Obviously, World War II had its share of badass ladies: women who went to work and took on what were then (and now, really) considered "men's jobs" to help with the war effort and make some extra money. But I hadn't, until this morning when my mom told me about a story she'd seen on the Today show, been aware of the WASPs (Women Airforce Service Pilots) of WWII.
While the MSNBC article says that "Their mission was to fly noncombat missions to free up male pilots to fly overseas," 38 of these women ended up being killed in service. Despite this, they received almost no recognition and weren't even considered veterans until 1977. These women "weren't considered 'real' military pilots. No flags were draped over their coffins when they died on duty. And when their service ended, they had to pay their own bus fare home."
They were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in March 2010. WASP pilot Ty Hughes Killen remarked, "I really don't care for publicity but what I really do care about is the 900 or more that are already dead and gone and have not had the cognizance and recognition that I feel they should have for their families."
So when you go about your Memorial Day festivities, I hope you'll take a moment to recognize and reflect on those war heroes who tend to go unsung and unrecognized, and realize that there are a lot more people involved in war than we often see.
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