Highlights and Insights: Medal of Honor

Discover Cleto Rodriguez’s heroic World War II story of courage and sacrifice—an inspiring tale perfect for sparking classroom discussion.

By September of 1942, the U.S. was in dire need of pilots, and the U.S. Army Air Forces decided to try allowing women to fly their planes. Led by famed aviators Jacqueline Cochran and Nancy Harkness Love, over 1,800 women did the same flight training as men and 1,102 won their wings. They served in the same roles as men service pilots, including flying complicated bombers and towing targets behind planes to train ground gunners who fired live ammunition at them. In the two years they served the women flew 77 types of aircraft over 60 million miles. The Women Airforce Service Pilots did not fly in combat, but thirty-eight women were killed flying for their country. They were disbanded in December 1944 as more men began surviving the war and returning home to take over domestic flying. However, despite their important work, they were sent home with no benefits and no recognition. Over thirty years later, after a long grassroots effort, the government finally recognized them as Veterans of World War II.

Join Dr. Donna Esposito and NMPW's Chris McDougal as they give great tips and examples of how to find documents and information about military personnel from WWII.