二战女飞行员被允许葬于阿灵顿公墓

AS IT IS 2016-05-30 Women Pilots Allowed Back Into Arlington for Burial 二战女飞行员被允许葬于阿灵顿公墓

Women World War II pilots are again guaranteed full burial honors at Arlington National Cemetery¹.

That is because the two main U.S. political parties put their differences aside to change the policy that had blocked the women’s burial at Arlington.

Both houses of Congress approved a bill to permit inurnment of the remains³ at the cemetery, just outside Washington, D.C. President Barack Obama signed it into law on May 20.

The government once had a policy that gave the former Women Airforce Service Pilots, known as WASP⁴, rights to be buried at Arlington. But that policy was canceled in 2015.

The new law gives women who flew during World War II the right to be inurned in the nation’s highest honor military cemetery. Inurnment means their ashes can be laid to rest there.

"The Women Airforce Service Pilots courageously⁵ answered their country's call in a time of need,” President Obama said, when signing the bill into law. “[They blazed] a trail for the brave women who have given and continue to give so much in service to this nation since."

The issue was personal for Tiffany Miller⁶ and her sisters. Their grandmother, Lieutenant⁷ Elaine Danforth Harmon, had been a WASP pilot. They said she wanted to be buried at Arlington Cemetery.

So they started an online campaign to give her the burial she wanted.

“It was her last wish to be in Arlington," Miller told CNN. "We haven't been able to hold a funeral for her because we wanted to honor that wish."

Harmon died in April at age 95.

The issue also was personal for Maryland Senator Barbara Mikulski. She knew Harmon, who had lived in Maryland.

Mikulski, a member of the Democratic Party, worked with Iowa Senator Joni Ernst, a Republican, to quickly move the bill through Congress.

Mikulski said she proposed the legislation “to honor the service and sacrifice of WASP in defending our freedom.”

She said, “if they were good enough to fly for our country … they should be good enough for Arlington.”

Back in 2009, Mikulski proposed a bill to award the Congressional Gold Medal to the WASP. Congress presents the gold medal for exceptional acts of service to the United States or for lifetime achievement. The women pilots received the award in March 2010.

But since the beginning of the WASP program, those women struggled to be considered military veterans. The program lasted two years -- from 1942-1944 – and just over 1,000 women served in it. Of those, 38 died in service -- 11 in training and 27 during military operations.

Noncombat missions

The women pilots did not fly in actual battles, but took part in non- combat duties across the country. They trained male pilots on how to operate aircraft. They also towed targets for live-ammunition air-to-air gunnery training.

But the female pilots also faced bias⁸ against women serving in nontraditional positions. They were considered civilians⁹ throughout their wartime service.

"If a girl got killed, her parents didn't get anything, not even a flag -- nothing," WASP Barbara Erickson London told CBS News in 2014. "Not even any acknowledgement that their daughter had been in the military."

The women pilots were finally given veteran status in 1977. In 2002, Arlington Cemetery said the women could have their ashes buried there with military honors.

But that policy changed in 2015 when then-Army Secretary John McHugh wrote that the cemetery did not have the ability to permit such inurnments. The Army also noted¹⁰ space restrictions¹¹ at the cemetery.

Arlington cemetery

Arlington National Cemetery, founded in 1866, is a military cemetery located across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. More than 300,000 veterans of every American conflict, from the Revolutionary War to Iraq and Afghanistan are buried there.

But with less space, the cemetery now has strict rules for ground burials. Most active duty members of the Armed Forces, and any veteran retired¹² from active service, can be buried in Arlington.

And now, Mikulski said in a statement, the WASP “can once and for all be laid to rest alongside our nation’s patriots¹³ at Arlington National Cemetery.”

Words in This Story

inurnment – n. the placement of ashes, cremated¹⁴ remains, in an urn² for burial

blaze – v. to move very quickly

online – adj. relating to the internet

achievement – n. a result gained by effort

combat – adj. engaging in battle

tow - v. to carry something behind a vehicle

bias – n. prejudice, a personal and unreasoned judgment¹⁵ against someone

strict – adj. careful obeying of the rules

1 cemetery   

n.坟墓，墓地，坟场

参考例句：

• He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
• His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。

2 urn   

n.（有座脚的）瓮；坟墓；骨灰瓮

参考例句：

• The urn was unearthed entire.这只瓮出土完整无缺。
• She put the big hot coffee urn on the table and plugged it in.她将大咖啡壶放在桌子上,接上电源。

3 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

4 wasp   

n.黄蜂，蚂蜂

参考例句：

• A wasp stung me on the arm.黄蜂蜇了我的手臂。
• Through the glass we can see the wasp.透过玻璃我们可以看到黄蜂。

5 courageously   

ad.勇敢地，无畏地

参考例句：

• Under the correct leadership of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, the army and civilians in flooded areas fought the floods courageously, reducing the losses to the minimum. 在中共中央、国务院的正确领导下，灾区广大军民奋勇抗洪，把灾害的损失减少到了最低限度。
• He fought death courageously though his life was draining away. 他虽然生命垂危，但仍然勇敢地与死亡作斗争。

6 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

7 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

8 bias   

n.偏见，偏心，偏袒；vt.使有偏见

参考例句：

• They are accusing the teacher of political bias in his marking.他们在指控那名教师打分数有政治偏见。
• He had a bias toward the plan.他对这项计划有偏见。

9 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

10 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

11 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

12 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

13 patriots   

爱国者，爱国主义者( patriot的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Abraham Lincoln was a fine type of the American patriots. 亚伯拉罕·林肯是美国爱国者的优秀典型。
• These patriots would fight to death before they surrendered. 这些爱国者宁愿战斗到死，也不愿投降。

14 cremated   

v.火葬，火化（尸体）( cremate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He wants to is cremated, not buried. 他要火葬，不要土葬。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The bodies were cremated on the shore. 他们的尸体在海边火化了。 来自辞典例句

15 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。