Tuskegee Airmen
Throughout history, African Americans have been met by prejudice and mistreatment. This attitude towards blacks has not only been seen in the public work place and social activities, but in the armed forces as well. Since early American military history, blacks have always been involved in defending our country. However, they were never really given full credit and recognition for their hard work and patriotism. Not only were they unrecognized, but they were required to serve in all black units. World War II was no different and there was still deep segregation of the armed forces. Once the United States entered the war, all the black leaders and black press protested against this segregation and treatment of blacks as inferior. This resulted in the formation of the "Tuskegee Experiment" in March of 1941 (The Tuskegee Airmen, p.27). It was to "prove" racial deficiencies in intelligence and concentration of black pilots compared to white pilots. This experiment definitiv!ely backfired on its founders and the Institute successfully graduated 992 pilots including Generals Daniel James, Benjamin O. Davis Jr. and Lucius Theus. Although it took much more than graduating well-educated, capable pilots to change the story of segr
egation in the armed forces, the Tuskegee Airmen were instrumental in the support of desegregation. The Tuskegee Institute had been founded by Booker T. Washington in 1881 and was originally known as the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute. It became The Tuskegee Institute in 1937. The school originally taught the regular academic subjects but put an emphasis on practical education such as farming, carpentry, brick making, shoemaking, printing and cabinetmaking. Students worked to build the school, moving it from a shanty building in 1881 to a school with over 400 students based on 540 acres of land in 1888. This education was supported by whites because of Washington's conservative leadership. He believed that blacks needed to prove they were loyal to the United States by working hard and not complaining before they should be given political rights. Many whites who feared the advancement of blacks supported the Institute because they felt that it helped the blacks accept their lower place in the world. (www.spartucus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAtuskegee.htm, pp.1-2) T! Although the future must have looked very dark to Officer Battle, his words supported changes in the American system of segregation. He is one example of the many success stories of the Airmen of Tuskegee. Even though he had to fight two wars, both abroad and at home, he still graduated from the Julliard School of Music. He then graduated from Morgan College with a major in Instrumental Music. He now continues with music and still speaks out against racism no matter what form it seems to be in. "Tuskegee Airmen" http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museam/history/prewii/ta.htm "Tuskegee Airmen: the Black Redtail Angels, heroes of World War II and Freeman Field squadron, he then became the Commander of the 332nd fighter group until the end of the war. After the war on July 1, 1945, Davis became the first Negro to command a military post in the United States. Then, in 1955 he was appointed to the position of Vice Commander of the 13th Air Force. In 1957 he became the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and appointed to Major General. On February 1, 1970, General Davis retired after a long a successful career. He was a highly decorated soldier with eight special awards which include: the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal, Army Distinguished Service Medal, the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit with two oak leaves, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with four clusters, the Air Force Commendation Medal with two oak leafs, and the Philippines Legion of Honor. "Tuskegee Airmen - Britannica. com" wysiwyg://33/http://www.britannica.com/b...,5716,3009+2992,00.html?query=tuskegee "Tuskegee Airmen- History" http://www.westnet.com/-ssherman/usaaf_tusk.html Throughout the war this completely black group had a great record compared to other squadrons. For example, they have the distinct achievement of sinking a Germen Destroyer with only machine gun fire. This was accomplished by Gwynn Pierson, a Tuskegee pilot, who lead 4 other pilots to the destroyer using only P-47's. The men of this group also shot down 409 German aircrafts and over 950 units of ground transportation. The Tuskegee Airmen flew 4 different types of aircrafts, which included the P-39, P-40, custom P-47's and an advanced P-51. In these aircrafts these gallant men flew 15,533 sorties and completed 1578 missions altogether. As important, they received minimal losses to the enemy by only having 66 pilots die and 32 pilots shot down and taken as prisoners. By the end of the war the Tuskegee were highly decorated with a variety of medals. They received 150 Distinguished Flying Crosses, 1 Legion of Merit, 1 Silver Star, 2 Soldier Medals, 744 Air Medals and C! The legend of the Tuskegee Airmen had its real life beginning on April 19, 1941. Eleanor Roosevelt was visiting Tuskegee
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Approximate Word count = 2606
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)
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