IV

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. RES. 41

Honoring the women who served the United States in military capacities

during World War II and recognizing that these women contributed

vitally to the victory of the United States and the Allies in the war.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

FEBRUARY 4, 1999

Mrs. MYRICK submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the

Committee on Armed Services

RESOLUTION

Honoring the women who served the United States in military capacities during World War II and recognizing

that these women contributed vitally to the victory of

the United States and the Allies in the war.

Whereas during World War II women in the United States

were recruited into the armed forces to perform military

assignments so that men could be freed for combat duties;

Whereas, despite social stigmas and public opinion averse to

women in uniform, women enrolled in such numbers that

enrollment ceilings were reached within the first several

years;

Whereas in the Air Force women enrolled in the Women’s

Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS), the Women’s Fly-
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ing Training Detachment (WFTD), and the Women Air

Force Service Pilots (WASPs);

Whereas women in the Air Force ferried planes from factories to airfields, performed test flights of repaired aircraft, towed targets used in live gunnery practice by male

pilots, and performed a variety of other duties traditionally assigned to men;

Whereas WASPs had better flight records, had fewer accidents, and flew longer hours than male pilots with comparable responsibilities;

Whereas women pilots flew more than 77 types of warplanes,

from open-cockpit primary trainers to P-51 Mustangs, B26 Marauders, and B-29 Superfortresses;

Whereas from September 10, 1942, to December 20, 1944,

1,074 women WASPs flew an aggregate 60,000,000

miles in wartime service;

Whereas, although WASPs were promised military classification, they were classified as civilians, and the 38 WASPs

who died in the line of duty were buried without military

honors;

Whereas WASPs did not receive official acceptance as military veterans until March 1979, when WASP units were

formally recognized as components of the Air Force;

Whereas in the Army women enrolled in the Women’s Army

Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) and the Women’s Army Corps

(WAC);

Whereas these women served the Army by performing a variety of duties traditionally performed by men;
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Whereas in 1943 the Army removed the auxiliary status of

the WAAC units, in unspoken recognition of the value of

their services;

Whereas General Eisenhower stated, ‘‘During the time I have

had WACs under my command they have met every test

and task assigned to them; their contributions in efficiency, skill, spirit, and determination are immeasurable’’;

Whereas at the end of the war 657 women were honored for

their service in the WAAC and the WAC, receiving medals and citations including the Distinguished Service

Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Air Medal, the Soldiers’

Medal for heroic actions, the Purple Heart, and the

Bronze Star;

Whereas in 1946 the Army requested that Congress establish

the WAC as a permanent part of the Army, perhaps the

single greatest indication of the value of the WAC to the

war effort;

Whereas in the Navy women enrolled in the Navy Women’s

Auxiliary Reserve (WAVES);

Whereas WAVES served the Navy in a variety of capacities

and in such numbers that, according to a Navy estimate,

enough men were freed for combat duty to crew the ships

of an entire major task force, including a battleship, two

large aircraft carriers, two heavy cruisers, four light

cruisers, and 15 destroyers;

Whereas WAVES who served in naval aviation taught aircraft recognition, navigation, gunnery, radio, radar, air

combat information, and air fighter administration, but

were not allowed to be pilots;
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Whereas, at the end of the war, Secretary of the Navy James

Forrestal stated that members of the WAVES ‘‘have exceeded performance of men in certain types of work, and

the Navy Department considers it to be very desirable

that these important services rendered by women during

the war should likewise be available in postwar years

ahead’’;

Whereas in the Coast Guard women enrolled in the Coast

Guard Women’s Reserve (SPARs);

Whereas more than 10,000 women volunteered for service

with the Coast Guard during 1942 and 1946, and when

the Coast Guard was at the peak of its strength during

the war, 1 out of every 16 members was a SPAR;

Whereas SPARs were the first women in the United States

to attend a military academy, and by filling shore jobs

for the Coast Guard they freed men to serve elsewhere;

Whereas in the Marine Corps women enrolled in the Marine

Corps Women’s Reserve;

Whereas more than 20,000 women served at shore establishments of the Marine Corps, and by the end of the war,

85 percent of the enlisted personnel assigned to Headquarters U.S. Marine Corps were women;

Whereas women were assigned to over 200 different duties in

the Marine Corps, and by performing these duties they

freed men for active duty;

Whereas by the end of World War II more than 400,000

women had served the United States in military capacities;

Whereas these women, despite their merit and the recognized

value and importance of their contributions to the war effort, were not given status equal to their male counter-
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parts and struggled for years to receive the appreciation

of the Congress and the people of the United States;

Whereas these women helped to catalyze the social, demographic, and economic evolutions that occurred in the

1960s and 1970s and continue to this day; and

Whereas these pioneering women are owed a great debt of

gratitude for their service to the United States: Now,

therefore, be it

1 Resolved,

2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

3 This resolution may be cited as the ‘‘Honoring Amer4 ican Military Women For Their Service in World War II

5 Resolution’’.

6 SEC. 2. RESOLUTION.

7 The House of Representatives—

8 (1) honors the women who served the United

9 States in military capacities during World War II;

10 (2) commends these women who, through sense

11 of duty and willingness to defy stereotypes and polit12 ical pressures, performed military assignments so

13 that men could be freed for combat duties; and

14 (3) recognizes that these women, by serving

15 with diligence and merit, not only opened up oppor16 tunities for women that had been reserved to men,

17 but also contributed vitally to the victory of the

18 United States and the Allies in World War II.

Æ