Ola Mildred Rexroat — Oglala Sioux pilot and air traffic controller

Early life and education

Rexroat grew up on the Pine Ridge Reservation and pursued higher education before the United States entered World War II. She earned a bachelor’s degree in art from the University of New Mexico in 1939. Her background reflected both her Native American heritage as a member of the Oglala Sioux and an early interest in technical skill and precision that would serve her in aviation.

Service as a WASP

During World War II she joined the Women Airforce Service Pilots. The Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) were a civilian organization of trained female pilots who flew military aircraft in non-combat roles to free male pilots for combat duty. Members ferried aircraft, towed targets, performed test flights and trained other pilots. While WASP members were civilian employees at the time, their service later received formal recognition by the nation.

Post-war career and recognition

After her wartime flying, Rexroat served in the U.S. Air Force for about a decade, working as an air traffic controller. Her later honors include induction into the South Dakota Aviation Hall of Fame in 2007, an acknowledgment of both her wartime role and long civilian and military service. She was regarded as the last surviving WASP from South Dakota at the time of her death.

Legacy and notable facts

• Member of the Oglala Sioux from Pine Ridge Reservation.
• Bachelor’s degree in art from the University of New Mexico.
• Only Native American woman known to serve in the WASP.
• Served as an Air Force air traffic controller for about ten years and was inducted into the South Dakota Aviation Hall of Fame in 2007.
• She died in late June 2017 in Hot Springs, South Dakota, at the age of 99.

Rexroat’s life bridges several important American stories: Native American participation in 20th-century institutions, the expansion of women’s roles in aviation during World War II, and the postwar development of civil and military aviation careers. Her service continues to be cited in regional histories and in accounts of the WASP program.