Ola Mildred Rexroat

Ola Mildred Rexroat

Ola Mildred Rexroat
Nickname(s) Sexy Rexy, Millie
Born (1917-08-29)August 29, 1917
Ogden, Kansas, United States
Service/branch Women Airforce Service Pilots
United States Air Force
Air Force Reserve Command
Years of service 1942–
Awards Congressional Gold Medal
Other work aviator, USAF Air Traffic controller

Ola Mildred Rexroat (born August 29, 1917) was the only Native American woman to serve in the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP).[1][2] She joined them after high school and while with them she had the dangerous job of towing targets for aerial gunnery students.[3] After that she joined the Air Force, where she served for ten years as an air traffic controller.[2][3][4] In 2007 she was inducted into the South Dakota Aviation Hall of Fame.[5] She was the last surviving WASP in South Dakota.[1]

She was an Oglala Sioux from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.[6] She earned a bachelor's degree in art from the University of New Mexico in 1939.[7] She lived until at least early 2016.[8]

References

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