Female WWII Pilots Honored

Deanie Parrish (L) of Waco, Texas, shows Thunderbird pilot Nicole Malachowski (R) the Congressional Gold Medal she received at the U.S. Capitol. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

More than 200 Women Airforce Service Pilots, or WASPS, were honored on Capitol Hill on March 10, International Women’s Day. They received the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said, “Answering our country’s call, the WASPs demonstrated courage and patriotism and excellence and competence. Their bravery inspires and awes us; their success allowed the success of generations since and generations to come. Today, the accomplishments of the WASPs will be writ large in our nation’s history. But as others have said, we know that this day comes too late for some. Let us remember the WASPs who have left us before they could receive this honor.”

Pelosi is the first female speaker. The WASPS flew noncombat missions during World War II to free male pilots for overseas duty. They were not considered part of the military, though 38 of them were killed on duty. After many years of effort, they were granted the status of veterans in 1977. Of the over 1,000 WASPS, about 300 are still living. The Navajo Code Talkers and the Tuskegee Airmen were awarded the medal in 2000 and 2006.