Tuskegee Airmen leave strong legacy

  • Published
  • By Airman Brian Butkus
  • 375th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. (AFPN) --  On July 19, 1941, the Army Air Force began a program in Alabama to train black Americans as pilots for the first time.

Civil rights organizations and the black press exerted pressure that resulted in the formation of an all black pursuit squadron based in Tuskegee, Ala., in 1941. They became known as the Tuskegee Airmen.

"Tuskegee Airmen" refers to all who were involved in the so-called "Tuskegee Experiment," the Army Air Corps program to train blacks to fly and maintain combat aircraft. The Tuskegee Airmen included pilots, navigators, bombardiers, maintenance and support staff, instructors, and all the personnel who kept the planes in the air.

The primary flight training for these servicemembers took place at the Division of Aeronautics of Tuskegee Institute. Air Corps officials built a separate facility at Tuskegee Army Air Field to train the black pilots.

The Tuskegee Airmen not only battled enemies during wartime but also fought against racism and segregation thus proving they were just as good as any other pilot.

Even though the Tuskegee Airmen proved their worth as military pilots they were still forced to operate in segregated units and did not fight alongside their white countrymen.

One honor the Tuskegee Airmen hold true is that they never lost a bomber under their escort during World War II. Such honors as this earned the men the nickname Red Tail Angels.

The Airmen earned this title because of the red paint on the propeller and tail of their planes.

Another title the Tuskegee Airmen were deemed was “Schwartze Vogelmenschen.” This title was given to the Airmen by their German enemies, and it meant Black Bird Men.

In March of 1942 George Roberts, Benjamin Davis Jr., Charles BeBow Jr., Mac Ross and Lemuel Custis received silver wings of Army Air Force pilots.

These men completed the standard Army flight classroom instruction and many hours of flight time. Receiving their silver wings marked a milestone in being the first blacks to qualify as military pilots in any branch of the armed forces.

By the end of the war, 992 men had graduated from pilot training at Tuskegee; 450 were sent overseas for combat assignment. During the same period, about 150 lost their lives while in training or on combat flights.

“The Tuskegee Airmen paved the way for minorities in general,” said Capt. Julia Breeden, 375th Airlift Wing chief of military equal opportunity. They opened a lot of doors and dispelled a lot of stereotypes, she said.

On Nov. 6, 1998, President Clinton approved Public Law 105-355, which established the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site at Moton Field in Tuskegee, Ala., to commemorate and interpret the heroic actions of the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II.