Remembering Tuskegee Institute and The Tuskegee Airmen

1881 - Tuskegee Institute www.tuskegee.edu opened in Tuskegee, Alabama with Booker T. Washington as its first president on this day.

I had the opportunity to visit Tuskegee University in 1989 to see a friend who was going to school there. To be on that campus felt almost indescribable. As anyone who has visited or lives in the South knows, it is a totally different feeling then living in the NorthEast section of the States. I saw the Booker T. Washington Museum and all the incredible fruits and vegetables he grew. They were all in huge jars and containers. The campus itself has this energy and vibration that is truly something special. I felt so many things on that campus. I could feel the history, the music and the spirits of many of our people. The Gospel music I heard when I was down there was also incredible. It reminded me of the Gospel Music you will hear from the incredible world renown Morgan University Gospel Choir and also the Gospel Music Spike Lee featured in School Daze.

I also had the opportunity to meet some of the Tuskegee Airmen TuskegeeAirmen at a Black Expo I volunteered for in DC shortly after that. That was an honor I will never forget. All of them were so mellow and cool. The stories they shared with us about their lives were so incredible and moving too. I joined a group of folks who were all sitting around in a circle at a table listening to The Tuskegee Airmen in one of the side hall convention rooms. I think they were having lunch after speaking to hundreds of people in one of the bigger convention rooms. Nobody wanted to leave or get up even as they ended their talk because their stories were just that moving. I get teared up just thinking about so many of their stories. Tears of pride and joy. Tears of pain. Just from feeling their experiences. Half the time all I could do is just shake my head left and right and go, "Umph." "Whoa." What?" "Wow." That's all that could come out my mouth as I sat listening to these elder gentlemen and accomplished veterans tell their stories.

I felt like I was sitting with some Grandfathers I never knew about. The same feeling I got when we used to ask our Grandfathers how things were in their day and they would tell you some stories that will rock you to the very core of your being and soul. I mean, you might as well take a seat, because you gonna need one as you will soon find out. To listen to them talk really takes you back to that time with all their struggles etc. Not only as airmen but as Black Men living at that time under those conditions, etc. Elders have a way of telling a story and, forget television or the movies, the more you listen to them you can see and feel exactly what they are describing to you. I mean, they will take you there.

So much history. I will definitely visit Tuskegee Univerity again one day soon. This time I hope to revisit the whole campus in even more detail and more of Tuskegee, Alabama too.

* Update - 07.26.06 - From EURWEB:

Phoenix, Arizona - Dozens of famous World War II black aviators, the Tuskegee Airmen, will celebrate the 35th meeting of their national convention with fellow members of Tuskegee Airmen, Incorporated (TAI) in conjunction with six other black aviation groups, all members of the International Black Aerospace Council (IBAC).

Other IBAC co-convention members are the Bessie Coleman Foundation; Black Pilots of America, Inc.; National Black Coalition of Federal Aviation Employees; NAI, Black Wings In Aviation; Organization of Black Airline Pilots and the U.S. Army Black Aviation Association.

The event will be held July 31st through August 5th at the J.W. Marriott Desert Ridge Resort and Spa in Phoenix, Arizona.

Tuskegee Airmen, Inc. (TAI) is a Section 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization whose goals are to perpetuate the activities and achievements of those Americans who served at Tuskegee Army Air Field or in any of the other projects stemming from the Tuskegee Experience between the years of 1941 and 1949.

TAI has 50 chapters in 28 states across the country with nearly 2,000 members, including 388 still-living original Tuskegee Airmen. Included in this still-living group is 130 pilots.

During World War II, 994 pilots graduated from the Tuskegee program. The first class graduated on March 6, 1942 with five pilots, including then Captain Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., who was later promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and became the commanding officer of the Tuskegee Airmen.

The heroic exploits of the 450 pilots who flew overseas in the war effort included 1,578 total missions and 15,553 total sorties. This also included 136 aircraft that was either destroyed or damaged in aerial combat, 273 aircraft on the ground, 619 box cars, 23 buildings and factories, 126 locomotives and one destroyer that was sunk at sea.

The Tuskegee Airmen had the unparalleled distinction during this period of never losing a bomber as they provided total protection for hundreds of U.S. bombers that destroyed the Nazi war machine under dictator Adolph Hitler.

As a result, the "Red Tails," a distinctive name they received for their combat record, received a Legion of Merit, a Silver Star, 95 Distinguished Flying Crosses, 14 Bronze Stars, two Soldier Medals, eight Purple Hearts and 744 Air Medals and Clusters.

Earlier this year, the Tuskegee Airmen gained a noted level of recognition as President George W. Bush signed into law a resolution which will make them recipients of the prestigious Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor that can be bestowed by the U.S. Congress. The presentation is expected to occur later this year inside the Rotunda of the U. S. Capitol in Washington, DC.

Highlights of the six-day co-convention include:

- 944th Tuskegee Airmen Memorial Air Park Dedication at Luke Air Force Base
- Lonely Eagle Ceremony (where TAI members who died since last convention are recognized)
- Youth Luncheon
- Military Luncheon - Keynote Speaker: General Kevin P. Chilton, AFSPC/CC
- National Scholarship Meeting
- Exhibit Hall
- Spouses Tea
- Military Leadership Forums

Media credentials are available. Contact Ron Brewington at bron215@aol.com or 323-533-1036

For more information about the history of the Tuskegee Airmen and TAI, please see our website at: tuskegeeairmen.org

source: Ron Brewington / National Public Relations Officer / 323-533-1036 / bron215@aol.com