Helicopter Heroine Valérie André died today at 102 years old.

The world lost an extraordinary pioneering heroine yesterday. General Valérie André, a neurosurgeon, parachutist, the first woman to fly helicopters in combat, recipient of the French Legion of Honor, the US Legion of Merit, the Canadian Cross of Valor, the National Order of Vietnam, and the first female to achieve the rank of General in the French Army, died at 102 years old.

“The soldier awoke in wild spasms, terrified at finding himself in the air. Looking down, the pilot could see the primal fear in his eyes. Alarmed, she watched as the man clenched his jaw and fought his restraints, summoning almost supernatural strength to retake his freedom despite being more than a thousand feet above the ground.

“She could see that the patient had slipped free of his restraints and that he was struggling to reach into the cockpit. His desperate hands thrust inside the cabin, grabbing at the helicopter’s floor-mounted foot controls. The pilot’s attempts to calm the soldier went unheard as he clutched and clawed at her feet . . .”

This passage is from Charles Morgan Evans’ phenomenal biography, Helicopter Heroine: Valérie André-Surgeon, Pioneer Rescue Pilot, and Her Courage Under Fire (Stackpole Books, 2023, Aviatrix Book Club discussion book May 2023) from 1952 in Northern Vietnam…that’s right…1952, with a patient strapped into the side-mounted gurney on her Hiller helicopter with a headshot wound.

Charles is the founding curator of the Hiller Aviation Museum and learned about Valérie in the course of his duties. He went on to research, interview, and write about her incredible accomplishments in this biography, and in this Military History Now article, from which the photos posted are taken. https://militaryhistorynow.com/…/the-woman-who-came…/

General Andre flew 500 combat helicopter search and rescue missions in Indochina and Algeria in the 1950s and ‘60s, with 4,000 hours of flight time, earning 5 Croix de Guerre and 2 Medaille de la Valeur Militaire.

Please honor and celebrate this legend’s memory by reading about her accomplishments and sharing her story with everyone you know.

And if you’re at VERTICON2025 in March, visit me at the Author Lift reception at the VAI Connect booth on Wednesday, March 12th from 3:30-5pm where I will represent Charles to give away a limited supply of this gorgeous book sponsored by VAI.