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Manila Davis Talley

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Manila Davis Talley (1898–1973) was the first woman from West Virginia to earn a pilot's license.[1] She was a founding member of the Betsy Ross Air Corps, a private female auxiliary for the Army Air Corps, and the third woman to complete training at the Air Force War College.[2]

Early life and education

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Talley was born Manila Carolyn Davis in Flatwoods, Braxton County, West Virginia.[3] She attended West Virginia University and later transferred to the New England Conservatory to study piano and drama.[4]

After becoming interested in aviation, Talley enrolled in a Curtiss-Wright mechanics course and attended the M.I.T. Guggenheim School of Aeronautics.[4]

Aviation and military career

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Talley became saleswoman at the Curtiss-Wright Corporation in late 1929 or early 1930.[2] She earned a commercial pilot’s license while working for the company making her the first woman from West Virginia to do so.[4]

Talley was an airplane demonstrator and an aircraft racing pilot.[5] She joined the 99s (International Association of Women Pilots) in 1930.[1][2] In the same year, Talley became the first woman to complete the Army Air Corps officer reserve course.[5]

Talley was a founding member of the Betsy Ross Air Corps, a private female auxiliary for the Army Air Corps that launched in 1931.[1][2]

Manila married Benjamin B. Talley, an officer in the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, in 1933.[4] In 1941, she became the person to join the Anchorage, Alaska Civil Air Patrol eventually earning the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

In 1967, Talley became the third woman to complete to obtain a certificate from the Air Force War College.[1][2][5]

Death and legacy

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Manila Davis Talley died at Altus Air Force Base in Altus, Oklahoma on December 17, 1973.[3] She is interred at Flatwoods Cemetery in West Virginia.[1]

Talley's scrapbook, mostly consisting of materials from 1929-1942, is held in the National Air and Space Museum Archives.[2] A collection of her papers dating from 1919 to 1990 was gifted to the University of Alaska Anchorage/Alaska Pacific University Consortium Library Archives in 1986.[4]

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "The MANILA DAVIS (TALLEY) Page of the Parks Airport Register Web Site". parksfield.org. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Manila Davis Talley Scrapbook · SOVA". sova.si.edu. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
  3. ^ a b "Manila Talley Obituary". Charleston Gazette. December 19, 1973.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Manila D. Talley papers". Archives and Special Collections. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
  5. ^ a b c "Aviatrix Gains Another Award". Charleston Gazette. April 3, 1967.
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