Valérie André (; 21 April 1922 – 21 January 2025) was a

neurosurgeon Neurosurgery or neurological surgery, known in common parlance as brain surgery, is the medical specialty that focuses on the surgical treatment or rehabilitation of disorders which affect any portion of the nervous system including the brain, ...

aviator An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators because they a ...

, and the first female member of the French military to achieve the rank of

General Officer A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

, in 1976, as Physician General. In 1981, she was promoted to Inspector General of Medicine. A

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...

pilot, she is the first woman to have piloted a helicopter in a combat zone. She was also a founding member of the

Académie de l'air et de l'espace An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the g ...

. As a member of the military, she was not addressed as "Madame la Générale" (a term reserved for spouses of generals) but as "General".

Military career

André started as a Medical Captain in Indochina in 1948, already a qualified parachutist and pilot, in addition to being an army surgeon. While in Indochina, she realized that the most difficult part of her duties was retrieving the wounded, who were often trapped in the jungle. She returned to France to learn how to pilot a helicopter, then flew one to Indochina. From 1952 to 1953, she piloted 129 helicopter missions into the jungle, rescuing 165 soldiers, and on two occasions completed parachute jumps to treat wounded soldiers who needed immediate surgery. One typical mission occurred on 11 December 1951, when casualties were in urgent need of evacuation from Tu Vu on the Black River. The only available helicopter, stationed near

Saigon Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...

, was dismantled, flown to

Hanoi Hanoi ( ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Vietnam, second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red River (Asia), Red and Black River (Asia), Black Riv ...

by a Bristol Freighter and reassembled. Captain André then flew into Tu Vu despite heavy mist and anti-aircraft fire. There, she triaged the casualties, operated on the most pressing cases and then flew the urgent wounded back to Hanoi, two at a time. Later, she was put in command of a casualty evacuation flight. André continued in Algeria as a Medical Commander in 1960, where she completed 365 war missions. She rose to the rank of Medical Lieutenant Colonel in 1965 then to Medical Colonel in 1970. She had a total of 3,200 flight hours, and received 7 citations of the

Croix de Guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...

. André is one of eight women to hold the Grand-croix (Great Cross) rank in the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

, with

Germaine Tillion Germaine Tillion (30 May 1907 – 18 April 2008) was a French ethnologist, known for her work in Algeria in the 1950s on behalf of the Government of France. A member of the French Resistance in World War II, she spent time in Ravensbrück co ...

Geneviève de Gaulle-Anthonioz Geneviève de Gaulle-Anthonioz (25 October 1920 – 14 February 2002) was a member of the French Resistance in World War II, during which she was sent to Ravensbrück concentration camp. After the war, she was a human rights defender and presiden ...

Jacqueline de Romilly Jacqueline Worms de Romilly (; née David; Greek: Ζακλίν ντε Ρομιγύ; 26 March 1913 – 18 December 2010) was a French philologist, classical scholar and fiction writer. She was the first woman nominated to the Collège de France, ...

Simone Rozès Simone Rozès (born 29 March 1920) is a French judge. She was awarded the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour. From 1973 to 1979, she was the first director of Supervised Education. From 1976 to 1981, she was president of the Paris High Court. Fro ...

Christiane Desroches Noblecourt Christiane Desroches Noblecourt (; 17 November 1913 – 23 June 2011) was a French Egyptologist. She was the author of many books on Art of Ancient Egypt, Egyptian art and History of Egypt, history and was also known for her role in the Inte ...

, Yvette Farnoux and

Gilberte Champion Gilberte Louise Champion (née Gueunier) (17 April 1913 Paris18 November 2020 Sucy-en-Brie) was a ''Postes, télégraphes et téléphones'' (PTT) worker and a radio operator in the French resistance during World War II for the Jade-Fitzroy network ...

Personal life

Valérie André was the aunt of politician

André Santini André Santini (; born 20 October 1940) is a French politician and current mayor of Issy-les-Moulineaux, Hauts-de-Seine. A former member of the UDF, he did not support François Bayrou, the candidate of his party for the first round of the 2 ...

. She wrote two collections of memoirs: ''Ici, Ventilateur! Extraits d'un carnet de vol.'' (Calmann-Lévy, 1954) and ''Madame le général'' (Perrin, 1988). She died in

Issy-les-Moulineaux Issy-les-Moulineaux () is a commune in the southwestern suburban area of Paris, France, lying on the left bank of the river Seine. Its citizens are called in French. It is one of Paris's entrances and is located from Notre Dame Cathedral, whic ...

on 21 January 2025, at the age of 102.

Decorations

;French * Grand-croix of the Legion of Honour (19 December 1999); previously Chevalier on 25 February 1953 * Grand-croix of the

Ordre National du Mérite The (; ) is a French order of merit with membership awarded by the President of the French Republic, founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle. The reason for the order's establishment was twofold: to replace the large number of ...

in 1987, the first woman to receive this distinction. *

Croix de Guerre 1939-1945 Croix (French for "cross") may refer to: Belgium * Croix-lez-Rouveroy, a village in municipality of Estinnes in the province of Hainaut France * Croix, Nord, in the Nord department * Croix, Territoire de Belfort, in the Territoire de Belfort depa ...

with 7 citations. *

Croix de Guerre des Théâtres d'opérations extérieures The (; "War Cross for Foreign Operational Theatres"), also called the for short, is a French military award denoting citations earned in combat in foreign countries. The Armistice of November 11, 1918 ended the war between France and Germa ...

* Médaille de la Valeur Militaire * Médaille commémorative d'Indochine, *

Médaille de l'Aéronautique The Aeronautical Medal () is a state decoration of France established by the decree of February 14, 1945. It is awarded to both military personnel and civilians for outstanding accomplishments related to the field of aeronautics. Originally e ...

* Médaille du Combattant Volontaire (1944), * Médaille de Vermeil du service de santé. * Grande Médaille d'or du l'Aéro-club de France ;Foreign decorations *

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

(USA) *

National Order of Vietnam The National Order of Vietnam () was a combined military-civilian decoration of South Vietnam and was considered the highest honor that could be bestowed upon an individual by the Republic of Vietnam government. The decoration was created in ...

Cross of Valour (Canada) The Cross of Valour () is a decoration that is, within the Canadian system of honours, the second-highest award (surpassed only by the Victoria Cross), the highest honour available for Canadian civilians, and the highest of the three Canadian ...

References

Helicopter Heroine: Valérie André―Surgeon, Pioneer Rescue Pilot, and Her Courage Under Fire, by Charles Morgan Evans, Stackpole Books, 2023 (ISBN: 978-0811771924) Colonel Alexis Santini et Général Valérie André: épopée de deux pionniers, un couple hors-normes, par Martine Gay, OFFICINE, 2023, (ISBN: 978-2355513657)

External links

A brief article on the Website of l'INA

A brief profile on the French Ministry of Defense Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Andre, Valerie 1922 births 2025 deaths French generals Female army generals French Resistance members French military personnel of the First Indochina War French military aviators French women aviators Army aviation personnel French memoirists French women memoirists French women centenarians Military personnel from Strasbourg Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour Grand Cross of the Ordre national du Mérite Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) Recipients of the Croix de guerre des théâtres d'opérations extérieures Recipients of the Cross for Military Valour Recipients of the Aeronautical Medal Foreign recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the National Order of Vietnam Physicians from Strasbourg 20th-century French non-fiction writers 20th-century French women writers Women helicopter pilots