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







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 41

Honoring the women who served the United States in military capacities 
   during World War II and recognizing that these women contributed 
 vitally to the victory of the United States and the Allies in the war.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 4, 1999

 Mrs. Myrick submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
                    the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Honoring the women who served the United States in military capacities 
   during World War II and recognizing that these women contributed 
 vitally to the victory of the United States and the Allies in the war.

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 enrolled in such numbers that enrollment ceilings were reached 
        within the first several years;
Whereas in the Air Force women enrolled 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 in the Air Force 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 assigned to men;
Whereas WASPs had better flight records, had fewer accidents, and flew longer 
        hours than male pilots with comparable responsibilities;
Whereas women pilots flew more than 77 types of warplanes, 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 women 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 acceptance as military veterans until 
        March 1979, when WASP units were formally recognized as components of 
        the Air Force;
Whereas in the Army women enrolled 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 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 
        WAAC and the WAC, receiving medals and citations including the 
        Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Air Medal, the 
        Soldiers' Medal for heroic actions, the Purple Heart, and the Bronze 
        Star;
Whereas in 1946 the Army requested that Congress establish the WAC as a 
        permanent part of the Army, perhaps the single greatest indication of 
        the value of the WAC to the war effort;
Whereas in the Navy women enrolled in the Navy Women's Auxiliary Reserve 
        (WAVES);
Whereas 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 an entire major task force, including a 
        battleship, two large aircraft carriers, two heavy cruisers, four light 
        cruisers, and 15 destroyers;
Whereas WAVES who served in naval aviation taught aircraft recognition, 
        navigation, 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 in the Coast Guard women enrolled in the Coast Guard Women's Reserve 
        (SPARs);
Whereas more than 10,000 women volunteered for service with the Coast Guard 
        during 1942 and 1946, and when the Coast Guard was at the peak of its 
        strength during the war, 1 out of every 16 members was a SPAR;
Whereas SPARs were the first women in the United States to attend a military 
        academy, and by filling shore jobs for the Coast Guard they freed men to 
        serve elsewhere;
Whereas in the Marine Corps women enrolled in the Marine Corps Women's Reserve;
Whereas more than 20,000 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 U.S. Marine Corps were women;
Whereas women were assigned to over 200 different duties in the Marine Corps, 
        and by performing these duties they freed men for active duty;
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 1960s and 1970s 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. RESOLUTION.

    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 sense of duty and 
        willingness to defy stereotypes and political pressures, 
        performed military assignments so that men could be 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 
        been reserved to men, but also contributed vitally to the 
        victory of the United States and the Allies in World War II.
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