Herrington, Maycie

Biography

Maycie Herrington was born in Raleigh, North Carolina on November 7, 1918 to Dicie and Thomas Copeland. She graduated from Washington High School in 1936 and continued her education at St. Augustine College, earning her Bachelor of Science degree in 1940. In 1943, Maycie married Aaron Herrington and the couple moved to Tuskegee, Alabama shortly thereafter so that Aaron could start flight training with the U.S. Army Air Force. While in Tuskegee, Maycie found employment at the Red Cross. Her husband Aaron was a cadet and graduated as a single-engine pilot in May 1943; due to a crash in the final phase of his training he did not serve overseas. Maycie and Aaron welcomed the birth of their first child, daughter Ann, on March 16, 1944. The family moved to Long Beach, California in 1948. Maycie began work for the U.S. Department of Social Services in 1949 until her retirement in 1981. To promote the legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen, Maycie created a set of Tuskegee Airmen trading cards which include a photograph and biography of individual airmen. Aaron died October 1, 1995 and Maycie kept his membership in the Los Angeles chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen Inc.; she became an active member in 1996 and secretary in 1998.