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Iron
Riders: Story of the Buffalo Soldier Bicycle Corps - a great read about a part of
military history most have never heard of!
Hidden
Heroism : Black Soldiers in America's Wars - new title. I haven't read this one
yet. Could be interesting, but sounds like its more for academics than general reading.
Also of interest:
Bitter Fruit : African American Women in World War II
by Maureen Honey (Editor)
"...presents an image of black women as community activists that
undercuts gender stereotypes of the era."
To
Serve My Country, to Serve My Race : The Story of the Only African American Wacs
Stationed Overseas During World War II
The
Right to Fight: A History of African Americans in the Military
by Gerald Astor
An all-encompassing chronicle of African Americans' in the armed forces of the United
States. From the birth of the United States, African American men and women have fought
and died in defense of a nation that has often denied them many fundamental rights of
citizenship. Now Gerald Astor has chronicled their efforts and accomplishments in this
critically acclaimed survey. From Crispus Attucks, first casualty of the American
Revolution, to fighters on both sides of the Civil War, Astor moves to the postwar Indian
campaigns and the infamous Brownsville riot. He also documents the prejudices and grievous
wrongs that have kept African Americans from service-and finally traces their ascent to
the highest levels. The Right to Fight is a groundbreaking contribution to American
history.
[Order now... ]
Queen
Bess: Daredevil Aviator
The first African-American aviator to earn an international pilots license was a woman...
Black
Wings : The American Black in Aviation
Paperback - 80 pages (February
1988)
Movie: Home
of the Brave (1949) Video
Description
Based on the play by Arthur Laurents, this film recounts the story of a young
black private who suffered a nervous breakdown. Peter Moss' condition was induced by his
experience on a reconnaissance mission during WWII and by a lifetime of racial
discrimination. Crippled by rage and trauma, he has developed psychosomatic paralysis. But
if he can overcome his anger and frustration, he might just walk again. One of the first
bold stances taken on the race issue in Hollywood, though tame by today's standards, the
universal message is obviously still very relevant and worthwhile.
This page is hosted as part of the COMBAT! web
site.
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African-Americans Proudly Serving in WWII
[Tuskegee] [USS Mason] [Red Ball Express] [Buffalo
Soldiers]
[Black Soldier Posters] [Black History Posters]
Tuskegee
Airmen
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Keep Us Flying, Buy War Bonds Poster
Buy This Allposters.com
Poster of a Tuskegee Airman William Diez was used to promote war
bonds during World War II
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They battled Nazism and
Fascism in the skies over North Africa and Europe, and racism on the ground back in the
United States. They painted the tails of their P-51s bright red, and names like
"Hammerin' Hank," "Creamer's Dream," and "'Mo' Downs" on the
sides of their aircraft. But what really made the Tuskegee Airmen distinct was the
fact that they never lost a bomber during some 200 escort missions during World War
II.
— from Air Force News Service article, Aug 1995
by Master Sgt. Merrie Schilter Lowe |
Tuskegee
Airmen facts:
Tuskegee Army Air
Field, located at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, was the training center for all black
fighter pilots during World War II.
There were 996
original Airmen. These included pilots, bombardiers, and navigators.
More than 10,000 black
men and women served as their vital support personnel.
450 served in combat
overseas in the European Theater of Operations, North Africa, and the Mediterranean.
66 of the Tuskegee
aviators died in combat.
33 Tuskegee Airmen
became prisoners of war.
None of the bombers
they escorted was lost to enemy fighters.
They flew 15,533
sorties between May, 1943 and June 9, 1945.
They destroyed 251
enemy aircraft.
They sank a German
destroyer using only their machine guns.
They disabled more
than 600 box cars, locomotives and rolling stock.
They won more than 850
medals, including 150 Distinguished Flying Crosses, eight Purple Hearts, 14 Bronze Stars,
744 Air Medals and clusters, and three distinguished unit citations.
For every pilot, there
were at least 10 black men and women on the ground in support roles including mechanics,
medical technicians, administrative support and cooks. They were trained at Chanute Field,
Illinois.
White American pilots
were not allowed to fly more than 52 missions, but black American pilots often flew up to
100 missions due to lack of replacements.
The all-black 477th
bomber group was activated and scheduled to
fight in the Pacific, but the war ended before their deployment.
Planes flown by black
aviators in WWII: the P-51 Mustang, P-40 Warhawk, P-47 Thunderbolt, P-39, and the PT-13D
Trainer.
