Mildred Louise Hemmons Carter 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. 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. Born in Benson, Alabama, she lived in Tuskegee for a time before her family moved to Enfield, North Carolina. There, her father worked as business manager of the all-black Bricks Junior College. After the school closed during the Great Depression, the Hemmons family moved to Holly Springs, Mississippi. Carter finished high school in Holly Springs at the age of fifteen. 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. The next year, she applied again and was accepted. Carter graduated with Tuskegee's first class of CPTP trainees. On February 1, 1941, she received her private pilot's certificate, making her the first black female pilot in Alabama. She primarily flew a Piper J-3 Cub that she rented from the school.The month after earning her certificate, Carter met First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, who was visiting Tuskegee to demonstrate support for its pilots. Carter recalled that "Mrs. Roosevelt was very gracious; I was tongue tied." She also met her husband, Herbert Carter, during this time. As cadets, they were unable to date. Instead, they would make plans to meet in the air with Mildred flying a Piper Cub and Herbert flying whatever plane was scheduled for a maintenance flight check. They would meet at a designated time over Lake Martin. Mildred and Herbert married in 1942 after his graduation and appointment as a lieutenant. Due to the war and her gender, Mildred could not get training to fly more advanced military airplanes. However, she was the first civilian hired by the Army Air Corps. She literally cleared the way for the airmen by bulldozing the trees off the site of the airstrip. Her husband nicknamed her “Mike” due to her tomboy way of dressing, and even had the name painted on his plane during the war. Although her husband was a fighter pilot during World War II, Mildred herself was integral to the success of the Tuskegee program. From creating the documents to equip the base at Tuskegee to rigging parachutes to various administrative duties, she continued working at Tuskegee Army Air Field throughout the war. She applied to be a WASP, one of the Women’s Airforce Service Pilots who delivered planes during WWII. Though qualified, she was rejected due to her race. Mildred later served as a mentor to other African American women pilots and continued to fly into her sixties. Seventy years after earning her pilot’s license, Mildred Carter was designated a WASP for her services. Additionally, she is a Designated Original Tuskegee Airman.

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