duties; and
            (3) recognizes that these women, by serving with diligence and 
        merit, not only opened up opportunities for women that had previously 
        been reserved for men, but also contributed vitally to the victory of 
        the United States and the Allies in World War II.
            Attest:

                                                                          Clerk.