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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

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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.

She has been on the advisory boards of police & education. In addition, the community established a permanent fund in her name to benefit minority and low-income students.

She served on The Maryland Health Resources Planning Commission and the Howard County General Hospital Board of Trustees for twenty-three years.

Millie married William Bailey in 1943. They have no children. She enjoys travel & has been to fifty countries in 2013.

In 2020 Millie went skydiving at the age of 102!

Source: NEWS VOICE FOR VETERANS:

103-year-old World War II veteran continues service by helping others. Photos by Erin Mac Pherson.

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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.

Responses (9)

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It seems almost impossible that a black woman was able to do what she did and receive so much honor during that time in history.
Go Millie!

Thanks for the informative piece of history. But, of course, I always learn something from you. 🙃🙂

What a great example of leading by example.
Pull Chocks