Female flier in WWII honored by Congress

The children of the late Mary Cooper Cox of Watertown will gather today at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., for a ceremony honoring their mother and the other female pilots of WASP, the Women Airforce Service Pilots of World War II, with a Congressional Gold Medal.

Long underappreciated, the women were the first females to fly American military aircraft and set a precedent for women's service in the Air Force. Legislation was enacted in July to honor WASP members with the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest honor Congress bestows to civilians.

Ms. Cox, 85, who died of lung cancer in December, had looked forward to receiving the honor, her son, James C. Cox, Chesapeake, Va., said Tuesday. In addition to James, two of his three siblings will attend the ceremony in Mary Cox's place: George E. Cox, Bethesda, Md., and Katrina M. Cox, Watertown.

An active member of the community, Ms. Cox lived most of her life in Watertown and moved to Clayton in the early 2000s. Among many other activities, Ms. Cox gave flying lessons at Watertown International Airport, where she met her husband, George E. Cox Jr.

Speaking Tuesday from Washington, D.C., Katrina Cox said her mother, like other WASP members, didn't expect honors for her service during World War II.

"They did it because they loved it, and for their country," she said.

Katrina and her brother George had just attended an event honoring the 38 Women Airforce Service Pilots killed on duty during the war. Many of the former pilots attended with their families and friends.

The youngest living WASP member is now 85 — but it wasn't your typical gathering of elderly ladies, Mr. Cox said. Some wore uniforms, while others showed their pride simply through "the glitter in their eyes and the smiles on their faces," he said. But for all, "it seemed just a special moment for these women, who did something extraordinary in their time."

The pilots in uniform had obtained them after their service — during their training, female pilots were given only the smallest men's uniforms available, according to a Web site maintained by Wings Across America, a group devoted to preserving the history of the WASPs.

It wasn't the only discourtesy the pilots suffered. With stiffer skill requirements, inferior training facilities and equipment, and lower pay than their male counterparts, the WASPs boosted the ranks of U.S. military pilots to fill a desperate shortage as the nation entered the war. Banned from receiving military honors if killed on active duty, denied veteran status after their service until 1984 and abruptly relieved of their roles in December 1944, when they were forced to pay their own way home, the 1,074 female pilots flew every kind of military aircraft in every type of mission except combat during their service.

Today's Congressional Gold Medal ceremony offers a reversal of the official neglect WASP members endured for so long.

Attending pre-ceremony events Tuesday was "overwhelming," Katrina Cox said, "because of what's being done for these women, to be here to celebrate what they deserve."