Tuskegee Airmen

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Celebrated Tuskegee Airman Charles McGee Dies at 102

McGee flew 409 fighter combat missions over 3 wars

(Newser) - Charles McGee, a Tuskegee Airman who flew 409 fighter combat missions over three wars and later helped to bring attention to the Black pilots who had battled racism at home to fight for freedom abroad, died Sunday. He was 102, the AP reports. McGee died in his sleep at his...

Son Didn't Know His Dad Was One of the Tuskegee Airmen

Theodore Lumpkin Jr. helped change the military's culture

(Newser) - One of the famed Tuskegee Airmen—the first Black pilots in the segregated US military and among the most respected fighter pilots of World War II—has died of complications from the coronavirus. Theodore Lumpkin Jr., 100, died Dec. 26, the AP reports. Lumpkin was drafted in 1942 and assigned...

Tuskegee Airman: 'We Were Just Doing Our Job'
Tuskegee Airman:
'We Were Just Doing Our Job'
obituary
Dec 8, 2018 5:20 PM CST

Tuskegee Airman: 'We Were Just Doing Our Job'

Wilfred DeFour served as an aircraft technician

(Newser) - A New York City man who served as an aircraft technician with the famed all-black Tuskegee Airmen died Saturday at age 100, the AP reports. Police say a home health aide found Wilfred DeFour unconscious and unresponsive inside his Harlem apartment at about 9am. DeFour was pronounced dead by Emergency...

He Was Deemed 'Nonrecoverable,' but His Remains Have Been Found

Capt. Lawrence E. Dickson was a Tuskegee airman lost during WWII

(Newser) - At 76, Marla Lawrence Dickson Andrews had long given up hope of ever finding her father, who died during World War II when she was just two and whose remains were deemed "nonrecoverable" in 1949. On Friday, what she had given up on came to be: The remains of...

Oldest Remaining Tuskegee Airman Dies

Willie Rogers 'lived by the greatest commandment—to love one another'

(Newser) - The oldest remaining member of the Tuskegee Airmen has died. Willie Rogers of St. Petersburg, Fla., died Friday from complications of a stroke. He was 101. Rogers served in logistics and administration as part of the US Armed Forces' first all-black aviation squadron during World War II, but only revealed...

2 Tuskegee Airmen, Lifelong Friends, Die on Same Day

Clarence Huntley Jr., Joseph Shambrey were both 91 and living in LA

(Newser) - Two members of the Tuskegee Airmen—the famed all-black squadron that flew in World War II—died on the same day. The men, lifelong friends who enlisted together, were both 91. Clarence E. Huntley Jr. and Joseph Shambrey died on Jan. 5 in their Los Angeles homes, relatives said yesterday....

Don't Forget: Women Made 'Red Tails' Possible
Don't Forget: Women Made 'Red Tails' Possible 
Skip Gates
Jan 27, 2012 12:34 PM CST

Don't Forget: Women Made 'Red Tails' Possible

Skip Gates on how activist, pilot, first lady made Tuskegee Airmen possible

(Newser) - George Lucas' Red Tails is a "very important film," reminding us of the "often overlooked role of African Americans in World War II," Henry Louis "Skip" Gates writes in the Root . But what you sadly won't see in the movie are the three women...

Little Rock Desegregation Heroes Mark New Era

Former students who helped pave way for Obama presidency to attend inauguration

(Newser) - Five decades ago, nine teenagers walked into their new high school through screaming mobs who spat at them and shouted racist abuse. They were the first black students to desegregate Central High School in Little Rock, Ark., and became known as the Little Rock Nine. Seven of them will attend...

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