Obama Honors First Female Pilots
The White House posted photos of President Obama signing WASP gold medal bill inside the oval office yesterday. The bill, formally named S. 614, awards a Congressional Gold Medal to the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP).
"Every American should be grateful for their service, and I am honored to sign this bill to finally give them some of the hard-earned recognition they deserve," Mr. Obama said.
He was joined by three members of WASP and five active duty United States Air Force pilots at the bill signing, shown in the photos below.
WASP was established during World War II for the primary purpose of flying non-combat military missions for the U.S. in order to free the male military servants for combat. Between 1942 and 1943, more than a thousand women joined, flying sixty million miles of non-combat missions. An estimated 300 are still living today, the White House says.
WASP were the first female pilots to fly almost every type of military aircraft operated by the United States Army at the time. Although 38 of them lost their lives for the missions, their efforts went largely unrecognized. The pilots were not acknowledged with veteran status until 1977.
Before being signed by the president yesterday, the bill was passed by the Senate on May 20 and the House on June 16.
