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Daniel Parada

3rd Period Language Arts

Mrs. Akin

February 26, 2019

The Tuskegee Airmen

“Well, you can fly all right,” Eleanor Roosevelt said as she departed from the Piper J-3

Cub that she flew in with Pilot Charles Alfred Anderson (McBirney). Because of First Lady

Eleanor Roosevelt, the Tuskegee Airmen were able to expand their numbers in training. Even

though there have been many in the history of America who tried to fight for equality for all, the

Tuskegee Airmen and their dedication to a country that was racially divided brought about the

most critical change; this change was most evident within the armed forces because the Tuskegee

Airmen did not allow prejudice to deter their service; and while they were persecuted and

disparaged, the Tuskegee Airmen still brought victories for the red, white, and blue.

Franklin D. Roosevelt helped the start of the Tuskegee Airmen by issuing the funding for

forming an African American squadron of pilots in 1940. Initially, the name for the branch of

African American pilots was “The Army Air Corps” before becoming known as the Tuskegee

Airmen. The Tuskegee Airmen was founded in Tuskegee, Alabama, in early 1941. The airfield

where The Tuskegee Airmen trained during WWII was located at Moton Field, Tuskegee,

Alabama. Moton airfield was a part of The Tuskegee Institute, now named The Tuskegee

University. The Tuskegee Institute was founded by a black man named Booker T. Washington.

Thanks to the faultless facilities of the Tuskegee Institute Airfield and perfect weather climate

for year-round flying, finding a location in the deep rural south to train African American pilots

for combat was not complicated. The Army Air Corp was a part of The Tuskegee Experiment.
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The Tuskegee Experience was any man or women, black or white, civilian or combatant

who was involved in any part of the Tuskegee Airmen or the Army Air Corps during 1941-1949.

The Tuskegee Experience was to train these people to soar in combat areas before and during

WWII. The first civilian group of trained men completed training at The Tuskegee Institute in

May of 1940. Benjamin O. Davis Jr. also graduated from the school of West Point before

graduating in the first group of trained men in May of 1940. Following the war, Davis Jr. became

the first Negro Airforce Commander of the U.S.A. Armed Forces.

Throughout WWII, the Tuskegee Institute at Moton airfield was the location for training

the Tuskegee Airmen. Training took approximately 27 weeks to complete with three-course

levels (Benson). Primary, Basic, and Advanced were the courses, and each course took about

nine weeks to complete, and all must be complete in order to become an official Tuskegee pilot.

Roughly 15,000 people were participating in training. After the years of 1941-1946, 2,000

African Americans had been trained for combat war, although not all became pilots

(FDRLibrary.org). Only ¾ of men trained qualified for becoming a pilot for WWII; the rest

became navigators, bombardiers, instructors, aircraft and engine mechanics, air traffic

controllers, and many other different jobs (Tuskegee Airmen). Together, they all were known as

the Tuskegee Airmen.

In 1941, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt visited Moton airfield. She asked, “Can Negros

really fly?” Pilot Anderson replied, “Certainly we can; as a matter of fact, would you like to take

an airplane ride?” (The Tuskegee Airmen: First Group of African-American Fighter Pilots in

WW2). The Secret Service Agents were very anxious about allowing her to fly with a black man

(Eleanor Roosevelt and the Tuskegee Airmen). The Service Agents called Mr. Roosevelt for

further permission; he stated, “Well, if she wants to do it, there’s nothing we can do to stop
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her…” (The Tuskegee Airmen: First Group of African-American Fighter Pilots in WW2). She

was taken on an hour-long flight in a Piper J-3 Cub around Tuskegee air space by Pilot Charles

Alfred Anderson, proving that a ‘negro’ could actually fly. Resultingly, Mrs. Roosevelt was the

only outspoken woman in support of the Tuskegee Airmen following the historic flight

(Tuskegee Airmen Squadron Conducts Successful Missions during World War II). The flight of

the First Lady was published in many different newspapers making headlines; although

newspapers like the New York Times and the Atlanta Constitution did not bother to mention the

flight with their audiences (Sherman). Following the flight and the major story headlines that

many people ignored, the Roosevelts announced that the first group of Negro Air Corps pilots

would be trained at the Tuskegee Institute.

There were nine entire groups of pursuit squadrons and bombardment squadrons in the

Tuskegee Airforce including, the 99th, 100th, 301st, 302nd, 477th, 616th, 617th, 618th, 619th, and 332nd

Pursuit Squadrons. The farthest any of these squadrons ever flew was as far as Berlin, Germany

(Tuskegee Airmen History.net). On July 2nd, 1943, the first group of men in the 99th Pursuit

Squadron was activated and sent to North Africa six months before the attacks on Pearl Harbor.

