The Tuskegee Airmen were the first African-American military aviators in the United States Armed Forces. During World War II, black Americans in many U.S. states were still subject to the Jim Crow laws and the American military was racially segregated, as was much of the federal government. The Tuskegee Airmen were subjected to discrimination, both within and outside the army. They formed the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group of the United States Army Air Forces. The name also applies to the navigators, bombardiers, mechanics, instructors, crew chiefs, nurses, cooks and other support personnel. All black military pilots who trained in the United States trained at Moton Field, the Tuskegee Army Air Field, and were educated at Tuskegee University, located near Tuskegee, Alabama. The group included five Haitians from the Haitian Air Force, and one pilot from Trinidad. It also included a Hispanic or Latino airman born in the Dominican Republic. Although the 477th Bombardment Group trained with North American B-25 Mitchell bombers, they never served in combat. The 99th Pursuit Squadron (later, 99th Fighter Squadron) was the first black flying squadron, and the first to deploy overseas (to North Africa in April 1943, and later to Sicily and Italy). The 332nd Fighter Group, which originally included the 100th, 301st, and 302nd Fighter Squadrons, was the first black flying group. It deployed to Italy in early 1944. In June 1944, the 332nd Fighter Group began flying heavy bomber escort missions, and in July 1944, with the addition of the 99th Fighter Squadron, it had four fighter squadrons. The 99th Fighter Squadron was initially equipped with Curtiss P-40 Warhawk fighter-bomber aircraft. The 332nd Fighter Group and its 100th, 301st and 302nd Fighter Squadrons were equipped for initial combat missions with Bell P-39 Airacobras (March 1944), later with Republic P-47 Thunderbolts (June–July 1944), and finally with the aircraft with which they became most commonly associated, the North American P-51 Mustang (July 1944). When the pilots of the 332nd Fighter Group painted the tails of their P-47s red, the nickname “Red Tails” was coined. The red markings that distinguished the Tuskegee Airmen included red bands on the noses of P-51s as well as a red rudder; the P-51B and D Mustangs flew with similar color schemes, with red propeller spinners, yellow wing bands and all-red tail surfaces. In all, 992 pilots were trained in Tuskegee from 1941–1946. 355 were deployed overseas, and 84 lost their lives. The toll included 68 pilots killed in action or accidents, 12 killed in training and non-combat missions and 32 captured as prisoners of war. The Tuskegee Airmen were credited by higher commands with the following accomplishments: 1578 combat missions, 1267 for the Twelfth Air Force; 311 for the Fifteenth Air Force 179 bomber escort missions, with a good record of protection, losing bombers on only seven missions and a total of only 27, compared to an average of 46 among other 15th Air Force P-51 groups 112 enemy aircraft destroyed in the air, another 150 on the ground and 148 damaged 950 rail cars, trucks and other motor vehicles destroyed (over 600 rail cars) One destroyer put out of action. The ship concerned was a World War I-vintage destroyer (Giuseppe Missori) of the Italian Navy, that had been seized by the Germans and reclassified as a torpedo boat, TA22. It was attacked on 25 June 1944 and damaged so severely she was never repaired. She was decommissioned on 8 November 1944, and finally scuttled on 5 February 1945. 40 boats and barges destroyed Contrary to negative predictions from some quarters, Tuskegee Airmen were some of the best pilots in the U.S. Army Air Forces due to a combination of pre-war experience and the personal drive of those accepted for training. Nevertheless, the Tuskegee Airmen continued to have to fight racism. Their combat record did much to quiet those directly involved with the group, but other units continued to harass these airmen. After segregation in the military was ended in 1948 by President Harry S. Truman with Executive Order 9981, the veteran Tuskegee Airmen now found themselves in high demand throughout the newly formed United States Air Force. Some taught in civilian flight schools, such as the black-owned Columbia Air Center in Maryland. On 11 May 1949, Air Force Letter 35.3 was published, which mandated that black Airmen be screened for reassignment to formerly all-white units according to qualifications. Tuskegee Airmen were instrumental in postwar developments in aviation.
A semi-fictionalized account of the Tuskegee Airmen, the first all-African-American Air Force squadron during World War II, the film centers on ambitious young pilot Hannibal Lee (Laurence Fishburne). Despite initial reticence by higher ranking white officers, Lee, along with Walter Peoples (Allen P… MORE
Who were the Tuskegee Airmen and why were they so important?
