WASP Congressional Gold Medal

gprellwitz

gprellwitz

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Grant Prellwitz
There is a bill in committee in the Senate (S.614) to honor the Women's Airforce Service Pilots (WSAPs) with the Congressional Gold Medal.
More information is available at http://www.wingsacrossamerica.us/bill/index.html

There is a target date of this Friday morning, 5/8, to get the remaining senators to sign on. According to an email I've received,
Many Senators may not understand that for this bill, they must actually "sign on" as Co-Sponsors for S-614, before it can get out of committee. Most bills do not require this extra formality. They must actually call Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's office and commit to Co-Sponsor the bill in order for it to come out of Committee. If it comes out of Committee, the Senate can then vote on it, and then the House may agree to take it up.
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www.thomas.gov said:
3/17/2009--Introduced.
Directs the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives to make appropriate arrangements for the award of a single gold medal in honor of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) collectively, in honor of their pioneering military service and exemplary record, which forged revolutionary reform in the U.S. Armed Forces.
Expresses the sense of Congress that the Smithsonian Institution shall make the medal available for display elsewhere, particularly at other locations associated with the WASP.
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I would urge each and all of you to contact your Senators, and your Representatives when appropriate, so that the remarkable sacrifices these brave and patriotic women made can be better-recognized before all those who served, have flow west.

---


Grant:

Thanks for bringing this to our attention.

/s/ Spike
 
I think they do deserve a metal, but to give a blanket award would degrade the MOH program for indiviual honor.
 
Before I call, I would like some more information:

Did the WASPs see any combat flights?
What was the primary mission of the WASPs?
What did they do to earn the MOH?
Why would a group be issued the MOH instead of using individual merits?
 
is a congressional gold medal the same as the medal of honor?
 
tonycondon said:
is a congressional gold medal the same as the medal of honor?
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No. Not at all.

Not to be confused with the Medal of Honor, sometimes (erroneously) called the "Congressional Medal of Honor", which is the highest military decoration of the United States. A Congressional Gold Medal is an award bestowed by the United States Congress and is, along with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States. The decoration is awarded to an individual who performs an outstanding deed or act of service to the security, prosperity, and national interest of the United States.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congressional_Gold_Medal
 
SkyHog said:
Before I call, I would like some more information:

Did the WASPs see any combat flights?
What was the primary mission of the WASPs?
What did they do to earn the MOH?
Why would a group be issued the MOH instead of using individual merits?
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It's not the MOH - see my reply to mr. Condon.

After training, the WASP were stationed at 120 air bases across the U.S. assuming numerous flight-related missions, relieving male pilots for combat duty. They flew sixty million miles of operational flights from aircraft factories to ports of embarkation and military training bases, towing targets for live anti-aircraft artillery practice, simulated strafing missions, and transporting cargo. Almost every type of aircraft flown by the USAAF during World War II, including the early U.S. jet aircraft, was also flown by women in these roles. Between September 1942 and December 1944, the WASP delivered 12,650 aircraft of 78 different types. Over fifty percent of the ferrying of combat aircraft within the United States during the war was carried out by WASP, under the leadership of Jacqueline Cochran.
Thirty-eight WASP fliers lost their lives while serving their country during the war. Because they were not considered to be in the military under the existing guidelines, a fallen WASP was sent home at family expense without traditional military honors or note of heroism.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_Airforce_Service_Pilots

also

http://www.wingsacrossamerica.us/wasp/
 
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I believe it is very valuable, in that:

1. The WASP pilots did serve, and with great distinction, in a capacity which allowed more combat-trained pilots to get to combat, and provided planes for them to fly;

2. Because, at the time, the WASPs were not regarded as particularly worthy of merit or attention, the records kept were relatively slim;

3. The time associated with issuance of individual medals is such that, by the time most would be out, they'd be posthumous;

Their service was distinguished, they were ill-compensated and unrecognized, and basically thrown back in the pile when their services were no longer required, and it was not service which was without risk.
 