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| Tuskegee Airmen in the News
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Text of the Tuskegee
Airmen Memorial in Walterboro, South Carolina:
The Tuskegee
Airmen of World War II
In honor of the
Tuskegee Airmen, their instructors and ground support personnel who participated in
preparing for combat training at the Walterboro Army Airfield during the Second World War.
Because of their
heroic action in combat they were called Schwartze Vogelmenschen (black bird men) by the
Germans who both feared and respected them. White American bomber crews in reverence
referred to them as the "Red Tail Angels" because of the identifying red paint
on their tail assemblies and because of their reputation for not losing any aircraft they
protected to enemy fighters as they provided fighter coverage for missions over strategic
targets in Europe.
A Brief Timeline:
The first black
Civilian Pilot Training Program students completed their instruction at Tuskegee in May
1940.
Congress activated
the all-black 99th Fighter Squadron on March 22, 1941.
May 31, 1943 the
99th Squadron arrived in North Africa.
On July 2, 1943, Lt
Hall of Indiana became the first member of the squadron to shoot down a German Focke Wulf
190 aircraft while flying escort duty in Sicily.
The 99th was paired
with the all-white 79th Fighter Group on October 9, 1943 — for the first time they
were integrated in missions. No longer restricted to escort duties, they bombed key German
targets.
On July 4, 1944, the
99th was joined into three other Squadrons: the 100th, 301st and the 302nd Squadrons to
form the 332nd Fighter Group, all of which had been trained at Tuskegee.
The group earned a
Presidential Distinguished Unit Citation for a spectacular escort mission to Berlin on 24
March 1945.
On April 26, 1945,
the Tuskegee Airmen downed the last four enemy aircraft destroyed in combat in the
Mediterranean theater.
Quotes:
The mission was always
the dominating factor. It was a life and death operation, and it was important to our
nation. — retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Benjamin O. Davis, the Airmen's
former commander.
The history of the United States is
steeped in contributions of the Air Force, formerly Army Air Corps, in preserving and
maintaining freedom. The American airmen have been victorious in all of our nation's
conflicts. It is important that we continue to acknowledge the sacrifices and service of
these men who perform so admirably. I know the accomplishments of the brave and dedicated
Tuskegee Airmen will never be forgotten.
— President Ronald Reagan
Bibliography: Books about the Tuskegee Airmen
Black
Knights: The Story of the Tuskegee Airmen
by Lynn M. Homan, Thomas ReillyTold through interviews with veterans and historical
photos, Black Knights is the story of the men and women who served in the training program
at Tuskegee Army Air Field from 1941 to 1946. Based on rigorous research and analysis,
what makes this book unique is inclusion of first-hand accounts: the pilots stories are
here, as are the experiences of the mechanics, band members, armorers, staff officers,
nurses, and more.
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List Price: $23.00
Amazon.com's Price: $16.10
You Save: $6.90 (30%)
Amazon.com prices subject to change.
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Tuskegee
Airmen
by:Lynn M. Homan and Thomas Reilly
24 November, 1998Using photos provided by the Tuskegee Airmen and their families, the
Smithsonian Institution, and NASA, the authors bring to life the trials and triumphs of
the Tuskegee Experience. In these more enlightened times, we can relive the struggles of
those African-Americans who wanted to serve, who demanded equality, and who yearned to
fly.
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Amazon.com's Price: $18.99
Amazon.com prices subject to change.
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A-Train : Memoirs of a Tuskegee Airman
by Charles W. Dryden
Hardcover - 432 pages (April 1997), Univ. of Alabama Press
A-Train is the autobiography of Tuskegee airman Charles W. Dryden. An honest, fast-paced,
balanced, vividly written, and very personal account of what it was like to be a black
soldier, and specifically a pilot, during World War II and the Korean War. A balanced
account by an insightful man who enlisted in a segregated army and retired from an
integrated air force. Dryden's account is poignant in illuminating the hurt inflicted by
racism on even the most successful black people. An eloquent memoir of the experiences he
has shared and the changes he has witnessed.
Survival : A Purple Heart Tuskegee Airman
by John Steward Sloan, Sr.
Riveting first-person account of Sloan's experiences as a decorated airman. He
describes each mission with a vivid immediacy that recreates a palpable sense of danger
and the adrenaline rush of nerves kicking in under pressure. When his aircraft was shot
down, he found himself the only Black man in a large military field hospital, which proved
to be a different kind of lesson in survival. An unflinching, compelling account of a
little-known chapter in the chronicles of WWII and African-American history.