The name refers to the young Black pilots who received flight training at Tuskegee Army Air Field in Alabama during and shortly after World War II. The Tuskegee Army Air Field was the only training facility for Basic and Advanced Flight Training for Black pilots of the U.S. Army Air Force.
(6) The Tuskegee Airmen were the first African American soldiers to successfully complete their training and enter the Army Air Corps . Almost 1000 aviators were produced as America's first African American military pilots.Mar 3, 2020
President Donald Trump recognized a 100-year-old Tuskegee airman named Charles McGee and his great-grandson Iain Lanphier, an eighth-grader from Arizona. “Iain has always dreamed of going to space….He aspires to go to the Air Force academy, and then he has his eye on the Space Force,” said the president, referring to the newly created branch of the U.S. Armed Forces. The president quoted the eighth-grader as saying "most people look up at space, I want to look down on the world." The president then introduced Iain’s great-grandfather, one of the last surviving Tuskegee airmen, a group of African-American pilots who fought in World War II. McGee served not only in World War II, but also Korea and Vietnam. “General McGee, our nation salutes you,” said Trump. President Trump delivered his third annual State of the Union address on Tuesday, Feb. 4. The speech came the day before he is expected to be acquitted of articles of impeachment in the Senate trial. Stream your PBS favorites with the PBS app: https://to.pbs.org/2Jb8twG Find more from PBS NewsHour at https://www.pbs.org/newshour Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2HfsCD6
McGee married his wife, Frances Nelson, in 1942. The two remained married for over 50 years until Frances' death in 1994. At the time of Charles' death, he and Frances McGee had 3 children, 10 grandchildren, 14 great grandchildren, and 1 great-great granddaughter.
Brigadier GeneralCharles Edward McGee (December 7, 1919 − January 16, 2022) was an American fighter pilot who was one of the first African American aviators in the United States military and one of the last living members of the Tuskegee Airmen. McGee first began his career in World War II flying with the Tuskegee Airmen, an all African American military pilot group at a time of segregation in the armed forces. His military aviation career lasted 30 years in which McGee flew 409 combat missions in World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam War.
Charles McGee was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on December 7, 1919, to Lewis Allen and Ruth Elizabeth (Lewis) McGee. His grandfather was formerly enslaved and his father served as an Army chaplain in World War I and during the Battle of the Bulge in the Second World War. Lewis was also at various times a teacher, social worker, African Methodist Episcopal minister (ultimately a Unitarian minister and one of the first African Americans as such), and later an activist during the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. The family frequently moved during Charles's childhood.[3] He had two siblings, his older brother Lewis and younger sister Ruth. His mother died shortly after his sister was born.[4]
McGee met Salem Baptist Church member Frances Nelson (born 1921) in April 1942. They were married at her home by his father on October 17, 1942. They had three children: Charlene, Ronald, and Yvonne. Two days after their wedding, he was sworn in as an aviation cadet.[6] Frances McGee passed away February 22, 1994, at the age of 73. They were married for over 51 years.
In March 1942, McGee was a sophomore at the University of Illinois studying engineering. While a student he was a member of the National Society of Pershing Rifles. He also became a member of the Tau chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. Enlisting in the United States Army on October 26, 1942, in time he became part of the Tuskegee Airmen, having already earned his pilot's wings and graduated from Class 43-F on June 30, 1943.[7]
On August 23, 1944, while escorting B-17s over Czechoslovakia, McGee engaged a formation of Luftwaffe fighters and shot down a Focke-Wulf Fw 190.[10]
Now a captain, McGee had flown a total of 137 combat missions and was returned to the United States on December 1, 1944, to become an instructor for the North American B-25 Mitchell bombers flown by the 477th Bomb Group (Medium), another unit of the Tuskegee Airmen. He remained at Tuskegee Army Air Field until 1946, when the base was closed.[7] McGee told the BBC in 2007 that "[Our success] made it possible for President Truman to issue orders mandating all of the service to integrate", referring to Executive Order 9981 that President Harry Truman signed into law in 1948, which ended racial segregation in the United States Armed Forces.[11]
Lieutenant Colonel McGee (right) served as Commander of the 16th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron in Vietnam; Lieutenant Tom Coney (left) flew as his backseater.
