"Mildred Carter"

Was Alabama's first African American female pilot.She earned her pilot's license on on February 1,1941.With 150 hours of  flight time logged,Mildred flew the skies in a two-plane formation with her husband Herbert Carter.In a campus publication,Mildred had been given the title of  "Miss Tuskegee Army Flying School"by her colleagues at Tuskegee Air Field.Known as the Tuskegee Airmen Organization's "First Family," the Carters were married for nearly 70 years.Mildred's days of flying included an in-flight rendezvous in which she and her husband met above a local lake to send "I love you"signals in the air.Mildred,a Benson,Alabama native,graduated with a business degree from Tuskegee Institute at 19 years old.She was denied entry into the Civilian Pilot Training Program the first time she was too young,but was granted entry the next year and became the first woman graduate.In the meantime,Mildred was also making history as the first civilian to be hired as a clerk at Tuskegee's Army Air Field.She was taught to fly by historymaker,Charles Alfred "Chief " Anderson,a man known as the Father of Black Aviation.Mildred dressed unlike traditional;while they wore skirts,Mildred also known as "Mike"by her husband,wore aviator attire,down to her boots.Women were not allowed to join combat during WW II it was her dream to have an aviation career.According to her son,Herbert Carter., Mildred's only regret was not being able to join the the Women's Air Force Service Pilots Organization (WASP),which was an all-white female service group during World War II.Mildred was rejected because she was African American.It wasn't until she was 70 that she finally received a letter inducting her in the program.When Herbert went to war, she saw a film at the theatre of the Tuskegee Airmen and right on the screen was her husband,one of the original 33,pilots tending to his aircraft.She cried.In September 2011,Mildred was honored at the Tuskegee Human & Multicultcultural Center with a ceremony & roses.Mildred had hoped to stick around for her husband's 94th birthday a few weeks later and was able to do so prior to her passing one month later.Ninety-five year old Herbert  died later last year.