Valerie Andre

     A list of the 50 most popular women on the web per Google search results includes Lady Gaga, Kesha, Madonna, Beyonce, Rihanna and Britney Spears. Frivolous and featherbrained come to mind. They can’t compare to Valerie Andre. 
     Valerie Andre (born April 21, 1922 in Strasbourg) is a veteran of the French resistance, a neurosurgeon, an aviator and the first female member of the military to achieve the rank of General Officer, in 1976, as Physician General. In 1981, she was promoted to Inspector General of Medicine. A helicopter pilot, she is the first woman to have piloted a helicopter in a combat zone. She is also a founding member of the Académie de l'air et de l'espace. Read the story of this amazing lady in Vertical magazine.