[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 114 (Monday, July 27, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8131-S8132]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                     WOMEN AIRFORCE SERVICE PILOTS

 Mrs. LINCOLN. Madam President, with Arkansas pride and 
heartfelt gratitude, I would like to thank and honor the brave 
Arkansans who served as Women Airforce Service Pilots--or WASPS, as 
they were more commonly called--during World War II.
  During the war, women were recruited to fly noncombat missions under 
the Army Air Corps, so that male pilots could be deployed in combat. 
They served as test and instructor pilots, towed targets for air-to-air 
gunnery practice and ground-to-air anti-aircraft practice, ferried and 
transported personnel and cargo, including parts for the atomic bomb, 
and simulated combat maneuvers. In short, they flew every type of 
military aircraft on every type of mission, except direct combat 
missions.
  Between 1942 and 1944, 25,000 young American women volunteered for 
flight training and service. Of these, 1830 were accepted and 1074 
would eventually successfully complete their training. Four of those 
who received their wings were from Arkansas.
  Dorothy Rae Barnes, from Hot Springs, AR, graduated from Hot Springs 
High School in 1935. She became a WASP, she said, because she had 
friends who were early WASP recruits and they encouraged her to join. 
She graduated from flight school in July 1943 and, as a WASP, flew the 
AT-6, a single-engine advanced trainer aircraft used to train fighter 
pilots, and the BT-13, a basic trainer flown by most American pilots 
during World War II. After her wartime experiences, she returned to Hot 
Springs, where she still lives today.
  Geraldine Tribble Vickers Crockett, from Stevens, AR, became 
interested in flying because of an older brother, who was a flight 
instructor. He enrolled her in a civilian pilot training program that 
he was teaching in Little Rock and it was there that she earned her 
private pilot license. She went into the WASPs in 1944 and, like 
Dorothy Barnes, flew AT-6 and BT-13 aircraft. After deactivation, she 
went on to get her instructor and commercial licenses and taught flying 
to veterans on the G.I. bill. She now lives in Palm Springs, CA.
  Betty Fulbright White, from Clarksville, AR, was in the last WASP 
class to graduate in December 1944. During her shortened service, she 
pulled targets for gunnery practice and transported cargo. After the 
war, she returned to Clarksville, where she passed away in 1985.
  Thirty-eight women died during their service. They were denied 
military honors and their families bore all the costs of transporting 
their bodies home and arranging for their burials. One of those was Lea 
Ola McDonald. Lea McDonald was born in Hollywood, AR, on October 12, 
1921. She entered WASP training in Houston, TX, in January 1943 and 
graduated in April 1944. She was killed less than 4 months later while 
flying an A-24 attack bomber on a practice flight at the age of 22.
  During their time in service, these women faced overwhelming cultural

[[Page S8132]]

and gender bias. They received unequal pay, did not have full military 
status, and were barred from becoming military officers. At the end of 
the war, the women were ordered to leave military service and paid for 
their own transportation home. It was not until 1977 that the WASPs who 
served during the war were provided veterans' benefits.
  WASPs were America's first women to fly military aircraft and are a 
source of inspiration for current and future generations of Americans. 
I am so proud of these women from Arkansas, and from all over the 
United States, who served our country under dangerous and difficult 
circumstances. While we could never fully express the extent of our 
appreciation for their service, President Obama signed Public Law 111-
40 on July 1, 2009, authorizing Congress to bestow a gold medal in 
honor of these patriotic Americans. I was honored to be an original 
cosponsor of the bill and I am happy that Congress has bestowed this 
long-overdue honor.

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