I'm pleased to say that both of my Senators and my Representative are already cosponsors. And Nick, I understand wanting to know more about them. Check out the information at http://www.wingsacrossamerica.us/. They have a LOT of info up there!
 
I misunderstood, its not the MOH. I still want to know more and am researching. none of the NM politicos are supporters.
 
seeing that it is not the MOH, I have no problems with it.
 
Update: WASP Congressional Gold Medal

Greetings all,

Here's an update on the status of the progress of bills to honor the WASP with the Congressional Gold Medal. This is a long post, thank you for taking a few minutes to read through it.

Each house of Congress requires 2/3 of its members to sign on to the bills
(S 614 in the Senate and HR 2014 in the House of Representatives) to move out of committee and onto the floor for a vote.

As of today, we have reached the 2/3 requirement in the Senate. 72 senators from 45 states have signed on as co-sponsors of S614 (MIA are Alabama, Hawaii, Kentucky, South Carolina & Wyoming). THANK YOU to all of you who contacted your senators and advanced the cause of the WASP. This is a huge hurdle, but we have one more to accomplish before May 22nd.

The current goal is to get 2/3 of the membership of the House of Representatives to co-sponsor HR 2014 before Memorial Day.

Please go to [URL="http://www.wingsacrossamerica.us"]http://www.wingsacrossamerica.us/bill/NYYS.html[/URL] to determine whether your congressman has or has not signed on. If he/she hasn't, please contact him/her immediately. Don't know who your representative is? Click on 'Co-Sponsors by State' or 'Co-Sponsors by Name' at the wingsacrossamerica website to find the list of sponsors and those who have not sponsored. Links will lead you right to the congressman's webpage.

You can use the email forms on congressional websites, although they are not as effective due to the huge backlog in their networks. Instead, please consider writing a letter and snail mail it. I know this is a lot to ask in this age of instant messaging, but I hope you will take 15 minutes to honor the women who served, 38 of whom died while flying for the Army Air Corps. My high school civics teacher used to tell us that in a congressman's eyes, one single letter from a constituent meant another 1,000 were supporting the same view but had not written. That might have been 1960s rhetoric (yes, I'm that old), but I think there's some truth to it.

Or call the Washington office of your representative and speak with
either the congressman or military legislative aide, or send a fax or twitter. Or consider doing all of the above.

For more information on the WASP and this legislation, visit AOPA's excellent online article, http://www.aopa.org/aircraft/articles/2009/090506wasp.html?WT.adv=adv2.

If you are curious about the WASP, or want to find the name of a friend or relative who served as a WASP, the Texas Woman's University has an excellent online archive, available at http://www.twu.edu/library/wasp.asp

On behalf of the WASP I am privileged to call a friend, thank you for any support you have provided to this effort. My friend was a member of WASP Class 44-W-2 and flew the B-26, B-17, B-24 and L-5. At age 87, she is one of the fewer than 300 women still living from among the 1,074 who completed WASP training. For those of us who have been privileged to sit with these women and hear their stories, which are told with an astonishing level of humility typical of all WW2 veterans I have known, the Congressional Gold Medal effort we are supporting is not in any way political. It is a personal way to honor fellow pilots for their skill, their courage and their fortitude.

Thanks and I encourage you to email me offline if I can answer any other questions. As you can probably tell, I don't get around much anymore, like the old song says, so if you post an online message here I may not be able to get back to you in a timely manner. Please put WASP somewhere in the subject line of your email: ehitchcock01 [at] yahoo

Thanks again,
Elizabeth Hitchcock, Chairman
Chicago Area Chapter
The Ninety-Nines
International Organization of Woman Pilots
 
One of the duties of these women was to fly planes towing targets for guys to shoot. They didn't have men to do this, or else the guys didn't want to do it. I would call this activity a little risky, as these guys on the guns weren't that good, and were just learning. I think they deserve this medal. I agree with Mr. Cutler, time is of the essence.
Bob
 
