Tuskegee Airmen come to encourage, leave inspired

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Scott Campbell
  • 386th Air Expeditionary Wing
SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) --  It was to deliver a message of inspiration and support that led five members of the famed Tuskegee Airmen to visit the members of the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing here Oct. 29. 

However, during a question-and-answer session here at their last stop in the region before returning home, the Tuskegee Airmen admitted they were as inspired by the troops as the other way around.
 
“We were asked to bring inspiration to you. Instead, we found something extraordinary here on this trip,” said retired Col. Dick Tolliver, a second-generation Tuskegee Airmen who served from 1963-1989.
 
“You’re helping these people over here build a nation," Colonel Tolliver said. "We back home will never forget that. (We) are behind you 110 percent or more. We thank God we have young people like you who are willing to put it on the line.”
 
“I felt honored for men of their stature to come and honor us,” said 1st Lt. Fernando Ruiz,  who said he learned from the visiting Tuskegee Airmen.
 
“I think they were inspiring," the lieutenant said. "They took experiences from their generation and applied it to ours. They relied on each other to overcome adversity. As the one gentleman said, 'nothing can beat one whole team.' It made me think and apply it to my life,” said the 386th Expeditionary Mission Group executive officer.

Focus was the strength of the Tuskegee Airmen, said Colonel Tolliver. 

“Many times we could have stopped and reacted to distractions but we didn’t. We were focused on getting through the program. We went to disprove a theory (that blacks couldn’t fly),” he said.
 
Not only did they they succeed in disproving the theory, the Tuskegee Airmen went on to fly every fighter in the Air Force inventory at the time, with the exception of the P-38 Lightning, said retired Lt. Col. Lee Archer. Ultimately, the “Red Tails” became so respected for their protection of bombers, they were specifically requested by bomber crews to defend them on their long-range runs.
 
Although most of the questions focused on their ground-breaking history and the veracity of the Hollywood movie about the first generation of Tuskegee Airmen, Colonel Tolliver spoke of the future.
 
“People sometimes ask us, ‘What should the face of the Tuskegee Airmen look like in the future?’ Look to your left and your right. You are our legacy," Colonel Tolliver said. "You’re shoulder to shoulder (with Airmen of all races and creeds) working to get it done ... you are the face of the Tuskegee Airmen of the future.”