THE+TUSKEGEE+AIRMEN+and+other+SUCCESSES+by+US+MINORITIES

Age: 29 D.O.B.: 09/18/1912 Relationship: married to Lynda Lewis Occupation: Air Force Bomber Hometown: Detroit, Michigan Ethnicity: African-American School: Tuskegee Army Air Field**
 * Name: William Lewis

I am about to speak about the minorities in the Air Force in World War II. For us African-Americans, it was hard to enlist in the Army when many people thought us blacks lacked intelligence, skill, courage, and patriotism. But, we ended up forming a couple of squadrons which contained African-Americans from all around the country, but mostly from: New York City, Washington, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Detroit. But only those that possessed the physical and mental qualifications were accepted as aviation cadets. I had studied long and hard to get a spot in the squadron. We were initially to be trained as single-engine pilots, but later we transferred to twin-engine pilots, navigators, or bombardiers. The black airmen who became single or twin engine pilots went to be trained at the Tuskegee Army Air Field(TFFA) which was located in Tuskegee, Alabama ("Tuskegee..." 1).

One of my friends later told me that the first aviation class began in July of 1941 and ended in March of 1942. He was one of thirteen that started the class, and one of five that successfully completed it. His name was Captain Benjamin O. Davis Jr., and he graduated in West Point Academy. Him and the other five received Army Air Corps silver pilot wings. 450 pilots trained in TAAF served overseas in either the 99th Fighter Squadron, which were called the Tuskegee Airmen, or the 332nd Fighter Group ("Tuskegee..." 1). http://www.allstar.fiu.edu/aerojava/tuskegee.htm

The black navigators, bombardiers, and gunnery crews that weren't sent overseas were trained at selected military vases elsewhere in the United States. Me and several other bombardiers went off to train at Selfridge Field, Michigan. We became part of the 477 Medium Bombardment Group. Those were one of the worst times of my life ("Tuskegee..." 1).

Everywhere we went, we faced discrimination. We were treated as "trainees" but we were highly trained military officers. Later, we were transferred to Godman Field, in Kentucky. The racism just kept going there as well. In early 1945, we were transferred yet again to Freeman Field, Indiana. There, racism reached its climax. When me and several officers had had enough of it, we tried to enter the Freeman Field Officer's Club, going against direct orders not to, me and 102 others were arrested and taken to court charged with insubordination ("Tuskegee..." 1). After the war ended, us black airmen returned to our country to face even more discrimination even though we had outstanding war records. The Tuskegee Airmen won two Distinguished Unit Citations, the highest commendation in the military for outstanding aerial combat against the German Luftwaffe, or Air Force. The 92nd Infantry Division nicknamed "The Buffaloes" won seven Legion of Merit awards, 65 Silver Stars, and 162 Bronze Stars for courage under fire (Denzer 573).

Like the blacks, Mexican Americans served in segregated units. Seventeen Mexican soldiers were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. Also, an all Mexican-American unit, the company E of the 141st Regiment, 36th Division, became one of the most decorated regiment in the war. Japanese also served in Italy, and North Africa. At the urging of General Delos Emmons, the army created the 100th Battalion consisting of 1,300 Hawaiian Nisei. Nisei refers to American citizens whose parents emigrated from Japan. The 100th saw brutal combat and became known as the Purple of Heart Battalion. Later the 100th was merged into an all-Nisei 442nd Regimental Combat team. This regiment became the most decorated unit in American history (Denzer 573).

In that time, us minorities received no appraise for the deeds we had done. I remember Major Sherman Joy saying, "The four elements: earth, air, water, and fire. Of these, I call your attention to two: air and fire. As pilots we live in the air, but we die by fire" qtd. in "The Tuskegee Airman. __IMDb__...". We accomplished what most other soldiers could not, and still did not get the respect we deserved. We had fought two wars at the same time - one against military force, and another at home and overseas against racism. Later, the military would cease to be segregated and integrate its troops. This was one of the first steps towards an integrated and non-discriminated America.


 * Works Cited**

Danzer, Gerald A. et al. __The Americans__. Evanston, Illinois: McDougal Littell Inc., 2003.

"The Tuskegee Airman." __ALLSTAR Network__. 1995-2007. 24 Oct. 2007. .

"The Tuskegee Airman." __IMDb.__ 1990-2007. 24 Oct. 2007. .

"Tuskegee Airmen History." __Tuskegee Airmen Inc.__ 24 Oct. 2007. .