Fotos para la historia.-

Photo By Sylvia Saab.

By the time she was in fourth grade, young Shawna Rochelle Kimbrell knew she wanted to be a fighter pilot. What the now-Air Force major didn't know, however, was that she would knock down a racial barrier by becoming the first black female fighter pilot.

Kimbrell was born in Lafayette, Ind., on April 20, 1976, to Guyanese parents. Her mother and father, who were naturalized U.S. citizens by the time she was born, moved to the U.S. for education and opportunities. Kimbrell graduated from the Academy in 1998 and was accepted into pilot training. She earned her pilot wings in August 1999.