Susan Davis: “Thank you so much. I am so glad that my colleague from Arizona is here to speak to this. She is very uniquely qualified…”

“Thank you so much. I am so glad that my colleague from Arizona is here to speak to this. She is very uniquely qualified to do that as one of the first women pilots--or the first--to actually fly in combat. As I remember, the women who joined us a few years ago here in the Capitol who were part of the WASPs were here to receive Gold Medals for their heroic acts during the war and for really coming forward and being part of that volunteer band of women who had had some experience in flying, but who could not have imagined in their wildest dreams doing what they were asked to do, but they were delighted to do it. As I will share, they actually wanted to do more, but there were some other people who took over and asked them to go home and enjoy their lives after they had given so much. So I am just delighted to join in this effort and to right this injustice for military trailblazers who were truly ahead of their time. When the call came to serve in World War II, the WASPs answered that call just like millions of other Americans. They logged over 60 million miles in over 12,000 aircraft. As my colleague has said, 38 WASP women died while serving their country. In 2009, as I mentioned, the WASPs were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for flying military missions in World War II. Boy, even when they were here, they were just a strong group of women who delighted in seeing one another and in reminding themselves of the amazing stories that they brought.…”