[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 34 (Wednesday, March 10, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1332-S1333]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           HONORING THE WASPS

  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Madam President, we just had a beautiful, really 
incredible Congressional Gold Medal ceremony honoring the Women 
Airforce Service Pilots known as the WASP. It was the largest audience 
to have ever attended a Congressional Gold Medal ceremony or any 
ceremony in the Capitol because we have now the wonderful new Capitol 
Visitors Center that allows us to accommodate very large ceremonies.
  This one had over 2,000 family members of the Women Airforce Service 
Pilots who were honored by Congress. I thought it was worth also 
including comments in the Congressional Record to be sure the American 
people know that today was, in fact, a wonderful day in which we 
honored women who did so much in World War II. They did not get the 
recognition they deserved at the time but they received those accolades 
today when they were recognized with the highest honor that Congress 
can give.
  I would like to read the speech I gave at the ceremony, and also just 
embellish a little bit about the WASP.
  I wrote a book called ``American Heroines: The Spirited Women Who 
Shaped Our Country.'' In that book each chapter focused on specific 
areas in which women trailblazers had done so much to open doors for 
the future women leaders in our country. One of those chapters focused 
on those who blazed new trails in aviation.
  The pioneers I profiled were Amelia Earhart and also Jackie Cochran. 
Jacqueline Cochran was a true pioneer, as was Amelia Earhart. They were 

contemporaries--actually, Amelia achieved her fame just a little bit 
before Jacqueline Cochran. But Jacqueline Cochran went on to become the 
first woman to break the sound barrier in an aircraft. She was a 
protege of Chuck Yeager who, of course, we know was the first to break 
the sound barrier in a jet aircraft. He was a test pilot and a fabulous 
aviator who I saw recently in Dallas and understand he still enjoys 
flying.
  For everyone who knows anything about aviation, Chuck Yeager is an

[[Page S1333]]

icon. He took Jacqueline Cochran under his wing and helped her, and she 
went on to become the first woman to break the sound barrier. She also 
was the woman who conceived of the Women Airforce Service Pilots and 
was the leader during World War II of this incredible group of women.
  I wish to read the remarks I made because they tell much of the story 
of the WASP and Jacqueline Cochran's leadership.

       As we celebrate Women's History Month, this is the perfect 
     time for us to gather to honor the Women Air Force Service 
     Pilots. They were not in the Air Force at the time, but they 
     were called the WASP. We are presenting them the 
     Congressional Gold Medal during Women's History Month because 
     these women truly made history. America's first women to fly 
     military aircraft, they blazed a trail in the sky that opened 
     the door for today's women military pilots. By the time the 
     war ended, 1,074 women had earned their wings at Avenger 
     Field in Sweetwater, Texas. Thirty-eight of those women were 
     killed in the line of duty. Throughout the war, these 
     courageous women flew over 60 million miles around the world, 
     in every type of aircraft flown by male pilots. They were 
     never commissioned, were never afforded Active-Duty military 
     status, and were not granted veterans status until 1977, 30 
     years after they had served.
       All these women volunteered to serve their country in 
     wartime. The reason the organization was formed was the every 
     available male pilot was needed to fly combat missions. So, 
     for the first time, women were recruited to fly non-combat 
     missions. They ferried new aircraft from the factory to the 
     coast and delivered the aircraft for shipment overseas. Some 
     flew airplanes that towed targets so that male gunners could 
     practice shooting with live ammunition and others even 
     trained male pilots. They did all the things someone in the 
     Air Force would do today except fly combat missions. That is 
     why Jacqueline Cochran convinced the Army Air Corps of that 
     their recruitment was a necessity. Women were eager to serve 
     the war effort. That was why the Women's Army Corps, the WAC, 
     was created. They too contributed to the war effort. The WAC 
     was headed by Oveta Culp Hobby, a wonderful woman who later 
     became a member of President Eisenhower's Cabinet.
       Women volunteered by the thousands during World War II. The 
     WASP volunteers paid their own way to Texas for training. 
     Just before the war ended, the program ended, and the WASP 
     paid their own way back home. The 38 courageous women who 
     died as a result of their service in the WASP received no 
     military honors and the expense of their burials was borne by 
     their families or through contributions from their fellow 
     WASP. Their families even had to pay to have their bodies 
     transported home for burial. They were not even accorded the 
     honor of having a flag on their caskets because they were not 
     considered to be in the military.
       I wrote about the WASP in my book, ``American Heroines: The 
     Spirited Women who Shaped our Country.'' These women surely 
     did. Despite their patriotic and historic impact, the WASP 
     were never formally recognized by Congress for their wartime 
     military service--until today. Both Houses of Congress, the 
     Senate and the House of Representatives, passed a resolution 
     to present the Congressional Gold Medal. It was unanimous on 
     both sides of the aisle. It is the highest award given by 
     Congress. We honor their service, the history they made, and 
     the history they made possible for other women to make as a 
     result of their courageous service.
       Today, we right a wrong and acknowledge our debt to these 
     great patriots, women who are so worthy of this award and 
     this recognition.

