WASHINGTON – For 96-year-old Betty Wall Strohfus, the barrier to Arlington National Cemetery represents just one more battle in her lifetime push for gender equity in the Armed Forces.
Strohfus is a Faribault resident who was a pilot during World War II. She served from 1943 to 1944 and piloted eight different aircraft, including the B-17 and the B-26. In addition to flying anti-aircraft training missions, she was a flight instructor, allowing male pilots to remain in combat.
The Women Airforce Service Pilots called themselves WASPs, and there were only about 1,100 of them. They weren't recognized as veterans until 1977, after decades of lobbying in Congress.
They still do not have rights to have their ashes inurned at Arlington National Cemetery — something Sen. Amy Klobuchar and a number of other female senators are trying to change.
The Minnesota Democrat wrote a letter to Defense Secretary Ash Carter in January asking the Army to allow the remaining WASPs — there are only about 100 still alive nationwide — to be able to have their ashes laid to rest at the cemetery if they choose.
Last week, the Pentagon said no.
Officials explained that they had rights to be buried at other veterans' cemeteries, but not Arlington. They cited space limitations and Arlington's "unique status as the nation's pre-eminent military shrine." Officials also pointed out that a WASP could always ask the Pentagon for an exception to the policy.
Klobuchar said she was disgusted and was going to keep pushing on behalf of the surviving women, all of whom are in their 90s. She said she would assist any WASP who wanted a waiver and she co-sponsored a measure that could get tucked into the military spending measure this year that would change the policy.
"The point is it's just cremated remains, it's not going to take up that much space," Klobuchar said. "We can't change history and how they were treated for years, but we can change how they are honored."
