Alta Corbett Thomas
{{Short description|American pilot (1918–2017)}}{{Infobox bio
| name = Alta Corbett Thomas
| image = Alta (Teta) Corbett Thomas (WASP uniform) 1943.jpg
| caption = Alta Corbett Thomas in her WASP uniform.
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1918|05|26}}
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2017|08|28|1918|05|26}}
| alma_mater = Smith College
| occupation = Pilot
}}
Alta "Teta" Corbett Thomas (May 26, 1918 – August 28, 2017) was an American pilot for the Women Airforce Service Pilots, class 43-W-4."WASP Information Form for Alta Corbett Thomas”, 1944, The Women's Collection, Texas Woman's University, Denton, Texas. She was the fourth of five daughters born to Elliott R. and Alta S. Corbett in Portland, Oregon.Elliott R. Corbett archives{{Cite web |title=Alta "Teta" Corbett Thomas of Sequim, Washington {{!}} 1918 - 2017 {{!}} Obituary |url=https://www.drennanford.com/obituary/alta-teta-thomas |website=Drennanford.com}}
Youth and education
She attended Riverdale High School (Portland, Oregon) and Smith College where she graduated with a Bachelors of Arts in History. Nature was important in her life. She was a horseback rider, fly fisher and poet. In her early twenties she made solo ascents of the Pacific Northwest's mountains, Mount Rainier, Mount Hood, Mount Adams, the Three Sisters and Mount St. Helens.
She then acquired her private and commercial pilot licenses at Swan Island Airport in Portland, Oregon.{{Cite web |last=Denfeld |first=Duane Colt |date=March 11, 2013 |title=Women Airforce Service Pilots from Washington |url=https://www.historylink.org/File/10339 |website=historylink.org}}
War service
During World War II, Alta first worked in the US War Department for Air Branch G-2 She moved with Air Branch G-2 to The Pentagon as its first wing was finished. and on its formation she transferred to the Women Airforce Service Pilots, the WASP, in 1943 where she flew as a Squadron Leader. In the WASP
Post-war
After the WASPs disbanded, Alta "Teta" Corbett was a ground to aircraft controller with the Civil Aeronautics Administration in Gustavus, Alaska after being unable to find a civilian commercial pilot's position in the then male dominated commercial airline world.“WASP Newsletter from Alta Corbett Thomas”, December 1982, The Women's Collection, Texas Woman's University, Denton, Texas.
Family
Alta Corbett married Ralph Russell Thomas on 8 June 1961 in Portland Oregon starting married life on the Oregon Coast. Later, they self built a house and farm in Sequim, Washington, on the Olympic Peninsula. They had two daughters Deborah Thomas McGoff and Caroline (Kelly) Ladd Thomas.
= Awards =
At 92 years of age, Alta Corbett Thomas was awarded a Congressional Gold Medal for her service in the WASPs on July 1, 2009. She was invested with the Medal on March 10, 2010 by then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the House Minority Leader John Boehner also spoke at the Emancipation Hall of US Congress in Washington D.C. Her daughters were present.Peninsula Daily News, February 14, 2010, via The Women's Collection, Texas Woman's University, Denton, Texas.
References
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Category:20th-century American women
Category:Congressional Gold Medal recipients