Jerrie Cobb was born March 5th 1931,

And soon started outstripping everyone,

At 19 she was teaching men to fly,

At 21, delivering four-engined bombers to air forces world-wide.

A 3 year romance with Jack Ford proved terrific,

‘Till his plane exploded over the Pacific.

She set 3 world records for aviation,*

Life Magazine named her one of the 9 most influential women in the nation.

Although she had twice as many flight miles as the famous John Glen,

She could not go into space because women didn’t back then.

For 30 years she flew a humanitarian South American route,

And was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize to boot.

Honoured by Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil, Peru and France,

This extraordinary woman, defeated only by circumstance,

I think she deserves a huzzah and hooray,

This living heroine from the USA.

*For speed, distance and absolute altitude.

Awards:

• Amelia Earhart Gold Medal of Achievement
• Named Woman of the Year in Aviation
• Amelia Earhart Memorial Award {cn}
• Named Pilot of the Year by the National Pilots Association
• Fourth American to be awarded Gold Wings of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, Paris, France
• Named Captain of Achievement by International Academy of Achievement
• Served five years as a consultant to the Federal Aviation Administration
• Honored by the government of Ecuador for pioneering new air routes over the Andes Mountains and Andes jungle
• 1973 Awarded Harmon International Trophy^[9][10] for “The Worlds Best Woman Pilot” by President Richard Nixon at a White House ceremony.
• Inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame as “the Most Outstanding Aviatrix in the US
• Received Pioneer Woman Award for her “courageous frontier spirit” flying all over the Amazon jungle serving primitive Indian tribes
• 1979 Bishop Wright Air Industry Award for her “humanitarian contributions to modern aviation”.^[11]
• 2000 Inducted into “Women in Aviation International Pioneer Hall of Fame”.^[12]
• 2007 Honorary Doctor of Science degree from University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh.^[13]