PHOTOS: Service in the Skies

Service in the Skies December 11, 2014  |  Caleb Smith  |  View Online It was a special moment yesterday when leaders from the U.S. House and Senate came together to present a Congressional Gold Medal in honor of the members of the Civil Air Patrol, who served selflessly during World War II.  As Speaker Boehner said to the more than 600 gathered in Emancipation Hall of the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center, "These were just private citizens who wanted to lend a hand...they were clerks, bus drivers, doctors, mechanics, salesmen, and plumbers...and we were lucky to have them up there." Betty Strohfus is one of those private citizens who served in the skies when her country needed her most.  During WWII, she worked as a Women Airforce Service Pilot (W.A.S.P), flying the biggest bomber planes and testing those aircrafts that had been damaged in combat.  Betty, along with the thousands of others whose service is recognized by this Congressional Gold Medal, could not have been more proud. Office of Speaker Boehner • H-232, The Capitol • Washington, DC • 202-225-0600 .