Posted on 05/12/2016 7:32:31 PM PDT by Kaslin
Congress has approved a burial plot in Arlington National Cemetery for women who served as pilots during WWII. The women served as Women Airforce Service Pilots, or WASP. They flew noncombat and training missions, but their jobs weren't entirely without danger--38 women died in service. Despite this, they weren't considered to be veterans until 1977, when federal law changed to acknowledge their service. Even still, the Army revoked the right of WASP to be buried at Arlington in 2015. Pending President Obama's signature, that will change shortly.
The legislation to reinstate their eligibility was introduced by Rep. Martha McSally (R-AZ).
[...]the WASP spent years fighting to win status as war veterans before a federal law finally recognized their military service in 1977. As veterans, the WASP had been eligible for years to have their ashes buried in Arlington National Cemetery. But that changed last year, when the Army revoked their right to be laid to rest in the veterans cemetery, citing limited space.
"The Army is giving some bureaucratic answer that makes absolutely no sense," said Rep. Martha McSally, R-Ariz., on Here & Now in March. McSally introduced the legislation to allow the WASP the honor of being buried at Arlington.
"These women should have been active duty at the time," McSally said. "The requirements to being in Arlington are very clear: To have your ashes inurned you have to have served on active duty and you have to have been honorably discharged. And they meet that criteria retroactively."
About 100 women who served in WASP are still alive.
This is fantastic news. These women served their country during a time of need, and should be recognized as such. Roles in the military for women were extremely limited in the 1940s--and these women did what they were able to do, bravely.
PC may be like the plague, but it's not actually in *everything*. From the article, these women became eligible for veteran's burials in Arlington back in 1977. The Army revoked that privilege last year (no reason was given), so now this is being corrected back to the '77 status quo. 1977 was pre-political correctness, IIRC. That crap got started during the '80s.
A cynic might suspect the military's recent revocation of burial privileges as a complicit act, allowing the administration to publicly "correct the injustice" - complete with ruffles and flourishes.
Excellent!
I’m just a cynic. I believe that space should be reserved for:
Any former member of the Armed Forces whose duty in the military terminated honorably and who actually heard shots fired in anger. For example, anyone who’s been awarded....
The Medal of Honor; a Distinguished Service Cross (Air Force Cross or Navy Cross) or Distinguished Service Medal; a Silver Star, Bronze Star, or Purple Heart; or has at least won a CIB (or equivalent) in combat or been involved in combat in some manner.
While there are many honorable cooks and quartermasters, nurses and motor pool technicians, radarmen and mechanics, it’s my own, personal prejudice that space in The Garden should be reserved for fighters only.
Just my two cents’ worth. So shoot me.
If you remember Bill Clinton was Selling Plots at Arlington and that isn’t a Joke, he really was.
He sold one to Oreville Reddinbaucker (sp) the popcorn guy
After that me and my buds would basically camp out in his front yard, hell he was right on the beach, piss on everything and leave every beer bottle/can wherever and beg/dare him to call the cops or tell us to leave.
Cops would not touch us, some guys even set up tents.
He didn’t want the bad press and we didn’t want him buried at Arlington.
WE WON and we had some good times doing it too!
(Cool thing was that his house was like all Glass, he could see everything we were doing, I don’t feel all that bad about the mess we were leaving, we helped his folks clean up everything every morning,(well at least those of us that were awake))
That's a very good question.
I'm glad these heroic, patriotic female WWII pilots are now approved to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery. 70 years too late, though.
see post 24
About time.
What’s the problem. They are veterans,they served honorably,treat them that way.
Many, many female heroes helped deliver us from that evil.....Long overdue!
Agreed. Next up, permanent latrine homosexual orderlies will be on the same stage. Laugh now. It’s coming, and the fact that they were queers will be highlighted.
great story!
Before I chime in I’d like to know what the requirements for burial have historically been
I gather these gals ferried aircraft around the USA during WWII
Honorable no doubt but are they changing these rules for them?
My grandfather was in his mid to late 30s devoted to WWII buildup and conflict
He as a military contractor built and painted bases all over the USA from 1937-1955 and got rich doing it
He still served his country building all these places like Shelby or Eglin hangars etc we needed
So is he qualified?
Not that we’re moving him.....
Where does it end?
What about men who ferried military birds domestically
Are they qualified too?
Any of the immediate emotional replies here get my point?
On a conservative forum posters go with emotive personal responses right out of the gate and it’s scary
It’s a sign how far we have stumbled ...nobody dare risk being called sexist
I don’t have enough info to say qualitatively but it’s highly political
If you can’t see how Obama excluding female veterans from Arlington is an anti-women move, I expect I can’t explain it where you’d understand it.
When Obama ‘recognized’ women by excluding the female WWII pilots from the cemetery?
The problem seems to be the vagueness of your ‘war on women’ comment. The article posted is not a part of any ‘war on women’, but rather a rectification.
As an aside, there is no war on women. If there is any war of that type, it is the war on white men.
He as a military contractor
———————\
Are military contractors veterans?
The reason this became an issue is the women were not actually in the military. They were civilians hired by the military to transport planes. Just as our military hires contractors now to do certain jobs, these ladies were not serving in the military.
The ladies did a very dangerous and necessary job and did it well. They should have received significant recognition for what they did.
People are trying to make this out to be something it is not, many women did serve in our military in World War II, they have full rights as veterans.
These women did not serve in the military, I have no issue with them being given certain benefits now, but they did not previously get military recognition and benefits because they were not in the military, not because they are women.
Those lhotos she had of her ferrying planes into other Afroca were quite convincing.
You are correct and spurredy memory.
She did say she could only fly into non active theatres...flew to Africa but bot into Europe.
I worked with a guy years ago whom I knew had been in Vietnam, when I saw that list somewhere.
I said to him, “if you’ve got a Silver Star you can get buried at Arlington.”
His reply, “Well, I’ve got three of them so that shouldn’t be a problem.”
Until now, women of the Women Airforce Service have been excluded since they started dying after WW II.
There are many women veterans buried at Arlington and have been since the 1860’s.
POS Obama had nothing to do with excluding them.
You really do need to brush up on this history.
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