Female WWII Pilots Can Have Ashes Placed at Arlington

Female pilots who served during World War II can finally have their ashes placed at Arlington National Cemetery due to legislation signed by President Barack Obama on Friday.

The Women Airforce Service Pilots, or WASPs, flew military aircrafts ferrying new planes and towing targets for training shooting. The program was started in 1942 due to a shortage of pilots and disbanded by Congress just two years later in 1944.

The pilots, who were not granted military status, were declared veterans in 1977 when President Jimmy Carter signed a law granting them the status and in 2010 they were presented with the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor bestowed by Congress.

Since the pilots were veterans, the Army argued they could not be buried at Arlington as the cemetery is run by the Army and not the Department of Veteran Affairs, the Washington Post reported. Between 2002 and 2015, the women were allowed to have their ashes placed at Arlington when then-Army Secretary John McHugh ruled it impermissible under federal law.

The law signed Friday awards the women full rights to have their ashes placed at Arlington.

“Today we have righted a terrible wrong so Women Airforce Service Pilots can once and for all be laid to rest alongside our nation’s patriots at Arlington National Cemetery,” Senator Mikulski (D-Md.), who introduced the bill to the Senate in January, said in a statement. “I introduced this legislation to honor the service and sacrifice of WASP in defending our freedom. If they were good enough to fly for our country, risk their lives and earn the Congressional Gold Medal, they should be good enough for Arlington. I applaud President Obama for signing this into law, restoring this high honor they have earned and deserve.”

Roughly 1,100 WASPs served during the war and 38 of those women women died during service.

Image via Department of Defense