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National Cemetery Administration

 

Remembrance: Tuskegee Airmen

Notables » African Americans in Military Service » Tuskegee Airmen

Expansion of the Program

In 1940, civilian pilot training at Tuskegee expanded. Noted Black aviator Charles Anderson joined the program, which attracted more students. Their successes led the military to open aviation duty to Black servicemen and to erode discriminatory practices. The War Department established one all-Black flying unit in March 1941, the Army Air Corps' 99th Pursuit (Fighter) Squadron, based at a new air field near the Tuskegee Institute. Between 1941 and 1946, more than 1,000 military pilots learned to fly single and twin engine planes at Tuskegee.

First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt took a now-famous ride with Anderson at Tuskegee's Kennedy Field in 1941. Not long after that flight, the first class of aviation cadets began training. Five completed the program in March 1942 and the 99th Fighter Group was at full strength by August.

Photograph of members of the 99th Fighter Squadron, Tuskegee Airmen.Members of the 99th Fighter Squadron, Tuskegee Airmen, February 1944. (NARA)
Photograph of Flight Instructor Charles Anderson and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt in a small aircraft.Flight Instructor Charles Anderson and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, 1941. (Airforce Historical Research Group)

First Combat

The following year, the 99th saw combat as part of the 332nd Fighter Group, along with the 100th, 301st, and 302nd groups. At the same time, Tuskegee trainees began to fly twin-engine planes, and bomber crews flew B-25s. The latter, among the 477th Bombardment Group, prepared for battle in the Pacific but the war ended before they were deployed.

Tuskegee Airmen performed a variety of operations in the Mediterranean, then overland from Sicily to Berlin. Between June 1944 and April 1945, the 332nd Fighter Group flew their red-tailed P-51 Mustangs on 179 bomber-escort missions; they lost only seven bombers by outmaneuvering the more responsive German jet aircraft. The Tuskegee Airmen were rewarded with a Distinguished Unit citation.

Photograph of several Tuskegee Airmen standing in front of a tent.First and Second Lts. Golden and Gaines, respectively, alongside several other Tuskegee Airmen. (Library of Congress)
Photograph of Tuskegee Airmen at a briefing.Tuskegee Airmen at a briefing in Ramitelli, Italy during World War II; Purple Heart recipient First Lt. Newman Golden is pictured in the center. (Library of Congress)

After World War II

After the war, many Tuskegee Airmen remained in the newly formed U.S. Air Force. In May 1949, for example, members of the 332nd Fighter Group excelled at the Air Force Gunnery Meet. On July 26, 1948, the Air Force integrated troops in accordance with Executive Order 9981 issued by President Harry Truman. Black personnel were reassigned to previously all-white units. The Tuskegee Airmen as a distinct group were inactivated at this time.

Civil Rights Legacy

The achievements of Tuskegee Airmen advanced integration practices and civil rights in the middle decades of the twentieth century. Their World War II accomplishments laid siege to entrenched prejudice in American society and military policy.

Aided by the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters' call to end hiring discrimination in the defense industry, the Tuskegee Airmen's quest also benefited from an active Black press, work of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and segregation test cases such as a civilian pilot's application to be a cadet in 1940. The push to fly was one front in a multi-faceted campaign for equal opportunities within the military and beyond.

Poster that reads 'United We Win,' depicting a white man and an African American man building machinery with an American flag in the background. "United We Win" war poster, 1943. (GPO, NARA)
Poster with drawing of a Tuskegee Airman that reads 'Keep us flying! Buy war bonds.' War bonds poster, 1943. (GPO, NARA)

Additionally, the Tuskegee Airmen's orderly and peaceful protest during the Indiana Freeman Field Mutiny, when attempting to integrate an officers' club in 1945, emphasized segregation practices still in place within the military.

Photograph of officers during the Freeman Field Mutiny. Review of officers during the Freeman Field Mutiny of 1945, Freeman Field, Indiana. (Library of Congress)

Remembrance: Tuskegee Airmen interred at VA national cemeteries

Nearly 100 Tuskegee Airmen interred at VA national cemeteries are listed below. NCA invites you to remember these Veterans and visit their memorial pages to celebrate the legacy, military service and sacrifice to our nation of these heroes. You can post tributes, upload images, and share biographical information, historical documents and more.


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