Legislation allows female WWII pilots to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery

[Rob L 3,811]

long overdue...

Female WWII pilots can be buried at Arlington

Female pilots who served in the air forces during World War II can now be buried at Arlington National Cemetery, thanks to legislation President Obama signed Friday.

Women Airforce Service Pilots, or WASPs, were buried at the military cemetery from 2002 until 2015, when then-Secretary of the Army John McHugh ruled that they never should have been allowed under then-current law. During the war, Congress voted down a bill that would have granted the female pilots military status.

In January, Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.), the longest-serving woman in Congress, introduced the bill that cleared the way for the burials. Rep. Martha McSally (R-Ariz.), a retired Air Force colonel who took office last year, pushed the bill in the House.

— Rachel Weiner https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/legislation-allows-female-wwii-pilots-to-be-buried-at-arlington-national-cemetery/2016/05/21/f4382e06-1ede-11e6-9c81-4be1c14fb8c8_story.html

[Jacque67 7,328]

Why did the then congress vote against it?