Bernetta Miller, American Aviatrix and WWI Volunteer

Bernetta Miller in Blceriot monoplane. Bernetta Adams Miller (January 11, 1884 - November 30, 1972) was a pioneering woman aviatrix. She took flying lessons from the Moisant aviation school in Long Island and received her license in 1912. The Moisant company used her as a demonstration pilot for the Blceriot monoplanes that they were building under license. She was the pilot chosen to demonstrate the Moisant-Blceriot monoplane to the US Army. Bernetta went to the front in WWI as a volunteer for the YMCA. She delivered food to the troops of the 326th Infantry of the 82nd Division as a canteen worker, frequently under fire. She was wounded at least once, but remained at the front to the end of the war. In 1919 she was awarded the Croix de Guerre by the French government. From 1926-33 she was Bursar of the American College for Girls in Istanbul, Turkey. From 1941 to 1948 she worked at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. She was at first secretary to the director of the Institute and bookkeeper, but when her vision declined owing to cataracts she was made a greeter in the entrance of the Institute, and responsible for keeping visitors from disturbing Albert Einstein. After Princeton, Bernetta worked as a housemother in colleges. She died in 1972, after breaking her hip in a fall, at the age of 88. Harris and Ewing, 1912

Picture No

12697523

Media ID

47706960

Size

3404px x 4200px (1.5MB)

Credit

LOC/Science Source/Mary Evans