WASHINGTON D.C. (WTAQ) - They were known as the “Fly Girls” – women who volunteered to fly for the Army in various support roles during World War II. Wednesday, the first of those women were honored in Washington – including 2 from Wisconsin who could not attend. 89-year-old Elinore Owen Pyle of Merrill and 87-year-old Ethel Jones Sheffler of Appleton were among those receiving the Congressional Gold Medal. It’s the highest honor that Congress gives civilians – and the Fly Girls were honored 6 decades after they served.
More than 1,100 women tested fighter planes, shuttled aircraft among Army bases, and delivered supplies for target practice from 1942 to ’44. Pyle said she did it because her country needed her, and she always wanted to fly. Sheffler said she, too, was proud to serve. But she noted that other military women who followed went beyond anything she’d ever do – including Lieutenant Colonel Nicole Malachowski, the first female member of the Air Force Thunderbirds.