  I recognized Tom Brokaw during the ceremony. Tom was on the stage 
with us at the ceremony. Of course, Tom wrote the book ``The Greatest 
Generation'' that raised the awareness in America about the incredible 
contribution of the veterans who served in World War II--primarily of 
course, the combat veterans who served in World War II. He chronicled 
those because they served so valiantly in horrendous circumstances. 
They came home, never talked about it, didn't talk about their 
experiences to their wives or their friends or their children. Most 
went back to life as normal and considered that they had done their 
duty and now it was time to go back to work. Tom Brokaw did a wonderful 
service for all of us. He raised the awareness of the ``greatest 
generation'' and made us appreciate so much what they had done.
  I said at the ceremony that Tom Brokaw, who came to the ceremony 
today because he had gotten to know about the WASP through his own 
research, was really here helping us close the circle for so many of 
those who served in World War II and were never recognized. We 
recognized the combat veterans. We recognized their incredible service 
in combat and in battle. But there were some who contributed that we 
have only recently received the Congressional Gold Medal. The WASP was 
the third of the three. The first was the Tuskegee Airmen. They were an 
incredible group African American pilots who flew combat missions but 
whose service was never fully recognized until later, when they were 
presented the Congressional Gold Medal.
  Then there were the Navajo code talkers who did an incredible service 
for our country but operated in secret. They promised they would not 
ever tell what they did, and they didn't until years later when they 
were given leave to do so after a movie was made that chronicled their 
critical wartime role. They too were recognized with the Congressional 
Gold Medal. And now today we honor the WASP, the women who were the 
first women to fly military missions but never made a part of the 
military
  This effort to recognize the WASP started in the Senate where I was 
proud to introduce the legislation with my colleague from Maryland, 
Barbara Mikulski, that culminated in the celebration today. Senator 
Mikulski and I shepherded that bill through the Senate, and in the 
meantime legislation was introduced in the House of Representatives by 
Representatives Susan Davis and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, who passed it on 
the House side. It passed in record time for a Gold Medal resolution. 
For this, I thank my colleagues in the Senate and House. It took less 
than a year from the day we introduced this legislation in the Senate 
to arrive at this day in which we award this medal to the WASP. There 
have not been too many Gold Medal resolutions signed into law, usually 
one per year, two at the most. But these resolutions usually take much 
longer. But because these women are older and have waited so long, we 
wanted to pass this quickly so as many of them as possible could come 
to Washington to celebrate. In fact, over 2,000 WASP veterans and their 
family members did come. Of the 1,074 women who earned their wings, 
over 200 were here today. I thank them.
  I ended my remarks today by saying:

       I thank the WASP and their families who have waited so long 
     and traveled so far to be here today to finally hear these 
     words: on behalf of a grateful nation, thank you for your 
     service.

  Speaker Pelosi was eloquent. The distinguished Minority Leader in the 
House, our leaders, Senator Harry Reid and Senator Mitch McConnell, all 
participated with the Secretary of the Air Force in this special day. 
And of course, the four of us from the Senate and House who sponsored 
the resolution spoke as well. It was a beautiful ceremony. I wished to 
put that in the Congressional Record as a record of this day and as an 
additional record of the recognition the WASP so richly deserve and for 
which they have waited far too long.
  I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. LeMIEUX. I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum 
call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. LeMIEUX. I ask unanimous consent to speak as in morning business.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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