Posted on 05/20/2016 8:58:31 PM PDT by Olog-hai
President Barack Obama has signed a bill into law that will again allow the ashes of female World War II pilots known as WASPs to be placed at Arlington National Cemetery.
The women served in a unit called Women Airforce Service Pilots. They flew noncombat missions to free male pilots for combat.
They were considered civilians during the war, but federal law since 1977 granted them veteran status. …
(Excerpt) Read more at hosted.ap.org ...
I’m ok with this. They served the country. Arlington does not dictate you must be in combat to be buried there. In fact, quite a few military are buried there from getting into a car accident over the years.
Works for me, too.
I am as well. As the grandson of a WW1 Telephone Operator mobilized, put in uniform and sent to France to run the communications of GEN Pershing’s AEF, who were then demobilized and told they were NOT veterans (until designated Veterans in 1974), I fully support their being given Veteran sttatus.
Many are okay with some of Obola dictates. Some are okay with many of Obola dictates. Welcome to the slippery slope.
Non combatants are “veterans” of non combat operations. Combat veterans are just vets. Non combat journalist Algore doesn’t get the same respect as Gen. Patton.
I had no idea they weren’t allowed.
How did this guy get one right?
I’m afraid he couldn’t fall down the stairs correctly, but this one is good.
Just what the hell was his rationale for denying them ?
Freaking sellout bastich
-—Non combat journalist Algore doesn’t get the same respect as Gen. Patton.
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Gore was in the 20th Engineer same as me. I never met him, I went home in 69 and I think he joined in the 70’s, he would have been on administrative staff, but I am pretty sure all combat engineers (that brigade was designated as such) are considered combat vets.
But maybe because he was administrative he doesn’t qualify? I know some reporters of Stars and Stripes (we had one in our American Legion) were given combat status, so it’s a good question.
A more relevant question is are merchant marines allowed to be buried in Arlington?
They too got veteran status back in the 1970s~1980s, and I seem to recall the runs to England in late 1941 to the middle of 1943 were pretty dangerous. If your ship was torpedoed in winter, you were pretty much a dead man, as no one was going to stop to pick you up. I know my dad , who was a vet (US army), said that they were threatened with being drafted and sent directly to the infantry if they quit and supported that change of status.
That is the relevant question, as to if this is respect due a class of folks that contributed to the war effort, or just part of the continuing attempts to find some way to impose modern views on past generations and make women equal to men, even if they were not in reality. Kind of a Harriet Tubman is the same as General Jackson moment...
It also raises the question about the WWII and WWI state guard units, which guarded to coast, factories and bridges against sabotage. Not vets but kind of in the same nature as the WASPs. They were under arms, why not vet status for them? I know that a bunch died in WWI due to the influenza, so if deaths are relevant they are covered under that.
Also I think the CAP was involved in anti U-Boat patrols, how about them, There was danger in that, though I do not think any were killed.
How about factory workers in dangerous fields? I am sure the number of men killed in ship building industrial accidents alone were vastly higher then the number of WASPs killed.
Don’t forget the boy scouts, they gathered scrap metal and I am certain there were some painful metal cuts and scraps.
To me, just a personal thing, while I support the Merchant Marine getting vet status in WWII (because of the U-boat campaign and the dangers there, along with the treats to them is they quit), I kind of think the vet status should only be given to those in federal service who were subject to being potentially shot at in war.
aren’t congressman and senators allowed to be buried at Arlington?
I thought I read that somewhere.
I am unhappy obolo has his name on this.
This might be the only thing I’ve ever agreed with him on.
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