Tuskegee Airmen
Atlanta Chapter
 

About Us
GENERAL INFORMATION AND BACKGROUND

Who were the Tuskegee Airmen?  1941-1949
The Tuskegee Airmen were not only unique in their military record, but they inspired revolutionary reform in the armed forces, paving the way for integration of the armed services in the U.S. The largely college educated Tuskegee Airmen overcame the enormous challenges of prejudice and discrimination, succeeding despite obstacles that threatened failure. What made these men exceptional was their willingness to leave their families and put their lives on the line to defend rights that were denied them here at home.

The superior record of the Tuskegee Airmen in World War II was accomplished by individuals who accepted the challenge and proudly displayed their skill and determination in the face of racism and bigotry at home, despite their distinguished war records. Prior to the 1940s, many in the military held the sadly mistaken view that black servicemen were unfit for most leadership roles and mentally incapable of combat aviation. Between 1924 and 1939, the Army War College commissioned a number of studies aimed at increasing the military role of blacks. According to The Air Force Magazine, Journal of the Air Force Association, March 1996, "... these studies asserted that blacks possessed brains significantly smaller than those of white troops and were predisposed to lack physical courage. The reports maintained that the Army should increase opportunities for blacks to help meet manpower requirements but claimed that they should always be commanded by whites and should always serve in segregated units."

Overruling his top generals and to his credit, President Franklin Roosevelt in 1941 ordered the creation of an all black flight training program at Tuskegee Institute. He did so one day after the NAACP filed suit on behalf of Howard University student Yancy Williams and others in Federal Court to force the Department of Defense to accept black pilot trainees. Yancy Williams had a civilian pilot's license and received an engineering degree. Years later, Major Yancy Williams participated in an air surveillance project created by President Eisenhower.

"We proved that the antidote to racism is excellence in performance," said retired Lt. Col. Herbert Carter, who started his military career as a pilot and maintenance officer with the 99th Fighter Squadron. "Can you imagine ... with the war clouds as heavy as they were over Europe, a citizen of the United States having to sue his government to be accepted to training so he could fly and fight and die for his country?  The government expected the experiment to fail and end the issue," said Carter.   Training of the Tuskegee Airmen was an experiment established to prove that "coloreds" were incapable of operating expensive and complex combat aircraft.

By 1943, the first contingent of black airmen was sent to North Africa, Sicily and Europe. Their performance far exceeded anyone's expectation. They were the first squadron to sink a naval destroyer with only machine guns and first ever to shoot down a German Jet during WWII.  Nearly 1000 black pilots received their wings and became commissioned officers at Tuskegee.  The first 450 graduates were deployed to North Africa and the European Theatre of Operations, flying combat missions, with the last class finishing in June of 1946.  

The Tuskegee Airmen were credited with 261 aircraft destroyed, 148 aircraft damaged, 15,553 combat sorties and 1,578 missions over North Africa, Italy and Europe.  They destroyed or damaged over 940 units of enemy ground transportation and conducted more than 200 bomber escort missions, never loosing a bomber to enemy fighters.

Clearly, the experiment, as it was called, was an unqualified success. Black men demonstrated that they could not only fly, they excelled at it and were equal partners in America's victory.

The Tuskegee Airmen were awarded three Presidential Unit Citations, 150 Distinguished Flying Crosses and Legions of Merit, along with the Red Star of Yugoslavia, nine Purple Hearts, 14 Bronze Stars and more than 700 Air Medals and clusters.

Sixty-six of the Black aviators died in combat, while another 33 were shot down and captured as prisoners of war. The combat record of the Tuskegee Airmen speaks for itself! Click here for the statistics and decorations of the Tuskegee Airmen.

The yet untold story of the continuing role of the Tuskegee Airmen in the desegregation of the armed forces and what that has meant to the development of today’s armed forces remains to be told.

There should be no question, the Tuskegee Airmen are deserving of the Congressional Gold Medal. 

Today there are 42 chapters located in major cities of the U.S. The chapters support young people through scholarships, sponsorships to the military academies and flight training programs.  

We have just completed our third Annual Aviation Career Enrichment program with students from across Metro Atlanta.  Our ACE Camp is designed to stimulate and inspire youth to improve their academic performance, character development and citizenship.