Wheelis, who's now in a wheelchair and a little hard of hearing, has lost none of her spunk. One of 300 surviving WASPs, she proudly participated in a ceremony Wednesday at the Capitol that honored the women with the Congressional Gold Medal, one of the nation's highest civilian honors.

"This tops it off," the Weatherford, Texas, resident said of getting the award and the long-overdue recognition. "I wonder why it took so long."

The ceremony had to be moved from the Capitol Rotunda to the much larger Capitol Visitor Center's Emancipation Hall, because so many WASPs and their families attended.

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, said that more than 2,000 people were in the hall at what was "one of the largest crowds ever gathered in the Capitol."

"We acknowledge that for too long the proud service of the WASPs was not recognized in word or in deed," said Pelosi. "Today, we honor you as the heroes that you are."