Cornelia Fort

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Cornelia Fort (1919-1943) was an aviatrix in the United States Armed Forces who became the first female pilot in American history to die in the process of military service.

Fort was born in Tennessee to a wealthy and prominent family. She was educated at Sarah Lawrence College, from which she earned a degree in 1939. She showed an early interest in flying, ultimately training for and earning her pilot's license in Hawaii. While working as a civilian pilot instructor at Pearl Harbor, she inadvertently became one of the first witnesses to the Japanese Battle of Pearl Harbor that started World War II. The events of that day inspired her to join the military, where she was placed in the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Service. She was the second woman to do so.

She became the first WAFS fatality when her airplane collided in mid-air with another plane. She was stationed at the 6th Ferrying Group base at Long Beach, California, although the accident took place ten miles south of Merkel, Texas, on March 21, 1943. At the time of the accident, Miss Fort was one of the most accomplished pilots of the WAFS and had some 1,100 hours to her credit.

In addition to being the first female pilot to die in combat, she was the first Tennessee service person to die in World War II. She also holds the title of being the first female flight instructor from the city of Nashville. Her epitaph reads, "Killed in the Service of Her Country."