The first mission was a success when the 99th Pursuit Squadron captured an Italian occupied

island in the Mediterranean Sea. As a result, one thousand Italian were captured and held as

Prisoners of War. Lutienit Charles B. Hall shot down the first enemy plane in combat. When the

Tuskegee Airmen attacked the Italians in Sicily, the Tuskegee Airmen downed an FW-190, lost

two men to enemy fire, and one man was lost at sea for one entire night until he was found the

following morning (Sherman). Stitisicly, the Tuskegee Airmen successfully killed 237 German

men on the ground and downed over 1,000 other German vehicles and railcars that held Jewish

men and women (Tuskegee Airmen History.com)

Most of the missions completed by the Tuskegee Airmen were to escort bombers striking

targets in the Southern part of Europe (Tuskegee Airmen History.net). In the Chicago Defender,

one journalist claimed that the Tuskegee Airmen never lost a bomber, which was a false

statement (The Tuskegee Airmen History.net). In total, the Tuskegee Airmen as a whole had

exactly 1,578 missions completed during WWII and 15,533 total sorties (Johnson). A sortie is a

mission or an attack on a single plane (Sortie). Also, the Tuskegee Airmen captured a total of 32

prisoners of war after being shot down from the sky.

The 332nd Pursuit Squad, or Fighting Group, was a combination of the 99th, 100th, 301st,

and 302nd, Pursuit Squadrons. They flew P-51 Mustangs that were painted red on the tail wing of

the planes (Tuskegee Airmen History.net). They painted the tail wings red for identification

purposes. As a result, the 332nd Fighter Group became known as the “Red Tails.” Factually, the

Red Tails were the most successful fighting group in the Tuskegee Airforces. The Red Tails

were able to escort bombers without one plane lost; no other squadron could compare. In the

process, they were able to accomplish their missions while strategically shooting down three

German planes. In total, the Red Tails flew 15,000 individual missions and sorties. At the end of

the war, there was an overall amount of 66 casualties within the Tuskegee Airforces and 32 total

prisoners of war detained at an airfield where the Tuskegee Airmen were located (Benson).

Thanks to the Tuskegee Airmen’s dedication to the U.S.A. despite risking their lives, In

1998, President Bill Clinton issued the Public Law 105-355 which established Moton Field in

Tuskegee, Alabama, to become a National Historic Site maintained by the Federal Government

of the United States of America (Tuskegee Airmen History). Besides just a national park,

members of the Tuskegee Airmen have eaten with Bill Clinton. About 300 members of the

Tuskegee Airmen received the Congressional Gold Medal of honor from President George W.
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Bush. Many of the Tuskegee Airmen, who were still living, were invited to attend the first black

president’s inauguration, Barack Obama's inauguration.

The Tuskegee Airmen played a vital role in a prejudice nation by showing perseverance

despite the odds of racial discrimination. Not only did the Tuskegee Airmen bring victory for the

United States of America, but they also rewrote the racial laws of the land, although taking no

pride in doing so. The Tuskegee Airmen reformed the rulings of the Armed Forces, brought

many successes for the U.S.A., and most importantly, stayed loyal to this country who did not

respect their services at the time. Future generations should remember the Tuskegee Airmen

because of their proven success despite unknown expectations from a prejudice land,

demonstrating their abilities for not only wars’ difficult fights, but also cultural and ethnic fights

that were within their own country.

Works Cited

Benson, Sonia, et al. “Tuskegee Airmen.” UXL Encyclopedia of U.S. History, vol. 8, UXL, 2009,

p. 1586. Student Resources In Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc

“Eleanor Roosevelt and the Tuskegee Airmen.” FDR Presidential Library & Museum.

https://fdrlibrary.org/tuskegee. Accessed on 1 February 2019.

Haulman, Daniel L. “112-Victories.” Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama: Air Force Historical

Research Agency. 17 January 2008. PDF.

Haulman, Daniel L. “Tuskegee Airfields During WWII.” Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama: Air

Force Historical Research Agency. 23 June 2014. PDF.

Haulman, Daniel L. “Tuskegee Airmen Questions and Answers.” Maxwell Air Force Base,

Alabama: Air Force Historical Research Agency. 3 September 2014. PDF.

Johnson, Theopolis W. “Tuskegee Experience.” Tuskegee University. Accessed 28 January

2019. PDF.

McBirney, Jessica. “Tuskegee Airmen.” CommonLit, 2017, www.commonlit.org/texts/tuskegee-

airmen.

“Sortie.” Merriam-Webster.com, Merriam-Webster,

www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sortie. Accessed 31 Jan. 2019.

Sherman, Stephen. “The Tuskegee Airmen: First Group of African-American Fighter Pilots in

WW2.” Acepilots.com 1999-2019. http://acepilots.com/usaaf_tusk.html. June 29, 2011.

http://acepilots.com/usaaf_tusk.html. HTML.
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“Tuskegee Airmen.” HISTORY. A&E Television Networks. 21 August 2018.

https://www.history.com/topics/

“Tuskegee Airmen.” HistoryNet 2019. www.historynet.com/tuskegee-airmen. Accessed 7

February 2019

“Tuskegee Airmen History.” Tuskegee Airmen Inc., tuskegeeairmen.org/explore-tai/a-brief-

history/.

“Tuskegee Airmen Squadron Conducts Successful Missions during World War II.” Historic U.S.

Events, Gale, 2017. Student Resources In Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc