Jump to content
 







Main menu
   


Navigation  



Main page
Contents
Current events
Random article
About Wikipedia
Contact us
Donate
 




Contribute  



Help
Learn to edit
Community portal
Recent changes
Upload file
 








Search  

































Create account

Log in
 









Create account
 Log in
 




Pages for logged out editors learn more  



Contributions
Talk
 



















Contents

   



(Top)
 


1 Early life and education  





2 Career  





3 Personal life  





4 Military awards  





5 References  





6 External links  














Marie Rossi






العربية
مصرى
 

Edit links
 









Article
Talk
 

















Read
Edit
View history
 








Tools
   


Actions  



Read
Edit
View history
 




General  



What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Cite this page
Get shortened URL
Download QR code
Wikidata item
 




Print/export  



Download as PDF
Printable version
 




In other projects  



Wikimedia Commons
 
















Appearance
   

 





Coordinates: 38°5218N 77°0357W / 38.87170°N 77.06594°W / 38.87170; -77.06594
 

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 


Marie Therese Rossi-Cayton
Major Rossi-Cayton
Born(1959-01-03)January 3, 1959
Oradell, New Jersey, U.S.
DiedMarch 1, 1991(1991-03-01) (aged 32)
Saudi Arabia
Buried 38°52′18N 77°03′57W / 38.87170°N 77.06594°W / 38.87170; -77.06594
Allegiance United States of America
Service/branch United States Army
Years of service1980–1991
Rank Major
Unit18th Aviation Brigade
Commands held
  • A Co, 1st / 58th Aviation Regiment
  • Battles/warsPersian Gulf War
    Awards14/13
    Spouse(s)CWO John Anderson Cayton

    Marie Therese Rossi-Cayton (January 3, 1959 – March 1, 1991) was the first woman in American military history to serve in combat as an aviation unit commander, during the Persian Gulf War in 1991, and the first woman pilot in United States history to fly combat missions. She was killed when the CH-47 Chinook she was piloting crashed in Saudi Arabia, on March 1, 1991.[1]

    Early life and education

    [edit]

    Rossi was born in Oradell, New Jersey, on January 3, 1959, the third of four children born to Paul and Gertrude Rossi. Her father was a book bindery treasurer, and her mother was a secretary for a Wall Street firm.[2] In 1976, she graduated from River Dell Regional High School and began attending Dickinson College, where she also joined the Reserve Officers' Training Corps. Rossi graduated in 1980, with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology.[3]

    Career

    [edit]
    Grave at Arlington National Cemetery

    What I'm doing is no greater or less than the man who is flying next to me or in back of me ...[4]

    As a Captain, Rossi was selected to attend Army Flight School at Fort Rucker. She was assigned to the Charter Member Class of the Army Aviation Branch in 1985 which included many notable graduates. This class was composed entirely of Commissioned Officers. The class was designed to commemorate the establishment of the branch for the first time since The Army Air Corps became the US Air Force after WWII. As the ranking officer she was made the class leader.

    Rossi served as a CH-47 Chinook pilot with the 18th Aviation Brigade, commanding B Company, 2nd Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment, 24th Infantry Division,[5] stationed at Hunter Army Airfield, Savannah, Georgia. Her company deployed to Saudi Arabia in support of Operation Desert Shield in 1990. Rossi was interviewed by CNN prior to the ground assault by Coalition forces. She said,

    Sometimes, you have to disassociate how you feel personally about the prospect of going into war and, you know, possibly see the death that's going to be out there. But personally, as an aviator and a soldier, this is the moment that everybody trains for – that I've trained for – so I feel ready to meet a challenge.[6]

    Rossi led a flight of her company's CH-47 Chinook helicopters 50 miles (80 km) into Iraq on February 24, 1991, ferrying fuel and ammunition during the very first hours of the ground assault by the Coalition Forces. Her company would be involved in supply missions throughout the war.

