Tuskegee Airmen Induction

Before WORLD WAR I, military service represented a source of black pride. Black educators, clergymen, and the press frequently referred to Negro heroes of America’s past wars. After the Civil War, the U.S, Army maintained four regular Negro regiments –the 9th and 10th Calvary and the 24th and 25th Infantry. These units included veterans of the civil war and the frontier Indian fighting regiments. Retired sergeants often became respected, conservative leaders in their communities. This history set a foundation for black support and involvement in America’s future wars.

(Setting the scene) In 1881 a man named Booker T. Washington started a school in Alabama called Tuskegee Institute. His thoughts were very controversial because he said that black people should stop trying to get integrated into white lives and live in their own society. He was once a slave so that changed his perspective to see that blacks were not treated the same. He felt with many others black would have to same rights as whites, but they should also be dependent on themselves. Much later his school became the first school to train black people for war. They were known as the Tuskegee Airmen.

On the home front, the U.S. government desperately needed workers to fill newly created defense jobs and factory positions left open by soldiers who had left to fight. More than two million African Americans went to work for defense plants, and another two million joined the federal civil service. As these new opportunities drew more and more African Americans into cities, they opened the way for economic mobility.

Many people know of the story of the Tuskegee Airmen, they were the first African American Fighting group that flew combat missions for the United States military in World War II. Throughout their time overseas they were breaking down racial barriers by proving that colored men can fly a plane just as well as their white aviation counterparts. In order to get their chance to prove that they were able to serve their country, many things had to go right before they were allowed to take their wheels off the ground. They faced constant discrimination but because of that discrimination they were able to conquer the stereotypes and rise to become some of the most decorated

Prior to WWII, the U.S. Air Force did not employ African Americans in any role. However in 1940, President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered the Air Corps to build an all Negro flying unit. The presidential order caused the Army to create the 99th Pursuit Squadron(Tuskegee Airmen 2). To develop the Negro pilots needed for the new squadron, the Air Corps opened a new training base in central Alabama, at the Tuskegee Institute(Tuskegee Experiment 1).

One of the ways in which blacks were awarded new opportunities was in the military. During the American Revolution, there were two sides of the war; the Loyalists who were loyal to King George III and the British government, and the Patriots who supported Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence. During this time, some slaves obtained freedom if they served in the military. Those who were not offered that opportunity were enticed to join the Loyalists in return for their freedom. Although, in the end, both sides helped African Americans find their freedom where they could (Holton, 57). During the war, African Americas were used in various ways, such as guides, spies, and soldiers, but they were only allowed to do the jobs that did not require much skill, as people did not think they were very skillful (Holton, 57). One of the first battles in which many African Americans fought in was the Battle of Bunker Hill. On this same day, Congress appointed a southern slaveholder as commander of the newly formed Continental Army. When George Washington arrived to the battle site, he was baffled at the disorganization of the New England soldiers and called for a total reform of the army. One of the things he did during this reform was the removal of slaves and free blacks from the Continental Army. This reform lasted an insignificant amount of time as Washington feared that the free blacks that were no longer in the Continental Army would enlist

Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. was born December 18, 1912 in Washington D.C. His father, Benjamin O. Davis, Sr. was one of the few African-American officers in the U.S. Army. Davis, Jr. was appointed to the U.S. Military Academy in 1932 by Rep. Oscar S. De Priest, the only black congressman at that time. At West Point he endured ostracism from both classmates and superiors who wanted to see him fail. He persevered and graduated 35th in a class of 276 in 1936. He was the fourth African-American graduate in the Academy’s history. Upon commissioning he and his father became the only two black officers in the army. His application to the Army Air Corps was refused because the Air Corps did not accept African-Americans.

Despite their great military record, troops of the 369th regiment were still believed to be inferior and insufficiently trained and illiterate. The white army officers were very willing to attribute any unsuccessful missions from Black troops due to racial inferiority. Many blacks due to this racism were against participation in the military and the American war effort. William De Fossett did not think about the racial issues but the bigger war effort and was wiling to sacrifice for his nation. The Army showed good faith to the 369th unit giving them the antiaircraft duty which is a highly trained and respected job in the war effort. The Harlem Hellfighters were sent to Hawaii to protect the island and saw the great racial diversity on the island. There were many instances of discrimination but the military was trying to make all policies uniform so that the war could be won and these racial distractions would not cause internal conflict. Over 1 million men came to Hawaii during the war time to protect the island and build up military forces. In 1944 the 369th regiment was ordered to join forces in Okinawa. The unit did a great job and sacrificed so much for our nation on top of the racial discrimination. The 369th regiment caused many of the military policies to be supportive of Blacks or make rules that were uniform to all units. War Department had set rules and regulations that put military needs and rules ahead of traditional racist policies. Through the 369th

Many have heard of the Tuskegee Airmen and their accomplishments. They were a group of African American fighter pilots. They proved to be quite vital to the success of World War II. What many people may not know is the Tuskegee Airmen had several squadrons which fought throughout Europe during the war. The most famous squadron was the 332nd fighter squadron, they were commonly known as the Red Tails. Charles McGee was among those men apart of the Red Tail squadron. Charles McGee is one of most notable men in the Red Tails due to his accomplishments throughout the war. I will be explaining his life and all of his accomplishments throughout this paper on famous individuals in aviation.

When the African-American fighter groups finally graduated from Tuskegee University, with great pride and courage, they proved that African-Americans are capable of doing anything other can do. The Tuskegee Airmen graduated from Tuskegee University and formed 4 all-black squadrons which would merge to become the 332nd squadron in Spring of 1943. When they were given their first mission to strafe the island of Pantelleria, they did not fail. In jaded, old P-39 and P-40 aircrafts, documented by the national museum of the United States Air Force, it is recorded at that same day, that the Allies, “secured the Italian island of Pantelleria.”(“Davis leads the 99th into Combat”). It continues, stating,” The unit scored its first aerial victory against the Luftwaffe on July 2 when Lt. Charles B. Hall shot down a Focke Wulf Fw 190 on his eighth

On July 19, 1941, the Tuskegee Institute, started by Booker T. Washington, opened its first aviation cadet class. This was also the first pilot class to open for African American students. Historically, this was a major point for all blacks in America. This was an invite to prove their mettle fighting and piloting alongside white men. This program was run by Col. Noel F. Parrish. Many black men were excited and jumped to join the bandwagon. In fact, Lt. Col. Dryden stated, “We had to be number one, whether we were mechanics, cooks, maintenance.. Nurses, pilots or whatever! We had to be number one! That’s was to be expected.” This was the mind set and they proved it.

African Americans were on the open ground right in the way of deadly artillery fire. Although the attack failed, the black solders proved their capability to withstand the battle.

U.S. air forces were under the command of the Combined Force Air Component Commander (CFACC) and its Combined Air Operations

According to Anderson (n.d.), the Reconstruction Era (1877) presented a unique problem for black professionals. Although more blacks were becoming qualified for educational and employment opportunities, the job demand shifted to industrial needs. For black leaders, having to get industrial training instead of a broader, more useful education was a beneficial short term answer for employment. The primary advocate for industrial training was Booker T. Washington. Washington, educated at the Tuskegee Institute located in Alabama, expressed publicly that manual labor will be more beneficial to individuals because that was the type of work available (Anderson, n.d.).

In March 1941, 98 black enlisted men reported to Fort Knox, Ky., from Fort Custer, Mich., for armored warfare training with the 758th Tank Battalion (light). The pioneer black tankers trained in light tank operations, mechanics and related phases of mechanized warfare, as enlisted men from other Army units joined their ranks.