The Freeman Field Mutiny : A Tuskegee Airman Story
by James C. Warren
(August 1995) The Conyers Publishing Company
Documented story about a "Mutiny" in the 477th Bombardment Group that occurred
at Freeman Field, Seymour, Indiana, on April 5, 1945 involving over 162 black officers.
The mutiny was a protest and an assault on segregated policies of staff at Headquarters
Army Air Forces. The mutiny illustrated that the black officer was capable of showing
initiative and anger. Moreover, he could organize and use regulations to his advantage.
This action was unprecedented in the annals of the Army Air Forces.
Double
V:
The Civil Rights Struggle of the Tuskegee Airmen
by Lawrence P. Scott, William M. Womack
Paperback - 322 pages (December 1998)
Michigan State Univ Pr
On April 12, 1945, the United States Army Air Force arrested 101 African-American
officers. They were charged with disobeying a direct order from a superior officer - a
charge that carried the death penalty upon conviction. They had refused to sign an order
that would have placed them in segregated housing and recreational facilities. The central
theme of Double V is the promise held out to African-American military personnel that
World War II would deliver to them a double victory, or "double v" - over
tyranny abroad and racial prejudice at home. Book details how 101 Tuskegee Airmen, by
refusing to live in segregated quarters, triggered one of the most significant judicial
proceedings in U.S. military history. Double V uses oral accounts and government documents
to portray this little-known struggle by one of America's most celebrated flying units.
 Tuskegee Airman : The Biography of
Charles E. McGee, Air Force Fighter Combat Record Holder
Hardcover - 208 pages (June 1999)
Branden Publishing Co.
List price $24.95
Segregated Skies:
All-Black Combat Squadrons of WWII (Smithsonian History of
Aviation Series)
by Stanley Sandler
Tuskegee
Airmen Books for young readers:
The
Tuskegee Airmen Story
by Lynn M. Homan, Thomas Reilly
October, 2002
For Kindergarten - Grade 3.
After two African-American children find their grandfather's World War
II uniform and medals, their grandmother encourages them to ask him about the war...
Tuskegee
Airmen: American Heroes
by: Lynn
M. Homan, Thomas
Reilly, Roaslie
M. Shepherd, Rosalie
M. Shepherd
October, 2002
A novel for grades 5 - 8.
The Tuskegee Airmen
(Cornerstones of Freedom)
by Linda George, Charles George
March, 2001
Reading level: Ages 9-12
African
American Military Heroes
(Black Stars Series)
Reading level: Ages 9-12
African Americans have been a valuable part
of the United States military since before there even was a United States, fighting
at the battles of Lexington and Bunker Hill. From the American Revolution to Colin Powell,
read about the black men and women who have served bravely in the US military.
Many young readers will probably already know
who General Colin Powell is, but have they heard of Brigadier General Hazel Johnson, the
United States Army's first African American woman general? Or Guion S. Bluford Jr., the
first African American in space? African Americans have been a valuable part of the United
States military since before there even was a United States, when Peter Salem
fought at the battles of Lexington and Bunker Hill. Jim Haskins's lively stories, which
include definitions of military vocabulary words, bring 30 American heroes to life, and
also tell how, for years, African Americans were only able to defend their country in
segregated troops. There are some surprises, particularly in the stories about women. Many
grownups might not know about Deborah Sampson, who fought disguised as a man during
the Revolutionary War, or that Harriet Tubman, the leader of the Underground Railroad, was
also a spy for the Union Army in the Civil War.
$24.95 (Check Amazon's discount price)
Red-Tail Angels : The Story of the Tuskegee Airmen of
World War II
by Pat McKissack,
Patricia McKissack, Fredrick L. McKissack
Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover - 136 pages (May 2001)
A history of the Tuskegee Airmen. The authors address
such issues as the hostile treatment these airmen often received as well as their
below-par training facilities. By telling the history of this squadron, the authors also
explore the historical climate of the time--outlining the racial history and tension in
the United States. The text, which includes many firsthand accounts, is illustrated with
b&w photographs.
(Check Amazon discount price)
The Black Soldier : 1492 to the Present
by Catherine clintonz
This exciting story of African American heroism traces the
history of the black soldier, from the African explorers who accompanied Columbus to
African Americans who took up arms in the American Revolution, the Civil War, and Desert
Storm. |
Merchandise:
[Tuskegee] [USS Mason] [Red Ball Express] [Buffalo
Soldiers]
[Black Soldier Posters] [Black History Posters]
|
The
Tuskegee Airmen: African-American Pilots of World War II (Journey to Freedom-The African
American Library)
The
Tuskegee Airmen Mutiny at Freeman Field
The
Tuskegee Airmen (American Mosaic)
