WASP

You have all heard the question, “If you could have dinner with any person from history, who would it be?”  Most people reply; George Washington, Gandhi, Jesus Christ or Einstein, but my answer has always been Eleanor J. Patterson (Brady), my grandmother.

Pat, as she was known to all, was a WASP, Women Airforce Service Pilots during World War II.  These were the first women in history to fly American military aircraft.

 In 1941 Jacqueline Cochran, America's leading woman pilot of the time, convinced General Hap Arnold, Chief of the Army Air Forces, that women, if given the same training as men, would be equally capable of flying military aircraft and could then take over some military flying jobs, thereby releasing hundreds of male pilots for combat duty.  More than 25,000 American women applied for training, but only 1,830 were accepted and went through the same military flight training as the male Army Air Force.  Only 1,074 of these women completed the training.  However, unlike their male counterparts, they had to pay their way to the training bases in Texas as well as pay for their training.  If one of their sisters died in service, they would all pitch in enough money to send her body home.  Since they were not recognized as military service, their families were not allowed a funeral with an American flag or to put a gold star in their window.  During their service from 1942 to 1944, 38 brave women died for their country.  When the WASP were disbanded at the end of 1944 these women had to pay their own way home.  Also, unlike the male air force pilots, these women faced much discrimination and bias and were never recognized for serving in their country’s military.

These courageous young women flew every type of military aircraft in every type of mission except combat.  Their assignments included test and instructor pilots, ferrying, transporting personnel and cargo, flying targets for air-to-air and ground-to-air target practices, smoke laying, night tracking, and flying drones.  They flew over 6 million miles for their country.

In December of 1944 the WASP’s were disbanded with no honors, no benefits, and very few thank-yous.  The military service records were immediately sealed shut and marked as classified and secret, leading to the unfortunate case of many historians forgetting this important chapter in our U.S. history books.  Not only did the WASP service help win the war and keep our country free and safe, but their military service is the sole reason that women have been able to excel in the military ranks.  Today not only are women allowed in the military, but they can fly in combat missions and have even flown space shuttles. 

On December 7, 1944, in a speech to the last graduating class of WASP, General Arnold said: “You and more than 900 of your sisters have shown you can fly wingtip to wingtip with your brothers. I salute you ..... We of the Army Air Force are proud of you. We will never forget our debt to you.”  General Arnold might have meant what he said, but unfortunately the U.S. Government has forgotten about these influential women in their country’s history.  Not until thirty-three years after their service did Congress vote to give them the veteran status that they deserved.  No one was invited to the signing ceremony and their veteran medals were unceremoniously delivered in a plain brown envelope in the mail.

Now, sixty-six years after their service, thanks to the constant work of organizations like Wings Across America who strive to educate the nation about the service these women provided, Congress has finally consented to giving the WASP the same recognition as the Tuskegee Airmen and the Navajo Code Talkers by awarding the WASP the Congressional Gold medal. 

I never had the pleasure of meeting my grandmother; she and my grandfather died several years after their military service during WWII, my grandfather dying while on active duty.  Their deaths left my father and his three siblings orphaned.   Her dutiful service in the WASP is of great pride to our family.  I personally live everyday striving to be as courageous and adventurous as my personal hero whom I’ve never met.

My family followed closely when we learned that a bill to recognize these women with the Congressional Gold Medal was put forth before Congress, hoping that one day Eleanor J. Patterson Brady would finally get the honor she earned.  When the bill was quickly pushed through congress, anxious and excited conversations flourished between my aunts, uncle and cousins as to who would go represent their mother at the ceremony on March 10^th, 2010.  With my father being delegated, airline tickets bought, hotel paid for, RSVP sent in, the entire family was anxiously awaiting his upcoming departure to Washington D.C. only to find out yesterday, just days before the ceremony, that we are no longer welcome to come.   As always, no clear explanation was given by our national politicians only an impersonal e-mail was sent; something about “due to the overwhelming response” was given and “for your own protection” the attendance now needs to be limited and the reception canceled.  So now the ceremony is restricted to only a handful of the surviving 278 WASP (most of which, now in their late 80’s, are too elderly or ill to travel) as well as those lucky enough to receive their invitations and sepond before the unannounced deadline. Some children of late WASP members will not get to receive their mothers’ medals.  These medals will probably be unceremoniously mailed in a plain brown paper envelope.

I’m no politician, but what seems logical in my mind, is that if I was planning an event that got “too great of a response,” then I would conclude that this cause is obviously very important to many people and had been ignored for far too many years.  I would spend the remaining days finding a larger venue and tripling my efforts of event planning, which was obviously quite inadequate to begin with, rather than turning deserving families away.  For some reason, this seems to have surprised congress that so many sons and daughters of the WASP wanted to honor their mothers’ courage.  When conversing with my father about the e-mail he received and the line about “for your safety and security” he said, “I find it strange that as a nation we are now too scared to honor the women that were courageous enough to keep us free.”

Unfortunately, as with most issues with our government, we are left with little recourse except to let our politicians know our displeasure by writing Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison and Senator Barbara Mikulski, the two women responsible for sponsoring this bill in the congress, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi who was responsible for the award ceremony.   I hope that my family and friends will also think this issue great enough to take some time out of their daily lives to write to these women and voice your opinion about how it is unfair to refuse my family the honor of accepting my grandmothers’ medal in her name after denying her for sixty-six years the recognition of her military service

Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison- Texas State Senator -Original Sponsor of the Bill

 http://www.hutchison.senate.gov/contact.cfm

Senator Barbara Mikulski- Maryland State Senator- Bill Co-Sponsor

http://mikulski.senate.gov/Contact/contact.cfm

Nancy Pelosi- Speaker of the House- Host for Award Ceremony

http://www.speaker.gov/contact/