Veteran Pilots on Congress' Radar, Finally

After 65 years, the World War II Women Air Force Service Pilots are finally on Congress' radar. The WASPS will be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor today in Washington, D.C. These are the women who flew millions of miles in the U.S. during World War II, relieving their male counterparts to fly overseas missions during the war.

When they were done with their mission, these servicewomen disappeared off the Veterans Administration's radar. They received no benefits. Not that they complained -- they just went back to work and back home. It took until 1977 for Congress to authorize veterans benefits for them.

There are about 300 WASPS alive today, all in their eighties. Read the full story here.

Several days ago I wrote about how it's taken three decades years for Brown Water Veterans to be awarded benefits for exposure to Agent Orange. You might say "better late than never," but the truth is that for many veterans, late means never. With the wheels of government turning so slowly, they don't live long enough to get their benefits. We need to speed things up. When it comes to our veterans, better late than never isn't good enough.