The episode described in the Finnish article may have been the physical screening of former Lafayette Escadrille and Flying Corps flyers for service in the USAS. None of the Escadrille pilots passed, and exemptions had to be granted on a case by case basis to allow these veteran combat pilots to fly. This was the result of the physical standards for flyers being unrelated to the relevant physical requirements. This wasn't all that surprising. Aviation was in its infancy, and aviation medicine was younger still. Thus we have the legacy of the spinning chair test, and the notion that skill in horsemanship was a good indication of success as a flyer.
It was common in the European air services for people to turn to flying after being declared unfit for ground or sea service!
As for why the standards are so rigid, I suggest that the answer may be as simple as the matter of supply and demand. During WW1, the loss rate for flyers was high, and the demand for replacements continued to grow well into 1918. The answer to this was to grant exemptions, rather than reevaluate the standards. A similar policy was followed in the early days of WW2. Today, military aviation is much less manpower intensive than it was. Given the luxury of extreme selectivity, it is unlikely that any meaningful reevaluation of flight physical standards will take place any time soon.