    She was killed when her helicopter crashed into an unlit microwave tower in Northern Saudi Arabia on March 1, 1991, the day after the ceasefire agreement.[7] She was buried on March 11, 1991, with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery.[8]

    Personal life

    [edit]

    Rossi met fellow pilot Chief Warrant Officer 4 John Anderson Cayton Sr. while assigned to the 213th Combat Aviation CompanyinSouth Korea.[7] They were married in Savannah, GA in June 1990.[9]

    Military awards

    [edit]

    Rossi's military decorations and awards include:

    Bronze oak leaf cluster

    Bronze oak leaf cluster

    Bronze star

    Bronze star

    Width-44 ribbon with the following stripes, arranged symmetrically from the edges to the center: width-2 black, width-4 chamois, width-2 Old Glory blue, width-2 white, width-2 Old Glory red, width-6 chamouis, width-3 myrtle green up to a central width-2 black stripe
    Badge Army Aviator Badge[10]
    1st row Bronze Star Medal[10] Purple Heart[10] Meritorious Service Medal[10]
    2nd row Air Medal[10] Army Commendation Medal[10] Army Achievement Medal[10]
    3rd row National Defense Service Medal[10] Southwest Asia Service Medal with two bronze service stars for two designated campaigns[10] Army Service Ribbon[10]
    4th row Army Overseas Service Ribbon[10] Kuwait Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia)[10] Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait)[10]

    References

    [edit]
    1. ^ "Oradell Pilot Mourned". Bergen Record. Archived from the original on October 19, 2012. Retrieved April 20, 2008.
  • ^ "Marie Rossi". People. May 30, 1991. Retrieved August 30, 2009.
  • ^ "Marie T. Rossi, USA, Class of 1980". Encyclopedia Dickinsonia. Archived from the original on April 11, 2011. Retrieved August 28, 2009.
  • ^ Schubert, Frank N. Whirlwind War: The United States Army in Desert Storm. [S.l.]: Center For Military Hist, 1996. ISBN 978-0-7881-2829-5
  • ^ Pennington, Reina (2003). Amazons to Fighter Pilots – A Biographical Dictionary of Military Women. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. p. 376. ISBN 0-313-32708-4.
  • ^ Sullivan, Joseph F. "Army Pilot's Death Stuns Her New Jersey Neighbors". New York Times. newspaper article. 7 March 1991. Accessed on 30 August 2009.
  • ^ a b Wise Jr., James E.; Baron, Scott (2013). Women at War: Iraq, Afghanistan, and Other Conflicts (2011 ed.). New York: Naval Institute Press. pp. 90–92. ISBN 9781612514079. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  • ^ Burial Detail: Rossi, Marie Therese (Section 8, Grave 9872) – ANC Explorer
  • ^ Kitfield, James. Prodigal Soldiers. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995, 353
  • ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "TogetherWeServed – MAJ Marie T. Rossi-Cayton". army.togetherweserved.com. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  • [edit]
    Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Marie_Rossi&oldid=1198784601"

    Categories: 
    1959 births
    1991 deaths
    American aviators
    American people of Italian descent
    United States Army personnel of the Gulf War
    Burials at Arlington National Cemetery
    People from Oradell, New Jersey
    Women in the United States Army
    Women in war 19451999
    Recipients of the Air Medal
    American women aviators
    20th-century American women
    Hidden categories: 
    Pages using gadget WikiMiniAtlas
    Articles with short description
    Short description is different from Wikidata
    Use mdy dates from September 2018
    Coordinates not on Wikidata
    Articles with SNAC-ID identifiers
     



    This page was last edited on 25 January 2024, at 02:00 (UTC).

    Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 4.0; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.



    Privacy policy

    About Wikipedia

    Disclaimers

    Contact Wikipedia

    Code of Conduct

    Developers

    Statistics

    Cookie statement

    Mobile view



    Wikimedia Foundation
    Powered by MediaWiki