Helicopter Heroine

Valerie Andre, born in 1922 in Strasbourg, France, faced significant challenges in her pursuit of aviation as a woman. Defying German restrictions during World War II, she studied medicine in Paris and later trained as a neurosurgeon in Saigon, where she volunteered for mobile surgical units and learned to fly helicopters in combat. A trailblazer in both military aviation and medicine, Andre became the first female general in the French army by 1975, accumulating nearly 500 combat missions and numerous prestigious awards throughout her extraordinary career.