Millie Rexroat at the time of her 2009 interview with Jim Kent Photo by Jim Kent
Lakota W.A.S.P. Honored For Her WWII Service
By Jim Kent
Lakota Country Times Correspondent
www.lakotacountrytimes.com Rapid City, S.D. – Mention World War Two military pilots and the image of tough, daring men in leather jackets and goggles may come to mind. But there’s actually quite another side to the story of those who flew for the Army Air Force but weren’t called “Sir." There’s the 1074 members of the W.A.S.P.s - Women Airforce Service Pilots. And one of them, the only Lakota woman in the group, was honored for her service at a recent luncheon here. With World War Two veterans dying at a rate of 1000 per day Bill Casper, an Air Force veteran, was looking for a way to say thank you to those members of “The Greatest Generation” who had served their country and are still with us. “It’s a way for me to honor my uncle…who died in the Battle of the Bulge,” explained Casper. “As well as all the rest of the veteran who served in World War Two. South Dakota has about 3000 veterans left. They’re passing at the rate of about 3 or 4 a day. They’re not going to be around that long and I think that everything that we can do to honor them we need to do.” One of those remaining World War Two veterans is 98-year old Millie Rexroat. In a 2009 interview the Oglala Lakota elder explained how she and the other WASPs helped pioneer new horizons for women - both in the military and beyond. After the U.S. declared war on Japan and Germany and entered the World War, millions of men were soon in the armed forces heading to Africa or the Pacific to fight the enemy. Others wanted to do something significant to help the war effort, just like those men. But there was just one problem: they were women. "I had some skills that I was pretty good at,” Millie Rexroat recalled. “But that consisted of typing and shorthand and other office procedures."
Ola "Millie" Rexroat, Oglala Lakota, was the only Native American member of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (W.A.S.P.) Photo courtesy Ola "Millie" Rexroat
Millie was working at the Army War College in Washington, D.C. at the start of the war and like millions of other women, had a desire to serve her country but was limited by her gender in what she was permitted to do. Still, with the military in need of all the help it could get, positions were available for women in all the armed forces. So, Millie began weighing her choices. "And I thought should I join the WAC, which was the Women's Army Corps,” Millie recalled. “And I didn't really want to do that. Should I join the Navy, and I didn't know enough about that. And I thought about the Marines, which I did think I would like, so I sent them a telegram.” The Marine Corps wasn't used to getting job inquiries by telegram and failed to answer Millie's inquiry to her satisfaction. This forced Millie to look elsewhere for a way to serve her country. "And then I thought, if I had some background of doing something, maybe I could, you know, do something that really made a difference,” Millie explained. “And that's how I happened to think about if...see, I didn't even know how to drive a car. And I thought...if I could do something like fly..." Millie found she could take flying lessons at a nearby airport for $8 an hour - a lot of money in those days. Once she accumulated 35 hours of flight time, she'd be able to apply to be a WASP - Woman Airforce Service Pilot - with the Army Air Force. It took a while, but Millie learned to fly, gained the required flight time and was accepted into the WASPs. Her two sisters were thrilled. "But my mother was totally against it,” Millie remembered. “Even though I told her I was not going to really be in combat, she said nevertheless, it was training other people to kill other people...and that's why she objected to it. Other than that it was dangerous." After 8 long months, Millie graduated training. She was stationed at Eagle Pass, Texas in September, 1944. "My mission was to tow targets for aerial gunnery,” Millie explained. Though not combat duty that was dangerous enough. Like the other WASPs she also ferried planes and personnel.
President Barack Obama signed S.614 into law on July 1, 2009. The bill awards the Congressional Gold Medal to Women Airforce Service Pilots. Photo by Pete Souza / White House
Millie loved her job, the opportunity to fly and the camaraderie of the other female pilots. But her dream to serve her country was short-lived. The WASP program was disbanded in December, 1944 - just 3 months into Millie's flying career. "We were devastated,” Millie recalled. “I think all of us. Because we were enjoying flying. No matter what kind of duty we had...we liked it." Some of the women were able to continue flying after the war, but most went into other fields of work. Millie became one of the first female air traffic controllers for the Federal Aviation Administration - a job she stayed with until she retired. Of the 1074 women who earned WASP wings thirty-eight died in the line of duty. Although they served their country during the war, WASPs weren't given the same benefits or rank as their male counterparts until 1977. On July 1 of 2009, President Obama awarded each WASP the Congressional Gold Medal.
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Commenting on that honor, Millie Rexroat noted she was glad the WASPs were able to prove to the US military that a woman can, in fact, fly a plane. Although she was unable to attend the luncheon in her honor, Bill Casper felt that it was important to acknowledge Millie Rexroat’s service nonetheless. “Because I think too often…you know…the men get the glory and the women are just kind of…they were there,” Casper observed. “I think it’s important to honor them as well…so we’ll do that.“ One-hundred and fourteen World War Two veterans attended the annual luncheon honoring their service including 8 other women who served in uniform. Find the award-winning Lakota Country Times on the Internet, Facebook and Twitter and download the new Lakota Country Times app today.
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