123STA T . 1 960PUBLIC LA W 111 –4 0 —J UL Y 1 , 2009 (26)in197 7 ,3 3 years a ft ert h e WASPw ere d is b anded, the Co n g ress fina l ly v oted to give the WASP the veteran stat u s they had earned, but these heroi cp ilots were not invited to the signing cere m ony at the White H ouse, and it was not until 7 years later that their medals were delivered in the mail in plain brown envelopes
(27) in the late 197 0 s, more than 30 years after the WASP flew in World War I I, women were finally permitted to attend military pilot training in the U nited States Armed F orces; (2 8 ) thousands of women aviators flying support aircraft have benefitted from the service of the WASP and followed in their footsteps; (29) in 1993, the WASP were once again referenced during congressional hearings regarding the contributions that women could ma k e to the military, which eventually led to women being able to fly military fighter, bomber, and attack aircraft in combat; (30) hundreds of United States servicewomen combat pilots have sei z ed the opportunity to fly fighter aircraft in recent conflicts, all thanks to the pioneering steps taken by the WASP; (31) the WASP have maintained a tight - knit community, forged by the common e x periences of serving their country during war; (32) as part of their desire to educate America on the WASP history, WASP have assisted ‘ ‘Wings Across America ’ ’, an organization dedicated to educating the American public, with much effort aimed at children, about the remarkable accomplishments of these WWII veterans; and (33) the WASP have been honored with exhibits at numerous museums, to include — (A) the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D C; ( B ) the Women in M ilitary Service to America Memo- rial at Arlington N ational Cemetery, Arlington, V irginia; (C) the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, O hio; (D) the National WASP WWII Museum, Sweetwater, T exas; ( E ) the 8th Air Force Museum, Savannah, G eorgia; (F) the L one Star Flight Museum, Galveston, Texas; (G) the American Airpower Museum, Farmingdale, New Y ork; (H) the Pima Air Museum, Tucson, Arizona; (I) the Seattle Museum of Flight, Seattle, Washington; ( J ) the March Air Museum, March R eserve Air Base, California; and ( K ) the Texas State History Museum, Austin, Texas .SEC.2 .C ONGR ESS I ON AL GOL DM EDAL. (a) A WARD A UTHO R IZE D.—The President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall make appropriate arrangements for the award, on behalf of the Congress, of a single gold medal of appropriate design in honor of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) collectively, in recogni- tion of their pioneering military service and exemplary record, which forged revolutionary reform in the Armed Forces of the United States of America.