After World War II, McGee was sent to Lockbourne Army Air Field (now Rickenbacker ANGB, Columbus, Ohio) to become the base operations and training officer, later in 1948, being posted to an Aircraft Maintenance Technical Course and was assigned to an air refueling unit. Continuing his service with the United States Air Force as it was reconstituted, McGee continued to serve as a fighter pilot, flying Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star and Northrop F-89 Scorpion aircraft.[12] When the Korean War broke out, he flew P-51 Mustangs again in the 67th Fighter Bomber Squadron, completing 100 missions, and was promoted to major.[13]
During the Vietnam War, as a lieutenant colonel, McGee flew 172 combat missions in a McDonnell RF-4 photo-reconnaissance aircraft. During his Southeast Asia combat tour, McGee served as the Squadron Commander of the 16th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron (TRS), of the 460th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, which was based at Tan Son Nhut Air Base, in South Vietnam. The 16th TRS flew the RF-4C "photo-recce" Phantom II jet aircraft.[14][15]
After a series of other appointments-both in the United States as well as in Italy and West Germany, McGee retired at the rank of colonel, on January 31, 1973.[16] In a 30-year active service career, McGee achieved a three-war fighter mission total of 409 combat missions, one of the highest by any Air Force fighter pilot.[10] He ended his military career with 6,308 flying hours.[17]
Official USAF portrait of Colonel Charles E. McGee, circa 2011
After his military service, McGee held functional and honorary positions in aviation. In 1978, at the age of 58, he completed his college degree at Columbia College, over thirty years after his initial enrollment at the University of Illinois. Though interrupted by World War II, attaining a college degree had been a lifelong goal.[18]
McGee served as the director of the Kansas City airport and as a member of the Aviation Advisory Commission. For over 30 years, he had been an ambassador of Tuskegee Airmen, Inc. (or Tuskegee Airmen Association), established in 1972. He served as national president of the association from 1983 to 1985 and was instrumental to its growth, leading efforts to provide aviation career opportunities for people of color.[19] He gave numerous public addresses and received several accolades including the National Aeronautic Association's "Elder Statesman of Aviation".[10] He also participated in the Air Force Association.[20]
In 2005, McGee intended to be part of a group of former Tuskegee Airmen, who flew to Balad, Iraq, to speak to active duty airmen serving in the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing, the current incarnation of the 332nd Fighter Group.[21] However, McGee was not noted as being in Balad.[22]
In 2018, to celebrate McGee's 99th birthday, businessman and former Air Force pilot Glenn Gonzales took McGee for a flight in a HondaJet, allowing McGee to take the controls of an airplane in flight for the first time in 37 years.[25] In April 2019, McGee was honored at the King Arts Complex in Columbus, Ohio.[26]
In December 2019, for his 100th birthday, McGee flew with a copilot in a Cirrus Vision Jet and a Cessna Citation M2. The Cirrus flight took him to Dover Air Force Base, where he was welcomed by the base commander and many airmen, anxious to meet the Tuskegee Airman who helped break down barriers for them. He was feted at a lunch hosted at the AOPA National Aviation Community Center where he received awards and accolades from the FAA, the US Senate, the State of Maryland, the city of Frederick, Maryland, and numerous dignitaries. Those who flew with the colonel remarked that he handled the airplanes well and with little assistance.[27]
On March 29, 2007, at a ceremony inside the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol, President George W. Bush and the U.S. Congress collectively awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, the nation's highest civilian award, to McGee and all other surviving and deceased Tuskegee Airmen.[17]
On February 4, 2020, McGee was promoted from colonel to brigadier general.[1][39] It was authorized in legislation introduced in December 2019 shortly after his 100th birthday, by Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen and Representative Anthony Brown.[29] McGee was a special guest at the 2020 State of the Union Address, where President Donald Trump pinned the stars to his uniform in the Oval Office before delivering the address that day.[1]
McGee married his wife, Frances Nelson, in 1942.[40] The two remained married for over 50 years until Frances' death in 1994. At the time of Charles' death, he and Frances McGee had 3 children, 10 grandchildren, 14 great grandchildren, and 1 great-great granddaughter.[19]
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