Esther McGowin Blake

United States Air Force airman

Years of service1944 - 1954 (10 years)Rank

Staff Sergeant

Esther McGowin Blake (1897–1979) was the first woman in the United States Air Force. She enlisted on the first minute of the first hour of the first day regular U.S. Air Force duty was authorized for women on July 8, 1948.^[1]

Military career

Blake's active military career began in 1944 when she, a widow, joined her sons in uniform for the United States Army Air Forces. She closed her desk as a civilian employee at Miami Air Depot and joined the Women's Army Corps when she was notified her oldest son, a B-17 Flying Fortress pilot, had been shot down over Belgium and was reported missing.

Her younger son was quoted as saying that her reason for joining was the hope of helping free a soldier from clerical work to fight, thus speeding the end of the war. During the months and years that followed, Blake saw both of her sons return home from combat with only minor wounds and many decorations.

She remained active with the Air Force until 1954 when she separated due to disability. After separation, she worked as a civil service employee at the Veterans Regional Headquarters in Montgomery, Alabama until her death in 1979.

References

^ Women of the U.S. Air Force: Aiming High By Heather E. Schwartz, p.14

Air Force Pamphlet 36-2241, Volume 1.
"SSgt Esther M. Blake". Air Force Enlisted Heritage Research Institute (AFEHRI), United States Air Force. Retrieved 25 June 2012.

United States Air Force

Leadership

Structure

Commands	Reserve Air National Guard Field Operating Agencies Installations
Direct Reporting Units	District of Washington Operational Test and Evaluation Center USAF Academy
Major commands	ACC AETC AFGSC AFMC AFRC AFSOC AMC PACAF USAFE–AFAFRICA
Numbered Air Forces	First Second Third Fourth Fifth Seventh Eighth Ninth Tenth Eleventh Twelfth Thirteenth Expeditionary Fifteenth Sixteenth Eighteenth Nineteenth Twentieth Twenty-Second
Wings ANG Groups ANG Squadrons ANG Security Forces Civilian auxiliary: Civil Air Patrol