Ruth A . Lucas Colonel Ruth Alice Lucas ( November 28 , 1920 – March 23 , 2013 ) , the first African American woman in the Air Force to be promoted to the rank of colonel and who at the time of her retirement was the highest - ranking African American woman in the Air Force . Biography . Early life and entrance into the military . Ruth Alice Lucas was born in Stamford , Connecticut , on November 28 , 1920 . Shortly after graduation , Col . Lucas enlisted in the Women ’ s Army Auxiliary Corps ( WAAC ) in 1942 and was one the first black women to attend what is now the Joint Forces Staff College in Norfolk , VA . She transferred from the Army to the newly created Air Force in 1947 . Education , Career . She was a 1942 education graduate of what is now Tuskegee University in Alabama . In the early 1950s , while stationed at an Air Force base in Tokyo , Col . Lucas taught English to Japanese schoolchildren and college students in her spare time . She received a master ’ s degree in educational psychology from Columbia University in 1957 and moved to the Washington , D . C . area in the early 1960s . Col . Lucas held a variety of positions , mainly in research and education , before being named a colonel in 1968 . At the time of her promotion , Col . Lucas was a general education and counseling services assistant in the office of the deputy assistant secretary of defense for education at the Pentagon . She created , organized and implemented special literacy programs aimed to increase the education levels of service personnel . “ Most people don ’ t realize that among all the servicemen who enter the military annually , about 45 , 000 of them read below the fifth - grade level , and more than 30 percent of these men are black , ” she said in a 1969 interview with Ebony Magazine . “ Right now if I have any aim , it ’ s just to reach these men , to interest them in education and to motivate them to continue on . ” Many men saw results from her programs and management , including retired Master Sgt . Alfonzo Hall , who served in the same division as Col . Lucas in the 1950s . “ She saw the big picture , ” Hall said in an interview . “ Every day , every month and every quarter , we men saw results . She ate , slept and breathed training . She believed it was critical for military and civilian life . ” “ She looked at all people as people and tried to help them all , ” Hall said . “ There were times when I thought about getting out , but I decided that I could best utilize my training right here in the service , ” Col . Lucas recalled to Ebony Magazine . “ One year slipped into another , and , well , when my promotion came last year , it just seemed to cap all my previous experiences . ” Retirement . Col . Lucas retired from the Air Force in 1970 . Her military decorations included the Defense Meritorious Service Medal . Post Retirement . After her military retirement , Col . Lucas became the director of urban services at the old Washington Technical Institute , one of three schools that merged in 1977 to form the University of the District of Columbia . She designed outreach programs to encourage high school students to pursue higher education . In 1994 , she retired as the assistant to the dean of UDC ’ s College of Physical Science , Engineering and Technology . Col . Lucas was a past member of a Washington Urban League advisory panel on education and worked with the U . S . Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to improve testing techniques . Death . Col . Lucas died March 23 , 2013 at her home in Washington , D . C . . She was 92 . She had inanition and cardiac arrest . Survivors include two great - nieces whom she helped raise as children , Laurie Ward and Elaine Ward , both of Washington , D . C . Col . Lucas is buried at Arlington National Cemetery .