As has been said this is not the MoH, nor is it THE gold medal, it is A gold medal. Congressional Medals have been approved in the past to honor groups of people for things that the group accomplished that, in Congress' opinion, brought credit to the Unites States of America. Each medal is of a unique design

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congressional_Gold_Medal
 
Update: Status of WASP Congressional Gold Medal

Here's a brief update regarding the effort to award the CGM to the WASP:

May 20, 2009: S. 614 passed in the Senate by Unanimous Consent.
H.R. 2014 had 311 co-sponsors as of May 22. According to the Library of Congress’s legislation tracker, HR 2014 was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on House Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Here’s a bit more information about the CGM from the Clerk of the House’s website:
“Since the American Revolution, Congress has commissioned gold medals as its highest expression of national appreciation for distinguished achievements and contributions. Each medal honors a particular individual, institution, or event. Although the first recipients included citizens who participated in the American Revolution, the War of 1812 and the Mexican War, Congress broadened the scope of the medal to include actors, authors, entertainers, musicians, pioneers in aeronautics and space, explorers, lifesavers, notables in science and medicine, athletes, humanitarians, public servants, and foreign recipients.” Source: http://clerk.house.gov/art_history/house_history/goldMedal.html

Honorands have included (in no particular order, followed by date of award):
The Tuskegee Airmen (2006)
Frank Sinatra (1997)
Ronald and Nancy Reagan (2000)
Gerald and Betty Ford (1998)
John Paul Jones (1787)
Cornelius Vanderbilt (1864)
The Wright Brothers (1909)
Thomas Edison (1928)
Charles Lindbergh (1928)
First Successful Trans-Atlantic Flight (1929)
Howard Hughes (1939)
Jonas Salk (1955)
Surviving Veterans of the War Between the States (1956)
Bob Hope (1962)
Walt Disney (1968)
Joe Louis (1982)
Louis L’Amour (1982)
Jackie Robinson (2003)
Byron Nelson (2006)


Thanks to all who have participated in this effort, I encourage you to write to Speaker Pelosi and advise her to move HR 2014 out of committee!
Elizabeth Hitchcock
 
UPDATE: WASP Congressional Gold Medal

Greetings all:
House Resolution 2014, to award the Congressional Gold Medal to the WASP of World War II, was passed in the US House of Representatives on June 16, 2009.


The bill will now be sent to President Obama to be signed in to Law.

Once the bill is signed by the President, the job of creating the medal is turned over to the Secretary of the Treasury. He is responsible for the medal itself, under the auspices of the US Mint --and that process takes a while. It is hoped this can be done in weeks instead of months.

Once the medal has been designed and cast and duplicated, there will be a ceremony --with many Senators, Representatives and it is customary for the President to award the medal.

There is no date yet for the ceremony. Organizers of this effort are working to get this done as QUICKLY as possible. Everyone knows that time is precious.

There are two videos on YouTube from the House passage of the Gold medal bill for the WASP. In case you did not see C-Span, and would like to have them, they are at the following links.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fi-x1Q3cOrs
and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_Zy4pv8Row

Additionally, the link to Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's press release, discussing the next steps is http://hutchison.senate.gov/pr061609a.html



Elizabeth Hitchcock
 
Thanks for keeping us updated! I'm really pleased that this looks like it will go through.
 
Tomorrow, March 10, The Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) of World War II will finally be given the recognition and honor they deserve. That is when they will receive the Congressional Gold Medal in a ceremony to be held at the United States Capital.​
 
This is good news... and long overdue; I've always thought they deserved some sort of medal.

They flew the same hi-perf aircraft, often with as little prior training as the men taking them into combat, and those ferry flights were often quite dangerous... neither the aircraft, their commanders or the sky itself made things any easier for them because they were females. they had to perform as well as their male counterparts, and they did.


But the danger was only part of it- they should be honored simply for having the patriotism, guts and tenacity to step forward and fill this very important role.

They also made a real difference, doing a very good job overall, and helping the allies win that war relatively quickly.
 
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