History of the Tuskegee Airmen
A Timeline
- 1925 The Legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen 1925 A War College "study" concluded that Black soldiers lacked the intelligence, initia tive, and bravery to be trusted in combat and recommended segregation. commandment by white offices, and assignments to menial jobs.
- April 13, 1939 FDR announced the Army Air Corps would begin training Black pilots.
- January 16, 1941 The 99th Pursuit Squadron formed to be trained at Tuskegee Army Airfield
- March 29, 1941 Eleanor Roosevelt was taken on a flight by pilot Charles "Chief" Anderson. When they landed, she told him, "Well, you can fly, alright."
- July 19, 1941 Tuskegee Army Airfield officially opened with 13 Aviation Cadets.
- 1942 Double V campaign launched by Black newspaper Pittsburg Courier. The paper establishes the relationship between the US treatment of black and Nazi Germany’s treatment of Jews.
- March 7, 1942 The first class of Tuskegee Airmen pilots graduated and earned their wings
- . August 24, 1942 Lt. Colonel Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. took command of the 99th Fighter Squadron.
- April 15, 1943 The 99th, known as the Lonely Eagles, deployed to North Africa.
- July 2, 1943 Captain Charles B. Hall was the first Tuskegee pilot to down an enemy aircraft, a FW-190. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.
- January, 1944 The 332nd Fighter Group deployed to Italy. Flying P-40 Warhawks, Red Tail P-47 Thunderbolts then Red Tail P-51 Mustangs, their orders were to protect allied bombing missions.
- April, 1945 Last combat mission: They flew more than 15,500 sorties, damaged or destroyed 261 enemy aircraft, and earned 150 Distinguished Flying Crosses.
- August 14, 1945 World War II ended. The 477th composite group slated for Asia stood down.
- July 26, 1948 President Truman signed Executive Order 9981 integrating the armed forces. The military began active moves to desegregate in 1951.
- May 2, 1949 Four Tuskegee Airmen from the 332nd Fighter Group won the High Team Award in the first USAF Weapons Meet. The USAF formally re-acknowledged the victory in 2009.
- 1972 The Tuskegee Airmen establish their national organization, Tuskegee Airmen Incorporated.
- August, 1995 General of the Air Force, Roger Fogelman presides over the official clearing of the record of Freeman Field Muntineers, the 101 officers who refused to leave a whites only officers club.
- March 29, 2007 President George W. Bush awarded the Congressional Gold Medal to Tuskegee Airmen pilots, bombardiers, navigators, mechanics, and other men and women who performed ground support duties. He cited their, "unique military record that inspired revolutionary reform in the armed forces".
- November, 2008 Barack Obama was elected as the first African American President of the United States. President Obama wrote that his, "career in public service was made possible by the path heroes like the Tuskegee Airmen trail-blazed."
- February, 2020 Tuskegee Airman Charles McGee receives his USAF Brigadier General’s stars. A combat veteran of WW II, Vietnam, and Korean Wars Chuck flew an astounding total 409 combat missions.
