When Dori Martin and Marylyn Myers Peyton joined the U.S. Air Force in the 1940s, little did they know that they would one day become a part of history.

Martin, 88, and Peyton, 86, were part of the thousand or so women who were recruited as civilian pilots in the U.S. military at the height of World War II. These Women Airforce Service Pilots -- better known as WASP -- became the first females to fly military aircraft for the U.S. armed forces.

"We never thought of ourselves as making history," Martin said.

Today, nearly 66 years after their service, the first fly girls will be awarded the Congressional gold medal.