|
This advanced class at the U.S. Army Flying School for black cadets studied navigation in September 1942.
-
Sending out an SOS: The Tuskegee Airmen learned
Fighting fliers: In this 1942 photo, cadets at the Basic and Advanced Flying School for black U.S. Army Air Corps cadets at the Tuskegee Institute await inspection.
Hear a hero: Grant Williams, of the famed Tuskegee Airmen, will speak Stormy weather: Singer and wartime pin-up girl Lena Horne posed with cadets at the Tuskegee Airbase in 1945. |
FOR THE FREE LANCE-STAR
More than 60 years ago, a group of American pilots set out for Europe to fight in World War II.
Today, the story of the Tuskegee Airmen--the first black military aviators in the United States armed forces--continues to be told. On Tuesday and Thursday of next week, at the Virginia Aviation Museum in Richmond, two original members of the Tuskegee Airmen will tell their stories of adversity and, ultimately, success.
"The museum is about aviation," said Mike Boehme, director of the Virginia Aviation Museum. "And the Tuskegee Airmen are one of the special events that occurred in history."
Since 2003, the museum has been hosting the Tuskegee Airmen as a way to celebrate Black History Month--and an important event in the history of aviation.
Members of the community can come and listen to speakers, tour dioramas, view a documentary about the origins and accomplishments of the Tuskegee Airmen, and view artifacts and memorabilia from World War II.
They will also get a chance to hear firsthand accounts detailing how those pilots, whom history has come to note as heroes, were not always viewed as such.
REWRITING HISTORY
One of the individuals who will be speaking at the museum is retired Chief Master Sgt. Grant S. Williams Sr., who was a member of the 96th Air Service Group--a support group that assisted the pilots of the 99th and 332nd squadrons. Williams witnessed the first group of pilots graduate from the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama.
"The Tuskegee Airmen was an experiment," Williams said. "But it wasn't to see if we could do it, but to prove that we couldn't do it."
After pressure was put on Congress by labor unions to form an all-black combat unit, legislation was passed, and in June 1941 the Tuskegee program officially began at the Tuskegee Institute.
Yet the prevailing opinion was that the program would not succeed.
But failure was not an option, Williams said. He shipped out to Italy and over the next 22 months, Williams saw the accomplishments of the Tuskegee Airmen exceed the expectations of most.
"When bombers went into battle," Williams said, "they started asking for us. They noticed when the 332nd escorted them, they came back with all their bombers."
They started to feel good about themselves, Williams said, so they painted their tail fins red, prompting the nickname "the redtails."
When the war was over, the Tuskegee Airmen could boast a record that has never been seen before or since by any organization, with a near perfect record for bombers saved. They flew 1,500 combat missions during World War II, damaged or destroyed over 400 enemy airplanes and received 95 Distinguished Service Cross awards.
In March 2007, 300 surviving airmen, Williams included, were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal by President George W. Bush.
But the real success of the Tuskegee Airmen was their part in changing the opinion about blacks held by many Americans at the time.
"We were an organization that supposedly couldn't fly, and we think the records speak for themselves," Williams said. "We overshadowed that myth that colored people were inferior."
TUSKEGEE AIRMEN TODAY
Every day members of the original Tuskegee Airmen die, and the need to preserve their story increases. Although Williams doesn't know the exact number of airmen still alive, he said being one of them is still a powerful feeling.
"It makes you feel very strange," Williams said. "When we came back we hoped to see something different, but it was the same."
Williams left for Europe from Newport News and returned from the war to Newport News, only to find that not much had changed back home, including the country's attitudes toward blacks.
"No one paid any attention to the accomplishments or the hardships," Williams said. "Things are different now, much different. Today they look at people who are an original Tuskegee, and they think we can walk on water or something. It's a wonderful feeling, but scary, too."
Williams will tell his story, along with the greater story of the Tuskegee Airmen, and answer questions during Tuesday and Thursday's events at the Aviation Museum.
"Their story is important," said Nancy Tait, public relations manager for the museum. "They came in at a time when things were very different, where there was segregation. These men had to fight to prove their worth, and they became one of the most decorated units in World War II."
Megan Williams is a Fredericksburg-area writer.
