Neomi was only 17-years old when her brother James reported to Tuskegee Army Air Field (TAAF) in Alabama for flight training.  Although very young, she convinced her parents to allow her to take the civil service examinations for civilian employment at her brother’s base.

At Tuskegee, Neomi worked in the accounting office.  Although an expert seamstress, she never worked on the fabric wings of the training airplanes stationed at the base. But being very photogenic, she was often asked to pose for various promotional photographs that showed her working on airplane wings and with sewing machines as if she did.

In 1945 Neomi was selected as “Miss TAAF” for a football game between the Tuskegee Army Air Field football team and North Carolina State College.

Learn more about Neomi Marilyn (Polkinghorne) Nelson by reading her TUSKEGEE AIRMAN PROFILE!