Born: 1921 (Benson, Alabama)
Died: 2011
Biography:
Mildred Louise Hemmons Carter (1921-2011) was one of the first women to earn a pilot’s license through the Civilian Pilot Training Program, making her the first black female pilot in Alabama. Though she was denied admission into the Tuskegee Airmen and the Women Airforce Service Pilots, she was declared an official member of both later in life.
Childhood:
Carter was born Mildred Louise Hemmons on September 14, 1921, to Mamie and Luther Hemmons. Her mother was the town’s postmaster, while her father was the foreman of a sawmill. She was born in Benson, Alabama, and lived in Tuskegee for a time before her family moved to Enfield, North Carolina. There, her father worked as the business manager of the all-black Bricks Junior College. The Hemmons family later moved to Holly Springs, Mississippi, where Carter finished high school at the age of fifteen.
Career and Marriage:
After her family returned to Tuskegee, Carter enrolled in Tuskegee University, where she majored in business. She worked in an office that processed applications for Tuskegee University’s branch of the Civilian Pilot Training Program (CPTP). Carter applied to the program herself but was initially rejected because she had not yet turned eighteen. However, she reapplied the following year and was accepted. Carter graduated with Tuskegee’s first class of CPTP trainees, and on February 1, 1941, she received her private pilot’s certificate, becoming the first black female pilot in Alabama.
Carter primarily flew a Piper J-3 Cub that she rented from the school. In March 1941, just a month after earning her certificate, Carter had the opportunity to meet First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt when she visited Tuskegee to demonstrate support for its pilots. Carter fondly recalled that Mrs. Roosevelt was very gracious, although she herself felt tongue-tied in the presence of such an esteemed figure.
During her time at Tuskegee, Mildred Hemmons crossed paths with Herbert Carter, whom she would later marry. They first met in 1939 on the Tuskegee campus, but it took Herbert some time to gather the confidence to ask her on a date. Eventually, after learning that Mildred was also enrolled in the CPTP, Herbert approached her for a campus dance. He was a cadet in class 42-F of the Tuskegee Airmen and was not allowed to leave the air base or date other Tuskegee students during his training. However, the couple found creative ways to spend time together. On weekends, Herbert would arrange maintenance flight checks and meet Mildred, who would be flying her rented plane, over Lake Martin. They would wave and blow kisses to each other as they flew past. Eventually, after Herbert finished his cadet training, they got married on August 21, 1942, at the Tuskegee Army Airfield chapel.
Civil Air Patrol:
Carter often flew with Charles Alfred Anderson, Tuskegee’s chief flight instructor, who encouraged her ambitions. In 1942, when the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) was founded, Carter became one of the first two women to join the Tuskegee CAP squadron. As a CAP pilot, she participated in search and rescue missions, transportation flights, and provided support to military personnel during World War II. Her dedication to serving her country and her commitment to aviation were truly remarkable.
Awards:
– Tuskegee Airmen Gold Medal (posthumous, 2007)