The Tuskegee Airmen - Our All Black Air Force (standard:other, 2424 words)
Author: J P St. Jullian	Added: Aug 15 2002	Views/Reads: 3996/2656	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
It was their country too, and though segregated, they fought to defend it.

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150,000 of the nearly 2.5 million men on the rolls of the Army Air 
Force at its peak in the war. 

Like the rest of the Army, the Army Air Force followed a policy of
employing blacks in segregated units, commanded "wherever possible" by 
black officers.  Most blacks in the Army Air Force were assigned to 
some kind of support or service units, like the quartermaster truck 
companies, chemical depot companies, air cargo re-supply squadrons, and 
aviation squadrons. 

Many blacks inquired about flight training during the war, but the terse
reply was always that there were no facilities for training black 
pilots in the Army Air Force.  This situation was remedied by both 
blacks and whites alike who campaigned for the establishment of pilot 
training programs for blacks.  Finally, with the support of people like 
Senator Harry S. Truman and Judge William Hastie, a program was 
established that culminated in the activation of the Tuskegee Army Air 
Field at Tuskegee Institute near Montgomery, Alabama.  Its mission was 
to train black pilots to be used in an all-black pursuit group. 

Twelve cadets and one student officer began flight training at Tuskegee
in July 1941.  The officer was Captain Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., a 1934 
West Point graduate, and son of the only black general in the Army.  As 
history has now recorded, the younger Davis was destined to become the 
first black General Officer in the Air Force.  Other cadets followed, 
including General Daniel "Chappie" James, who served as 
Commander-In-Chief, North American Air Defense Command and Aerospace 
Defense Command. 

The training was tough, so tough that less than half the first class
graduated.  But the training was not the only problem the black airmen 
had to contend with.  Remember, everything was segregated in those 
days.  On the post, blacks ate and slept separately from whites.  When 
they rode troop trains, the shades were drawn.  And it was just as bad 
off-post.  Back door service was the order of the day for blacks who 
went to restaurants and other establishments.  Black troops were often 
jailed or beaten for "crossing the color line."  It was so dangerous, 
that if a black troop did not live in the area, he could not get a pass 
to go to town. 

In light of the harsh treatment these men endured, one might ask, "Why
are they in uniform?"  This question is magnified when you consider 
that most of the troops in training at Tuskegee were college graduates 
who could have avoided military service altogether.  It was for the 
same reason that many blacks volunteered to fight on the Union side 
during the Civil War.  They felt that after the war was over, they 
would truly be free men in their country.  They felt that by giving 
their all for their country, they would be able to return home and live 
free from prejudice, and be treated equitably and fairly in the job 
market.  They wanted to do their part, so no one could say they had not 
contributed.  They knew that as bad as things were, they had a 
responsibility to contribute to make it better.  They knew that the 
only way to make it better was to contribute.  They had too much of an 
investment in America to claim any other nation. 

While the pilots were training at Tuskegee, the ground crews for the
proposed fighter squadron were training at Chanute field, Illinois.  
Most of these future aviation mechanics and related specialists came 
from black colleges.  They had to open up an area of the post which had 
not been used since World War I, cut weeds, scrub and repair old 
barracks, set up their own mess hall, and generally, establish their 
own squadron area.  After putting in all that work just to be able to 
have places to eat and sleep, they were not allowed to go to the post 
theater to enjoy a movie! 

After graduation, that original class was shipped via troop train to
Maxwell Field, Alabama.  Barracks and other facilities had not been 
completed at Tuskegee yet.  They were quartered in tents in a 
segregated area of the post and given work details.  They built a new 
pistol range, and bleachers in the post gym for events they would not 
be allowed to attend.  They were treated more like prisoners than 
airmen. 

Finally, in January 1942, the ground crews joined the pilots in training
at Tuskegee and began preparing the 99th Pursuit Squadron for combat.  
It took more than a year of intense training before the squadron was 
ready.  Commanded by Lt. Colonel Davis, they boarded a transport ship 
in New York on April 15, 1943.  Nine days later they pulled into 
Casablanca harbor.  From North Africa the 99th supported the invasion 
of Sicily, escorting medium bombers that peppered coastal batteries and 
enemy installations.  The fighters also strafed enemy airfields and 
dive-bombed supply centers and communication lines.  Later the unit 
moved to Sicily to support the Italian invasion.  By September 1943 the 
squadron was operating from a base in Italy. 

