The women served in a unit called Women Airforce Service Pilots. They flew noncombat missions to free male pilots for combat. They were considered civilians during the war, but federal law since 1977 granted them veteran status. They had been eligible since 2002 to have their ashes placed at Arlington with military honors. But in March 2015, then-Secretary of the Army John McHugh revoked the WASPs’ eligibility to have their ashes placed at the cemetery. The bill Obama signed Friday reverses McHugh’s decision. The WASP program ran from 1942 to 1944. Just over 1,000 women served in the unit.]]>