Marcella Ng
in November 1979
Marcella Ann Ng (born July 24, 1956) was the first African American woman pilot in the United States Armed Forces.[1]
Life
Marcella, born Marcella Ann Hayes, was born in 1956 in Mexico, Missouri. She was raised by her grandparents in Centralia, Missouri.[2] She graduated from Hickman High School in Columbia, Missouri in 1974. She received her bachelor's degree in English from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1978.[1] She initially wanted to become a doctor.[3] She joined the army in 1978. She is married to Dennis Ng and the couple has three children.[3][4]
Career
Marcella joined the ROTC in her second semester of college, and joined the army in 1978 after graduating from college.[5][2] On November 27, 1979, at the U.S. Army Aviation Center at Fort Rucker, Alabama, she became the first black woman, and the 55th woman, to become a pilot in the United States Armed Forces.[1][3][2] She went on to serve 22 years in the army, and retired in 2000 as a lieutenant colonel.[5] In 2022 she was inducted into the University of Wisconsin-Madison Army ROTC Hall of Fame.[6]
References
- ^ a b c Gubert, Betty; Sawyer, Miriam; Fannin, Caroline, eds. (2002). Distinguished African Americans in Aviation and Space Science. The Oryx Press. p. 221.
- ^ a b c Young, Charlotte (18 January 2012). "Marcy Ng: America's First Black Woman Military Pilot". MadameNoire. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
- ^ a b c "Marcella A. Ng". AvStop Magazine Online. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
- ^ "Madame Noire". 2012.
- ^ a b Considine, Marily (4 July 2014). "Ng military's first black female aviator". Harker Heights Herald. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
- ^ "Badger Battalion Hall of Fame".