A long-overlooked group of women who flew aircraft during World War II were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal yesterday — and one of the honorees was Manchester’s Mary Paul “Paulie” Loomis.
Known as Women Airforce Service Pilots, or WASPs, they were the first women to fly U.S. military planes, and about 200 of the female aviators — mostly in their late 80s and early 90s, some in wheelchairs — traveled to the Capitol to accept the medal, the highest civilian honor bestowed by Congress.
Loomis, who lives on Forster Road, was accompanied in Washington by her son Tim, grandson Andrew, and granddaughter Lucy.
The 84-year-old mother of four and grandmother of nine is an avid traveler.
According to daughter-in-law Toni, Tim's wife, Loomis accompanied her late husband, Henry, around the world when he worked for the United States Information Agency — an independent foreign affairs agency supporting U.S. foreign policy and national interests abroad.
Attempts to reach Loomis, who was due back in Boston last night, were unsuccessful by press time yesterday. But, in thanking them for their service, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said yesterday these women pilots went unrecognized for too long.
"Women Air Force Service Pilots, we are all your daughters, you taught us how to fly," Pelosi said. "Jean Hascall Cole, a WASP from class 44-W-2 once said, 'Once you have flown an airplane, your world is never the same again.' Once the WASPs took to the sky, the world was never the same for many of us."
In accepting her award, one WASP pilot, Deanie Parrish, said the women had volunteered to fly the planes without expectation that they would ever be thanked. Their mission was to fly noncombat missions to free up male pilots to fly overseas.
"Over 65 years ago we each served our country without any expectation of recognition or glory and we did it without compromising the values that we were taught growing up ... We did it because our country needed us," Parrish said.
Thirty-eight WASPS were killed in service. But they were long considered civilians, not members of the military, and thus were not entitled to the pay and benefits given to the men.
When their unit of more than 1,000 was disbanded in 1944, many even had to pay their own bus fare home from a Texas airfield.
They were afforded veteran status in 1977 after a long fight.
It's estimated that about 300 WASP aviators are still alive.
U.S. Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, and Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., along with Congressmen Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., and Susan Davis, D-Calif., led the push in Congress to get the women recognized.
"Today, the accomplishments of the WASPs will be writ large in our nation's history," Pelosi said. "Answering our country's call, the WASPs demonstrated courage and patriotism and excellence and competence.
"Their bravery inspires and awes us," she added. "Their success allowed the success of generations since and generations to come."
The Congressional Gold Medal was awarded in 2000 to the Navajo Code Talkers and in 2006 to the Tuskegee Airmen.
Material from the Associated Press was used in this report by Jonathan L'Ecuyer, who can be reached at 978-283-7000 x 3451 or jlecuyer@gloucestertimes.com.
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