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 mili-
tary 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 du-
ties;
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-
•HRES 41 IH
ing Training Detachment (WFTD), and the Women Air
Force Service Pilots (WASPs);
Whereas women in the Air Force ferried planes from fac-
tories to airfields, performed test flights of repaired air-
craft, towed targets used in live gunnery practice by male
pilots, and performed a variety of other duties tradition-
ally assigned to men;
Whereas WASPs had better flight records, had fewer acci-
dents, and flew longer hours than male pilots with com-
parable responsibilities;
Whereas women pilots flew more than 77 types of warplanes,
from open-cockpit primary trainers to P-51 Mustangs, B-
26 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 classifica-
tion, 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 mili-
tary 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 vari-
ety of duties traditionally performed by men;
•HRES 41 IH
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 effi-
ciency, skill, spirit, and determination are immeas-
urable’’;
Whereas at the end of the war 657 women were honored for
their service in the WAAC and the WAC, receiving med-
als 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 air-
craft recognition, navigation, gunnery, radio, radar, air
combat information, and air fighter administration, but
were not allowed to be pilots;
•HRES 41 IH
Whereas, at the end of the war, Secretary of the Navy James
Forrestal stated that members of the WAVES ‘‘have ex-
ceeded 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 establish-
ments of the Marine Corps, and by the end of the war,
85 percent of the enlisted personnel assigned to Head-
quarters 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 capac-
ities;
Whereas these women, despite their merit and the recognized
value and importance of their contributions to the war ef-
fort, were not given status equal to their male counter-