The first black female pilot!

Freda Savahl
3 min readFeb 13, 2022

A World War II veteran!

Honoring the 1st US Army Black Female Pilot — Millie Bailey. She served in WWII and is 103 years old.

Snapshots of History

Posted by

Jill Schulz

Vivian, Mildred, Corbett Bailey has seen many milestones in her life. Not only that, but she is an American World War II Veteran, civil servant & volunteer.

She was born in Washington DC in 1918. Millie grew up in the deep South, joined the army during World War II & became the Commander of the women's colored detachment!

Millie shares her experiences of discrimination which made her more determined to become her best!

She tells about an incident where a white lady spat at her & called her derogatory names. She pretended not to notice & let it go without saying a word.

In contrast, her white commanding general treated her with kindness while at training camp in San Antonio. It was an essential motivation for Millie to excel in her career.

She has seen wars start and end, presidents come & go. Millie Bailey is103 years of age with much under her belt, in her heart & on her mind!

She has volunteered with children in Howard County Schools, packed care packages for overseas soldiers, & spoken for the poor & oppressed.

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Freda Savahl
Freda Savahl

Written by Freda Savahl

Retired Nurse Practitioner WHC /Contract Provider Deployment Military Services. US Citizen. Immigrant from South Africa 1978.

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