Attached to a number of white fighter groups, the 99th provided tactical
support to ground troops by dive-bombing and strafing rail yards, troop 
concentrations, highways, bridges, ports and supply centers.  They also 
challenged Luftwaffe in the air, and by February 1944 had accounted for 
17 destroyed aircraft confirmed, four probable, and six damaged. 

In August 1943 Colonel Davis had returned to the states to assume
command of the newly formed 332nd Fighter Group, then training at 
Selfridge Field, Michigan.  Composed of the 100th, 301st, and 302nd 
Fighter Squadrons, the group had been activated on paper in October 
1942 at Tuskegee.  After transferring to Selfridge the following March, 
the group began training for its combat role overseas. 

In January 1943 the group was sent to Camp Patrick Henry, Virginia to
board ship for Italy.  But even here, on the eve of their departure for 
the war zone, the black airmen found discrimination.  The memories they 
carried into combat were not happy ones. 

By 1944 the group was settled in at its first station in Italy
Montecorvino and was flying harbor protection missions, convoy escort, 
and armed reconnaissance.  Three months later the group picked up the 
additional mission of providing escort for bombers striking enemy oil 
and industrial targets in central Europe and the Balkans.  In July the 
group was joined by the 99th, by now a unit of hardened veterans. 

Wherever they were assigned in Italy, they were segregated from the
whites. Many times when the black troops went into areas where whites 
had been before, they found that the whites had spread propaganda among 
the Italians about the blacks.  Some of the Italians are reported to 
have walked around black troops to see if they had tails, because the 
white troops had said they did. 

One of my uncles was there as a ground crew member. He once told me a
story about one night that he and a frined had passes to go into the 
small village near the base.  He said they was asked outright by two of 
the local women if they would kindly show them their tails.  They 
winked at each other and agreed to show their tails.  They were taken 
home with the two women and in the privacy of the home, my uncle and 
his friend dropped their trousers.  The women were disappointed when 
they could find no evidence of a tail on either man, but, says my 
uncle, they became very curious about certain other endowments. 

Despite all, the 332nd continued to take its toll on the enemy in the
air and on the ground.  But now, it was experiencing loses of its own.  
Some of their troops were shot down and some became prisoners of war. 
Lloyd Hathcock, Alexander Jefferson, and Robert Daniels were prisoners 
of war.  Hathcock was shot down near Rome by German ground fire.  
Jefferson and Daniels were knocked down by antiaircraft fire while 
attacking German radar stations near Toulon Harbor on the southern 
coast of France. 

Hathcock recalled that the white prisoners were a bit shaky about
accepting him at first, and some who had been imprisoned for a long 
while were amazed to see a black man with wings.  They thought that if 
the US had gotten around to training black pilots, we must have been 
losing the war; that this was a last ditch effort.  The prisoners from 
the bomber crews welcomed him with open arms. 

Once the war was over and the group was recalled to the states, it was
disbanded and the 477th Composite Group was formed at Godman Field, 
Kentucky.  It consisted of two medium bombardment squadrons, the 99th 
Fighter Squadron, and the 100th Fighter Squadron.  At first, the 
command structure of the 477th consisted of white officers from the 
Operations Officer on up.  The post contained two officer's clubs, one 
for whites and one for blacks.  On the night of April 5, 1945, eighteen 
of the black officers went to the white officers club, and refused to 
leave when requested to do so.  They were arrested. 

After repeated incidents of this nature a total of 101 black officers
had been arrested and confined to barracks surrounded by guards.  An 
inspector General Team came in to Investigate the incidents.  When 
questioned, the black officers said that they did not think the Army 
should have segregated units fighting a war for democracy, but if they 
had to have separate units, they should be all-white and all-black.  
That way, when the black troops did well, they could get the credit, 
not the white command structure. 

After this, the 477th was transferred from Godman to Lockbourne Army Air
Base, Ohio.  On May 1, 1946, it was deactivated and the 332nd was 
reactivated as the 332nd Fighter Wing.  Lockbourne became the only 
all-black base in the Army Air Force.  It remained that way until June 
1, 1949, when the wing was deactivated and its people integrated into 
Air Force units throughout the world. 

Although the military has made many gains in race relations since then,
the fact that there ever was an all-black base, squadron, or wing 
highlights the fact that we could not fight a war in the name of 
democracy together as a nation.  Even so, black airmen persevered.  
America still has its race problems, but as General Chappie James once 
said of the United States, "She's my country, and though she's ailing, 
I'll hold her hand until she gets well."  Every American, regardless of 
race, creed, or color, should work toward making this country truly be 
what our politicians say it is. 


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