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| Tribute
to Tuskegee Airmen |
The Tuskegee
Airmen were the first African Americans
to be trained as WWII Military pilots
in the U.S. Army Air Corps. This was
a time when being black was more of
a crime then being the enemy. Never
in our  nations'
history has the idea of enemy lines
been so blurred or has patriotism been
so clearly defined. The Tuskegee Airmen
challenged America's racist attitudes
with the willingness to give their lives
to a country not willing to serve them.
There were 992 pilots trained at Tuskegee,
Alabama while over 10,000 Black maintenance
personnel trained at Chanute field in
Illinois. Five hundred fifty bomber
pilots and their crews were trained
but the war ended before they were deployed
overseas. The remaining 445 fighter
pilots and their crews entered combat
in Europe, the Mediterranean and North
Africa. The Tuskegee Airmen were forced
to operate as segregated units and not
allowed to train or fight alongside
their white fellow countrymen. To identify
themselves they painted the tails of
their aircraft red, thus becoming the
"Red Tails". The Tuskegee
Airmen "Red Tails" carried
their hopes and dreams of equality for
themselves and their thirteen million
African American countrymen into battle. |
Initially shunned, due to their color,
the Red Tails superior performance rapidly
became legendary and they soon became
the requested white bomber pilots fighter
escorts. Flying over 15,000 sorties
in 1500 plus missions they compiled
an outstanding combat record. As bomber
escorts, the Tuskegee Airmen never lost
a bomber to enemy fighters; a record
no other fighter group achieved. Sixty
six gave their lives in combat and 32
were captured as prisoners of war. They
were recognized by receiving over 850
medals including the Presidential Unit
Citation, the highest award that can
be given a military unit.
What began as an experiment ended with
a path of success forged for all African
Americans. The path however was not
easy. Returning home the airmen were
once again mistreated by the country
they had just defended. But the Tuskegee
Airmen had defeated this racist enemy
before and they would do it again. Using
their education they went on to successful
careers in the military, business and
education while continuing the quiet
fight for freedom. Unfortunately this
story of how a group of African American
aviators fought and won battles on two
fronts: against racism at home and against
facism in Europe has been left out of
most history textbooks. The story can
no longer go untold, not just because
of its importance in black history,
but because of its importance in American
History. |
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| Did you Know? |
| The Tuskegee Airmen
were the first African Americans to be trained
as WWII Military pilots in the U.S. Army Air
Corps. |
| |
| Did you Know? |
| There were 992 pilots
trained at Tuskegee, Alabama while over 10,000
Black maintenance personnel trained at Chanute
field in Illinois. |
| |
| Did you Know? |
| Initially shunned, due
to their color, the Red Tails superior performance
rapidly became legendary and they soon became
the requested white bomber pilots fighter
escorts |
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Fight! Fight! Fight-Fight-Fight!
The fighting Ninety-Ninth!
We are the heroes of the night
To hell with the Axis might!
Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!
The fighting Ninety-Ninth!
Rat-tat! Rat-tat-tat!
Round in planes we go
When we fly, Ninety-Ninth
This is how we go
We are the heroes of the night
To hell with the Axis might
Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!
The fighting Ninety-Ninth! |
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