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'''Valérie André''' ({{IPA-fr|valeʁi ɑ̃dʁe|-|Fr-Valérie André.ogg}}; born 21 April 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]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Valerie Andre|url=http://www.aerodrome-gruyere.ch/hommage/valerie-andre.htm|publisher=Société d'aviation de la Gruyère|accessdate=August 14, 2011|archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/67wVCjCf9?url=http://www.aerodrome-gruyere.ch/hommage/valerie-andre.htm|archive-date=May 26, 2012|
As a member of the military, she is not addressed as "Madame la Générale" (a term reserved for spouses of generals) but as "General".<ref>http://www.defense.gouv.fr/air/base/breves/2010/fevrier/vol_simule_pour_le_general_valerie_andre {{dead link|date=September 2011}}</ref>
She started as a Medical Captain in Indochina in 1948, already a qualified parachutist and pilot, in addition to being an army surgeon.<ref>[http://lemamouth.blogspot.com/2010/09/un-brevet-en-or-massif.html Le mamouth: Un brevet, 54 ans après]</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://members.multimania.co.uk/Indochine/cefeo/helicopt.html |title=''Ventilators'' : Helicopters in Indo-China (1950-54) |access-date=2011-08-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811103742/http://members.multimania.co.uk/Indochine/cefeo/helicopt.html |archive-date=2011-08-11 |
One typical mission occurred on 11 December 1951, when casualties were in urgent need of evacuation from Tu Vu on the Black River. The only available helicopter, stationed near [[Saigon]], was dismantled, flown to [[Hanoi]] by a Bristol Freighter and reassembled. Captain André then flew into Tu Vu despite heavy mist and anti-aircraft fire. There, she triaged the casualties, operated on the most pressing cases and then flew the urgent wounded back to Hanoi, two at a time. Later, she was put in command of a casualty evacuation flight.
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