WASPs’ Arlington burial nears reality
Congress finally approves eligibility for the World War II female pilot corps.
WASHINGTON — During World War II, they flew more than 60 million miles domestically, and handled test flights, repaired military aircraft and ferried officers around the U.S. They towed targets during live-ammunition training. Thirty-eight died while serving.
Now, under legislation approved by Congress, members of the Women Airforce Service Pilots program can be buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
About 1,000 women served stateside in the WASP program.
In 2002, Arlington’s administrator said that those who served in the program were eligible for full military honors upon being buried there, and that the women had been eligible for burial at Arlington since 1977. But last year, the secretary of the Army overturned that decision, saying it was wrong.
The family of pilot Elaine Harmon refused to accept that edict after Harmon’s will indicated that she wanted to be buried at Arlington. The Army’s decision came shortly before Harmon’s death at 95, and her ashes remain on a shelf in her daughter’s closet in Maryland.
In January the family teamed up with Rep. Susan A. Davis (D-San Diego) on legislation to allow those who served in the WASP program to be buried at Arlington. It passed the Senate on Tuesday and the House on Thursday. President Obama is expected to sign it.
Davis said she was thrilled the bill passed.
“These amazing women who helped win World War II deserve access to Arlington Cemetery and the full honors we give our war heroes,” she said in a statement. “It is an injustice that they are being denied access to Arlington, which has always been considered a special place of honor. If you are laid to rest in Arlington, it is known that you sacrificed to protect and preserve our democracy.”