Tag: Tuskegee Institute

July 30, 2006: Aviator Rose Agnes Rolls Cousins Dies at 86

Aviator Rose Agnes Rolls Cousins died on July 30, 2006, at age 86. The Fairmont native had entered West Virginia State College in 1932, when she was 16. The school’s new pilot training program, introduced in 1939, rekindled in her a childhood desire to fly planes. She became the first black woman trained as a solo pilot through the college’s Civilian Pilot Training Program. West Virginia State was the first of six historically black colleges in the nation authorized to establish one of these federally funded programs.

In the training, Cousins learned to put her plane into a spin, fly upside down, and land with the engine off. She also completed a cross-country flight alone, guided only by sight and a compass. In 1941, she went to Tuskegee Institute, with the first group of 10 male students from West Virginia State College, and tried out for the Air Force training program for black combat pilots. However, she was denied because of her gender. Disappointed by the rejection, she moved back to her hometown and spent much of her remaining life managing records at Fairmont Clinic.   

March 7, 1942: Aviator Roberts Completes His Training at Tuskegee Institute

On March 7, 1942, aviator “Spanky” Roberts completed his training at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, becoming one of the first five Tuskegee Airmen.

Roberts, a native of London in eastern Kanawha County, moved to Fairmont as a child. He graduated from Fairmont’s segregated Dunbar High School before earning a degree in mechanical arts from West Virginia State College (now University). He went through the college’s Civilian Pilot Training Program and became the first black licensed pilot in the state.

After finishing at Tuskegee, Roberts entered combat in North Africa in May 1943. He eventually flew more than 100 combat missions in Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. After the war, he became the senior Air Corps ROTC instructor at Tuskegee and also served in Korea and Okinawa. In 1963, he was assigned to Griffiss Air Force Base, where he was responsible for all ground radar in the Air Force. Roberts retired in 1968 with the rank of colonel.

“Spanky” Roberts was honored with the Air Force Commendation Medal with four oak clusters and two presidential citations. He died in California in 1984 at age 65.

July 30, 2006: Aviator Rose Agnes Rolls Cousins Dies at 86

Aviator Rose Agnes Rolls Cousins died on July 30, 2006, at age 86. The Fairmont native had entered West Virginia State College in 1932, when she was 16. The school’s new pilot training program, introduced in 1939, rekindled in her a childhood desire to fly planes. She became the first black woman trained as a solo pilot through the college’s Civilian Pilot Training Program. West Virginia State was the first of six historically black colleges in the nation authorized to establish one of these federally funded programs.

In the training, Cousins learned to put her plane into a spin, fly upside down, and land with the engine off. She also completed a cross-country flight alone, guided only by sight and a compass. In 1941, she went to Tuskegee Institute, with the first group of 10 male students from West Virginia State College, and tried out for the Air Force training program for black combat pilots. However, she was denied because of her gender. Disappointed by the rejection, she moved back to her hometown and spent much of her remaining life managing records at Fairmont Clinic.   

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