Helicopter Heroine: Valérie André-Surgeon, Pioneer Rescue Pilot, and Her Courage Under Fire

by Charles Morgan Evans

Valérie André is one of the great military aviators of the twentieth century. She was the first woman to fly a helicopter in combat and one of the first three helicopter medevac pilots. Flying more than 150 helicopter rescue missions during the French war in Indochina (including at Dien Bien Phu), and parachuting into the field twice, André was a trailblazer, a pioneer of flying helicopters in combat and an innovator of battlefield medicine, who risked her life to treat the wounded, whether they were French or Vietnamese, whether they were friend, civilian, or foe. Aviation historian Charles Morgan Evans tells her story with verve and pathos. André was born in Strasbourg, France, in 1922. From an early age, she wanted to fly, but as a woman, she faced challenges. While boys could receive government-funded flight lessons, André had to pay for hers by tutoring. During World War II, she left Strasbourg against German prohibitions in order to study medicine in Paris, where she completed her studies under threat of arrest by the Gestapo. Assigned to an army hospital in Saigon in French Indochina in the late 1940s, André trained as a neurosurgeon, performing one hundred procedures per month. When the French medical corps developed mobile surgical units to be air-dropped into military outposts, she quickly volunteered, and then when the service acquired a few primitive helicopters, she volunteered for that, which meant learning to fly helicopters in combat. Flying through bullets and bombs, fatigue, parasitic illness, and mechanical issues with the helicopters-- not to mention the French army's prejudice against a female pilot and surgeon--André nonetheless became a legend in Indochina. The Vietnamese called her "the woman who comes down from the sky" and "Mrs. Ventilator." On one day in December 1951, she flew her chopper into the teeth of antiaircraft fire to a besieged base, where she performed emergency brain surgeries, then flew the wounded to hospitals in Hanoi, two at a time. After Indochina, she continued to be an innovator in military aviation and medicine as well as an advocate for women's integration into the French military. In the early 1960s, she flew another 236 missions in Algeria. In 1975, she became the first female general in the French army, and at her retirement, she had flown nearly 500 combat missions, logged 4,000 hours in helicopters, and won the Croix de Guerre five times, the Cross of Military Valor twice, and the Grand Cross of the National Order of Merit. André, who just turned ninety-nine, is still alive and lives near Paris, and this book is based on a series of author interviews with her and comprehensive research in other sources.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

464 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2023

About the author

Charles Morgan Evans is a writer based in Reno, Nevada and Coos Bay, Oregon. He is a graduate in history from San Jose State University and San Francisco State University. He is also the founding curator of the Hiller Aviation Museum in Northern California.

Reviews

[Audrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for the DRC. This book is scheduled to be released in early January.
Mr. Evans invites readers along on the fascinating life journey of Valerie Andre whose determination, intelligence, and perseverance allowed her to survive the Nazi occupation of France at a time when she was struggling to complete her medical training. While Andre never ignored the misogyny attempting to deflect her from her chosen path, she also never allowed it to prevent her from achieving her goals. Mr. Evans does a stellar job of chronicling Andre's trajectory from young French girl to a General in France's military known for her medical and piloting skills. The only area left unquestioned seems to be Andre's willingness to go from being hunted by Nazi forces who were oppressing her country and suppressing her culture to volunteering in Vietnam, and later Algeria, where the French government could be accused of the same type of behavior. Andre acknowledges feeling protective of Viet Minh soldiers under her care as a surgeon and expresses sadness at the large loss of life but reminds herself of the losses and cruelties performed by both sides. That is as close as she appears to come to questioning the necessity of the war or her part in it.

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

For anyone looking for an good read about a truly inspiring individual may I suggest Helicopter Heroine by Charles Evans. The book is about the incredible life of Valerie Andre.

Valerie survived the Nazi occupation of France during World War II and attended medical school. She joined the military and became trained as a neurosurgeon which alone was an incredible feat as a women at the time.

She volunteered for service in Vietnam and made combat parachute jumps on medical rescue missions. She went one to become one of the first combat rescue / evac helicopter pilots in history flying many combat rescue missions.

She also volunteered for combat service in Algeria where she flew many rescue missions. In addition she was the first woman leuteniant colonel, colonel, and eventual general in the French military. She turned 100 in 2022 and is still alive today.

She is one of the most impressive and inspiring humans I’ve ever learned about. Thank you Charles Evans for bring this story to English speaking readers and for your excellent research and writing.

[LiteraryAviatrix · Rating 5 out of 5]

General Valérie André, a neurosurgeon, parachutist, the first woman to fly helicopters in combat, recipient of the French Legion of Honor, the US Legion of Merit, the Canadian Cross of Valor, the National Order of Vietnam, and the first female to achieve the rank of General in the French Army, died at 102 years old.

This deeply researched and thorough biography pays homage to one of the most remarkable stories I've read about any aviator. Charles is the founding curator of the Hiller Aviation Museum and learned about Valérie in the course of his duties. We had the pleasure of discussing this book in the Aviatrix Book Club in 2023 and I was grateful to interview Charles for the Literary Aviatrix website, YouTube Channel and podcast.

As a retired U.S. Coast Guard search and rescue helicopter pilot, and a promoter of books that feature women in aviation, I am incredibly grateful to Charles for committing his time, interest, and talent to preserving Valerie's story for posterity.

The world lost an extraordinary pioneering heroine in January 2025 when she died at 102 years old.

[Mike Hirschberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fantastic book! This is an impressive breakthrough accomplishment to tell for the first time in English the incredible life and times of the first female helicopter pilot, who later became France's first woman general, and so much more. The in-depth discussion of her early life in occupied France and continuing a life of danger as a parachutist and combat rescue helicopter pilot, first in Vietnam and then in Algeria, was amazing. Valérie André's accomplishments after returning to France to continue to push for full integration of women into the armed forces was also heartwarming and moving. Highly recommended!

[Louise Freeman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a lot of fun and Ms. Andre has led an action-packed life. Her story is engaging, and Mr. Evans tells it well. It's not the 500th book about a famous person, which is a plus -- great to read a historical book when you don't already know how it ends. And Valerie Andre is still alive at 101! An inspiration to women with challenges, even though most of us don't get shot at on a daily basis.

[Micebyliz]

What is it about men that they don't want women to succeed? Her father was the big negativity in her life. She was a determined and capable woman who achieved much more than he did, but she did so well and in a time when women were constantly pushed aside.
It's a little bit like reading a book for a young person though, kind of "oh wait until i get to the next part" just to keep your attention.

[Gina Pogol · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. Valerie Andrés story is a compelling account of grit and grace, and Charles Evans tells it well -- it's history, but reads like a novel. I'd say it's on a par with the Virginia Hill story, An Unimportant Woman.

The French experience in Vietnam isn't familiar to most Americans, and it's interesting. Our war picked up where theirs left off, and we ultimately got the same result as the French.

Whether you like reading world history or just great stories of extraordinary humans, you'll enjoy this book. Valerie is the main focus but the stories of her diligent comrades will also hold your interest and possibly make you tear up a bit. After all, war is not a fairy tale.

Ms. André is tiny, yet larger than life, distinguished but flawed -- and altogether engrossing. Well done.