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Photographer: Mike Wintermantel
Taken: March 22, 2014
Caption: Tuskegee Airmen Memorial Narrative
Additional Description: "We helped African American people raise their heads and say, 'I can do it' America is not perfect, but I'll hold her hand until she gets well."
Lt. Col. William H. Holloman III
Pilot, 332nd Fighter Group

The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of African American pilots and support personnel who fought in World War II in the US Army Air Corps. This was the first unit of African American military aviators in the United States Armed Forces. During World War II, in much of the United States, African Americans were still subjected to Jim Crow Laws and the American military itself was racially segregated. Legal and social prejudice prevented the airmen from flying combat missions. Despite their adversities, the Tuskegee Airmen flew with distinction. In 2007, 350 Tuskegee Airmen and their widows received the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Western Pennsylvania represented the largest contingent of Tuskegee Airmen in the country.
Submitted: March 22, 2014, by Mike Wintermantel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Database Locator Identification Number: p268928
File Size: 2.442 Megabytes

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