HomeNews

News Search

Results:
Tag: Tuskegee Airmen
Clear
  • Man standing in air force uniform holding a picture frame.

    Tuskegee ties to Pennsylvania Air Guard bind Black history, military future

    Tuskegee Airmen, the legendary first Black U.S. military aviators, are renowned for their remarkable contribution to the country’s successes in World War II; work that undeniably led to desegregating the armed forces; and specifically, albeit unknowingly at the time, strengthening the Pennsylvania Air National Guard. Expected to fail during a time when social winds claimed African Americans as unfit for the job, their abilities and heroism debunked that notion. Completely altering the face of U.S. military, their legacy continues to inspire Black Airmen and servicemembers today, and close to home. Here, two 111th Attack Wing Airmen – grandsons to original Tuskegee Airmen – joined military service by following the path forged by their grandfathers.
  • Wilber Miller, a San Antonio native, was a U.S. Navy veteran of World War I. He also served with the U.S. Army’s 25th Infantry Regiment on the Mexican border in the early 1920s. In 1935, he was promoted and called upon to select and lead the first African American team of 49 +1 (49 men and one young woman) to a new air depot at Tuskegee Army Air Field, Alabama. Their mission was to provide maintenance and administrative support to Alabama’s African American fighter squadron’s primary training phase on aircraft for the Tuskegee Airmen. (Courtesy photo)

    Duncan Field, Kelly’s ties to Tuskegee Airmen’s 49+1

    When most people think of the Tuskegee Airmen, they remember the pilots and the P-51 Mustang fighter aircraft with the red tails they flew. However, many people were not aware of the Tuskegee Airmen’s civilian force, who worked in the background and contributed to the now-famous Red Tails’ success. This group of men and one woman, who are also considered Tuskegee Airmen because of their contribution to the legacy of the “Original Tuskegee Airmen,” began at San Antonio’s Duncan Army Airfield.
  • Tuskegee Airman

    Surviving Tuskegee Pilot describes service, time as POW

    A pilot who fought Germans in WWII, got shot down and captured and survived to tell about it, met virtually with deployed Airmen at the 332nd AEW yesterday. Lt. Col. Harold Brown is a founding member of the 332nd AEW, the segregated wing made famous by the Tuskegee Airmen whose exemplary record helped spur the racial integration of the armed forces in July 1948.
  • The Tuskegee Airmen's purpose was to join in the fight of attacking Berlin. It was the most extended escort mission of the European Air protecting U.S. bombers from attacking enemy aircraft, including Messerschmitt 262 jet fighters.

    A Tale of Two Air Forces: How the Tuskegee Airmen bridged the divide

    The Tuskegee Airmen were not only pilots, they were support personnel as well – weather forecasters, communications professionals, aircraft mechanics, nurses, administrative people, and more. Even though the team was better known for flight, it takes many people to get a plane off the ground.
  • “The Red Tailed Angels” documentary series, which showcases the hardships, struggles and ultimately the successes of the Tuskegee Airmen, is now live on the Air Force Blue Tube channel. (U.S. Air Force graphic)

    Air Force releases “Red Tailed Angels” docuseries

    “The Red Tailed Angels” documentary series showcases the hardships, struggles and ultimately the successes of the Tuskegee Airmen.
  • Reserve Citizen Airmen from the 944th Fighter Wing at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, executed an F-35 Lightning II Missing Man formation flyover October 2, 2020. The mission over the Arizona State Capitol paid tribute to the late Maj. George Washington Biggs, U.S. Air Force (Ret.).

    Luke commemorates Tuskegee Airman with flyover

    Reserve Citizen Airmen from the 944th Fighter Wing at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, executed an F-35 Lightning II Missing Man formation flyover October 2, 2020. The mission over the Arizona State Capitol paid tribute to the late Maj. George Washington Biggs, U.S. Air Force (Ret.).
  • In 1941 the first group of black cadets to earn their wings at Tuskegee Army Air Field gather alongside a Vultee BT-13 trainer. Benjamin O. Davis Jr. (middle) became the first black general in the U.S. Air Force in 1954. (From the Smithsonian Institution, ID #99-15437)

    A Tale of the Red Tails

    Originally, part of the 332nd Fighter Group, the first all African American fighter group in the United States Army Air Corps, the legendary Tuskegee Airmen knew better than anyone the hard work and grit it took. The 301st and 302nd squadrons were activated in 1942 at Tuskegee Army Air Field, Alabama but it was not until their arrival at Selfridge Field, Michigan the following year that they finally got a chance to show their talent.
  • President Donald J. Trump participates in the promotion pinning ceremony for State of the Union Gallery guest and Tuskegee Airman, retired Brig. Gen. Charles McGee, Feb. 4, 2020, in the Oval Office of the White House. (Official White House photo by Shealah Craighead)

    Tuskegee Airman receives promotion to brigadier general

    On Feb. 4, retired Col. Charles E. McGee found himself in the Oval Office at the White House being promoted to brigadier general by President Donald Trump.
RSS