[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 43 (Tuesday, March 29, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E551]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         A TRIBUTE TO NEBRASKA'S WOMEN AIRFORCE SERVICE PILOTS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. ADRIAN SMITH

                              of nebraska

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 29, 2011

  Mr. SMITH of Nebraska. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of 19 women 
who were inducted into the Nebraska Aviation Hall of Fame on January 
27, 2011. These women served as Women Airforce Service Pilots, or 
WASPs, during World War II.
  From 1942-1944, more than 1,100 women left behind their homes and 
jobs for once-in-a-lifetime opportunity--to serve as civilian pilots 
for the U.S. Army Air Forces. As the first women to fly military 
aircraft during World War II, WASPs towed aerial gunnery targets, 
transported personnel and cargo, and ferried airplanes to training 
fields and embarkation points. At the height of the war, WASPs flew 
more than 60 million miles which freed male pilots for combat and 
played a critical role in our victory.
  The Nebraskans who served as WASPs were: Dorothy L. Bancroft, 
Lincoln; Mary B. Beecham, Omaha; Lois V. Boien, Omaha; Lois A. Bristol, 
Bayard; Grace ``Betty'' E. Clements, Elmwood; Mary A. Jershin, Omaha; 
Eileen ``Ikey'' A. Kealy, Omaha; Marybelle J. Lyall, Hastings; Esther 
L. Mueller, Thayer; Roberta E. Mundt, Berea; Margaret ``Peggy'' L. 
Nispel, Lincoln; Millicent A. Peterson, Chappell; Alice L. Riss, Omaha; 
Evelyn G. Sharp, Ord; B. Kristin Swan, Minden; Helen A. Turner, Cairo; 
Isabel E. Tynon, Peru; Jane E. Waite, Scottsbluff; and Mary E. 
Williamson, Omaha.
  I ask my colleagues to join me today in honoring the distinguished 
service of Nebraska's Women Airforce Service Pilots to our nation.

                          ____________________