[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 161 (Monday, November 2, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Page S10988]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


               TRIBUTE TO ANNA ``ANN'' ROSS KARY ANDERSON

 Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, today I recognize Anna ``Ann'' Ross 
Kary Anderson who served honorably during World War II as a member of 
the Women Airforce Service Pilots, WASP.
  More than 1,000 women answered the call and served as pilots during 
World War II. However, because WASP records were classified and 
archived for over 30 years, WASPs have been left out of much of the 
documented history of World War II.
  On July 1, 2009, legislation was signed into law that honors the 
service of these women with the Congressional Gold Medal, which is 
given in honor of outstanding service to the United States and is one 
of the Nation's highest civilian awards. This Congressional Gold Medal 
finally gives Anna ``Ann'' Ross Kary Anderson and the rest of these 
brave women the honor and recognition they deserve.
  Between 1942 and 1944, the 1,102 women of WASP were trained in Texas, 
and then went on to fly noncombat domestic military missions so all 
their male counterparts could be deployed to combat. WASPs were 
required to complete the same primary, basic, and advanced training 
courses as male Army Air Corps pilots, and many went on to specialized 
flight training. By the conclusion of the war, WASPs logged 60 million 
miles of flying in every kind of military aircraft.
  Following the war, the WASPs were disbanded and the women pilots paid 
their own way home without pomp or circumstance. Even during the war, 
the families of the 38 women who died in the line of duty were 
responsible for the costs to transport their bodies and arrange 
burials. It was not until 1977 that the WASPs were granted veterans 
status.
  Anna ``Ann'' Ross Kary Anderson was born in 1920 on her family's 
homestead in Mellette County in South Dakota. Following high school, 
she attended the University of South Dakota. After her military service 
``Kary,'' as she was known to her students, went on to instruct 
hundreds of future pilots and was one of the first female FAA 
inspectors. By the time she retired she had logged over 20,000 flight 
hours. She still has family living in South Dakota.
  While many of the South Dakota WASPs are no longer with us, I would 
like to recognize all of the women who joined from South Dakota in 
addition to Anna ``Ann'' Ross Kary Anderson: Helen (Anderson) Severson 
of Summit, SD. who was killed in service during a flight training 
accident in 1943; Marjorie (Redding) Christiansen of Mystic, SD; Loes 
(Monk) MacKenzie of Salem, SD; Laurine Nielsen of Deadwood, SD; Maxine 
(Nolt) Wright DeHaven of Sioux Falls, SD. I would also like to honor 
Violet (Thurn) Cowden formerly of Bowdle, SD, who now lives in 
California, and Ola Mildred ``Millie'' Rexroat, who currently resides 
in Edgemont, SD.
  The WASPs served our country with extraordinary bravery, even in the 
face of discrimination. Their service was essential to the war effort, 
and this recognition of their heroics is long overdue and rightfully 
deserved. Though the pages of history have thus far overlooked the 
accomplishments and even the existence of this group, which served its 
country so well, this bill ensures forever their rightful place in 
history.

                          ____________________