Tuskegee Airmen To Be Honored At Last

(CBS)  Lt. Col. Herbert Carter has a lot of memories about two of this country's hardest-fought battles — one against Adolf Hitler, the other against Jim Crow.

Carter made history in World War II as one of the first African-American fighter pilots, CBS News correspondent Richard Schlesinger reports. At age 22 he was an original member of the all-black Tuskegee Airmen, who had to fight for the right to fight for their country.

"We were told that we were lackadaisical. That was an insult, to say that you were too stupid to serve your country," Carter says.

At the time, black servicemen were seen more often in the kitchen than the cockpit.

"Our philosophy was that the antidote to racism and separatism was excellence in performance," Carter says.

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Tuskegee Pilot: 'We Were Good'

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They trained hard at the base in Tuskegee Ala., which has been made a national historic site and will soon be restored.

Today, no one doubts the skill or the patriotism or the heroism of those pilots. But back when Tuskegee was their training base, during the war, the only people who expected the Tuskegee Airmen to succeed were the airmen themselves.

"We were damn good!," Carter says.

He's not just bragging. There were about 1,000 black fighter pilots in the group. They flew more than 16,000 times during the war, won more than 900 medals — and the Germans never shot down a bomber they were protecting.

New York Rep. Charles Rangel led the fight to award the Tuskegee Airmen the highest honor Congress can bestow, the Congressional Gold Medal, as a tribute to their victories over there and their suffering over here.

"The sad part of the story is when they came home, they were just black men who served their country and were subjected to the same discrimination that existed before their heroic acts," says Rangel.

The Airmen have won a slew of other honors, but this medal can't come too soon for Carter.

"It simply says that the United States of America is saying, finally, a job well done," he says.

Carter is one of only about 130 known surviving Tuskegee pilots — old men now whose skills were recognized years ago, but who are only now getting the recognition they deserve.

[GaryZaetz]

In commemoration of Black History Month, Americans of all races should honor the achievements of African-American servicemen and women, especially those who gave up their lives in service to their country. We can do this by making sure the Government begins to spend a sufficient amount of money to recover the remains of our missing in action, many of whom were African-Americans, such as the following 30 MIA Tuskegee Airmen of World War II (whose stories were documented not long ago in a series of articles in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch): Lt. Albert L. Young, F/O Carl J. Woods, Lt. William F. Williams Jr., Lt.Sherman H. White Jr., Lt. James R. Polkinghorne, F/O Leland H. Pennington, Lt. Andrew D. Marshall, Captain Andrew Maples Jr., Lt. Oscar D. Hutton Jr., Lt. Wellington G. Irving, Lt. Fred L. Brewer Jr., Lt. John H. Chavis, Capt. Alfonza W. Davis, Capt. Lawrence E. Dickson, Lt. Maurice V. Esters, Lt. Samuel J. Foreman, Lt. Frederick D. Funderburg Jr., Lt. Samuel Jefferson, Lt. Charles B. Johnson, 2nd Lt. James L. McCullin, Capt. Robert B. Tresville, 2nd Lt. Elton H. Nightingale, Lt. George T. McCrumby, 2nd Lt. Thomas C. Street, 1st Lt. Langdon E. Johnson, 2nd Lt. Ferrier H. White, 2nd Lt. Harry J. Daniels, 1st Lt. John H. Prowell, and Lt. Samuel G. Leftenant. The Defense Department has historically treated its MIA remains recovery program like a neglected stepchild, requesting a level of funding that is nowhere near the amount needed to recover the remains of the tens of thousands still missing. Please support substantially increased funding for location and recovery of the remains of our heroic missing Tuskegee Airmen, and all the other missing soldiers, sailors, and airmen of all ethnicities. Their sacrifice and their families deserve nothing less.

[mmcn3]

Hi,

The producer of this story recommends that if anyone interested in knowing more, please go to the Tuskegee Airmen's Web site, which has news updates, chapter locations, and phone numbers as well as information about their history.

http://www.tuskegeeairmen.org/

Thank you.

[Ree55]

My uncle Ivor, Vincent Ivor Mitchell, was a Tuskegee Airman. Would you please send me any information that I could pass to my mother, his sister.
Thank you.
Ree55

[redtail44g]

My name is Calvin Spann and I am an Original Tuskegee Airman. My thanks to Katie Couric and Richard Schleisinger for national exposure. A special thanks to Lt. Col. Carter. As I speak for the rest of us a sincere thanks to Congressman Charles Rangel as the Tuskegee Airmen were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor. I do what I can to get the story out about the Tuskegee Airmen. I speak to all groups, churches, corporations, schools and especially my veteran brothers and sisters. I encourage education and the importance of math and sciences, especially to the young men. The opportunities are endless compared to my day. These kids cant imagine a football team, a basketball team or even a baseball team without an African American player. The Tuskegee Experiment was designed to fail, instead we succeeded. We were determined to be the best we could be....and we were. The formula for success, has not changed in 60 years. And I share that in my talks. Thank you for taking the time to comment on this segment.

[boston1954]

I was just wondering.........for the ones who have passed to their greater reward.........will the medal go to their families?

[bseece]

It's about time. Congrats gentlemen on a job well done.

[boston1954]

Richard, That was a beautiful story! Those fellows have been waiting decades for this recognition of their service, and you gave us a heartening piece.
A wonderful job!!

[clestes-2009]

Far too long in coming. These men should have been honored 50 years ago, along with the Navajos for their incredible service to this country.

I am ashamed that it has taken so long to reconize their contributions.

[xxxxxxxx9]

It is about time. I hope all those who have passed will be remembered by medals being given to their families. I have had the honor to shake the hand of a Tuskegee airman, and I thanked him for his service at that time. Glad Congress is saying thank you.

By the by, I think the Medal of Honor is just that, I do not think that "Congressional" precedes that particular decoration.

[tinker3478]

Congratulations on receiving recognition long overdue. Not to detract from these men, but scores of WWII and Korean war veterans, of all races, have never received the recognition they deserved. Hopefully this event will make the younger generations more aware of the prize they hold in their hands each day: the blood-bought freedom to excel.