[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 3]
[House]
[Page 3897]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  A TRIBUTE TO RUTH ELLEN DAILEY HELM

  (Ms. McSALLY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. McSALLY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Ruth Ellen Dailey Helm, who 
passed away at the age of 98 recently in Tucson.
  Ruth was a pilot during World War II, one of the first female pilots 
to serve in our military and a trailblazer.
  Unlike many of the male pilots who served at the time, Ruth was 
qualified to fly multiple aircraft as a member of the Women Airforce 
Service Pilots, or WASPs; and she ferried bomber, transport, and 
pursuit aircraft all over the country during World War II.
  She was inducted into the Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame in 1999 and 
awarded the Congressional Gold Medal with her WASP colleagues in 2010.
  In addition to serving our country, Ruth and the WASPs were pioneers 
who inspired an entire generation of women to pursue their dreams of 
serving as pilots in our military, and that includes me.
  When I was going through the challenges of becoming a fighter pilot 
in the first wave, there were no mentors in front of us to see us 
through. But when I needed encouragement or when I wanted to quit, Ruth 
and her fellow WASPs, starting 20 years ago, would be there for me, to 
inspire me and to encourage me and to give me what I needed to fight 
for another day.
  They were more than role models who broke down gender barriers to 
serve in our military. They were my personal wingmen--or wingwomen, and 
I will be forever grateful to Ruth and all the WASP women for paving 
the way for me, for serving as my friends and my mentors, and for 
proving that women could be exceptional pilots too.

                          ____________________