Before we had a Black-American President, before the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's there were the Tuskegee Airmen. A highly decorated group of pilots in World War II.
There were/are a lot of decorated pilots in WWII. But this group is special. They were black, putting their lives on the line for liberties they were denied back home. The names they were called back then are no longer fit for any conversation. Their story cannot be told enough. They cannot be honored enough.
I urge you to visit their website. Often. In WWII, the military was segregated. Soldiers of color were often assigned to menial duties in labor battalions or other support positions. Then came the great experiment. President Roosevelt, anticipating we would enter the war knew there would be a huge demand for pilots. So civilian pilot training programs were set up all over the country including the Tuskegee Institute, a black college founded in Alabama in 1881 by Booker T. Washington. Tuskegee graduated its first pilot in 1940. More followed, eventually becoming the 332nd fighter Group.
The rest as they say, is history. For a generation thrice-removed from WWII, you have to understand the incredible racism and discrimination that existed then. But despite enormous opposition and bigotry, not the least of which was the thought that blacks weren't capable of flying in combat, the Tuskegee Airmen flying as the 332nd Fighter Group went on to become one of the most decorated units in the war.
According to the National Museum of the Air Force, "When the war in Europe ended, the 332nd Fighter Group had shot down 112 enemy aircraft and destroyed another 150 on the ground. Also, they knocked out more than 600 railroad cars, and sank one destroyer and 40 boats and barges. Their losses included approximately 150 killed in combat or in accidents. During the war, Tuskegee had trained 992 pilots and sent 450 overseas. By any measure, the Tuskegee experiment was a resounding success."
Saturday November 19, Wings over the Rockies Air and Space Museum honors these extraordinary pilots and human beings at their Spreading Wings Gala. As a side-note, Colorado is home to the greatest number of surviving members of the 332nd.
The Tuskegee Airmen are also the subject of the upcoming major motion picture "Red Tails" starring Cuba Gooding Jr. who will be in attendance at the gala. Yet another reason to attend!
Gala truly describes the annual Spreading Wings Event. Here are highlights from last year's gala honoring Apollo 17 Astronaut Gene Cernan, the last human to walk on the moon.
You can be part of a true historical moment by attending the gala. I hope to see you on the 19th.
Brian Olson
Owner/Consultant
Conversation Starters Public Relations
There were/are a lot of decorated pilots in WWII. But this group is special. They were black, putting their lives on the line for liberties they were denied back home. The names they were called back then are no longer fit for any conversation. Their story cannot be told enough. They cannot be honored enough.
I urge you to visit their website. Often. In WWII, the military was segregated. Soldiers of color were often assigned to menial duties in labor battalions or other support positions. Then came the great experiment. President Roosevelt, anticipating we would enter the war knew there would be a huge demand for pilots. So civilian pilot training programs were set up all over the country including the Tuskegee Institute, a black college founded in Alabama in 1881 by Booker T. Washington. Tuskegee graduated its first pilot in 1940. More followed, eventually becoming the 332nd fighter Group.
The rest as they say, is history. For a generation thrice-removed from WWII, you have to understand the incredible racism and discrimination that existed then. But despite enormous opposition and bigotry, not the least of which was the thought that blacks weren't capable of flying in combat, the Tuskegee Airmen flying as the 332nd Fighter Group went on to become one of the most decorated units in the war.
According to the National Museum of the Air Force, "When the war in Europe ended, the 332nd Fighter Group had shot down 112 enemy aircraft and destroyed another 150 on the ground. Also, they knocked out more than 600 railroad cars, and sank one destroyer and 40 boats and barges. Their losses included approximately 150 killed in combat or in accidents. During the war, Tuskegee had trained 992 pilots and sent 450 overseas. By any measure, the Tuskegee experiment was a resounding success."
Saturday November 19, Wings over the Rockies Air and Space Museum honors these extraordinary pilots and human beings at their Spreading Wings Gala. As a side-note, Colorado is home to the greatest number of surviving members of the 332nd.
The Tuskegee Airmen are also the subject of the upcoming major motion picture "Red Tails" starring Cuba Gooding Jr. who will be in attendance at the gala. Yet another reason to attend!
Gala truly describes the annual Spreading Wings Event. Here are highlights from last year's gala honoring Apollo 17 Astronaut Gene Cernan, the last human to walk on the moon.
You can be part of a true historical moment by attending the gala. I hope to see you on the 19th.
Brian Olson
Owner/Consultant
Conversation Starters Public Relations
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