Tuskegee Airmen Finally Get Their Due

Legendary Black Aviators Receive Congressional Gold Medal For WWII Heroism

(CBS/AP)  In an honor repeatedly called long overdue, the African Americans who defied prejudice and injustice to become America's first black airmen in the military were presented with the Congressional Gold Medal on Thursday.

President Bush saluted the Tuskegee airmen, six decades after they completed their World War II mission.

"Even the Nazis asked why African-American men would fight for a country that treated them so unfairly," Mr. Bush told the group of legendary black aviators, who received a Congressional Gold Medal — the most prestigious Congress has to offer.

"These men in our presence felt a special sense of urgency. They were fighting two wars. One was in Europe and the other took place in the hearts and minds of our citizens," he said.

Mr. Bush then saluted the airmen, saying he offered the gesture to "help atone for all the unreturned salutes and unforgivable indignities" they endured.

"We are so overjoyed," said Roscoe Brown Jr., after he and five other Tuskegee Airmen accepted the medal on behalf of the group. "We are so proud today and I think America is proud today."

The record of the Tuskegee Airmen speaks for itself, CBS News correspondent Richard Schlesinger reports. They claim to have shot down 111 planes and to have destroyed another 150 on the ground.

"We did what we had to do, because we knew if we didn't do it they would say blacks couldn't do this," Brown said.

Mr. Bush, members of Congress and other dignitaries joined some 300 airmen, widows and other relatives in the sun-splashed Capitol Rotunda for the ceremony recognizing the Tuskegee Airmen — some of them walking with the aid of canes, others being pushed in wheelchairs — for their long-ago heroism.

"It's never too late for your country to say that you've done a great job for us," retired Col. Elmer D. Jones, 89, of Arlington, Va., said in an interview this week. Jones was a maintenance officer during the war.

Retired Lt. Col. Walter L. McCreary, shot from the sky during a mission in October 1944 and held prisoner for nine months in Germany, said it hurt that the group's accomplishments had not been honored years earlier.

"We took it in stride. It's a recognition long overdue," said McCreary, also 89, of Burke, Va.

House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., the highest-ranking black member of Congress, echoed McCreary's sentiment. Many of the Tuskegee Airmen also trained at Walterboro Army Airfield in his congressional district.

"People are now beginning to come to grips with our history," Clyburn said Thursday in an interview. "Our history is what it is. It's never going to change."

The Tuskegee Airmen were recruited into an Army Air Corps program that trained blacks to fly and maintain combat aircraft. President Roosevelt had overruled his top generals and ordered that such a program be created.

But even after they were admitted, many commanders continued to believe the Tuskegee Airmen didn't have the smarts, courage and patriotism to do what was being asked of them.

Nearly 1,000 fighter pilots trained as a segregated unit at an air base in Tuskegee, Ala. Not allowed to practice or fight with their white counterparts, the Tuskegee Airmen distinguished themselves from the rest by painting the tails of their airplanes red, which led to them becoming known as the "Red Tails."

Hundreds saw combat throughout Europe, the Mediterranean and North Africa, escorting bomber aircraft on missions and protecting them from the enemy. Dozens died in the fighting; others were held as prisoners of war.

"The Tuskegee airmen left a segregated country to fight in war, and unfortunately returned to one that was still segregated," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. "Though Hitler was defeated, prejudice was not. ... Today we are trying to right that wrong."

It was long thought the Tuskegee Airmen amassed a perfect record of losing no bombers to the enemy during World War II. But new research has cast doubt on that.

Two historians recently said Air Force records and other documents show at least a few bombers escorted by Tuskegee pilots were downed by enemy planes. A former World War II bomber pilot said last year that his plane was shot down while being escorted by the unit.

Congress has awarded gold medals to more than 300 individuals and groups since giving the first one to George Washington in 1776. Originally, they went only to military leaders, but Congress broadened the scope to include authors, entertainers, notables in science and medicine, athletes, humanitarians, public servants and foreign officials.

Other black recipients include singer Marian Anderson, athletes Joe Louis, Jesse Owens and Jackie Robinson, civil rights activists Roy Wilkins, Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, the Little Rock Nine, Rosa Parks and Dorothy Height, and statesmen Nelson Mandela of South Africa and former Secretary of State Colin Powell.

The medal for the airmen, made possible through legislation by Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., and Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., and signed last year by Bush, will go to the Smithsonian Institution for display. Individual airmen will receive bronze replicas.

[boston1954]

Sorry RandalDS,
But I just don't buy it. I remember reading some time back on more than one occasion that he was.

[randalds]

What I'd like to know is: Why is Sen. Robert Byrd standing there? Wasn't he a member of the triple K?
Posted by Boston1954 at 03:48 PM : Mar 30, 2007

He was never really a member and renounced and denounced them decades and decades ago. Since then he has become an unsurpassed champion of civil rights in the democratic party. he is a shining example that people can recover from the mistakes of youth and change their ways magnificently. Today is an elder statesmen of the democratic party and we couldn't be more proud of that fact. You should read his speeches and his books if you want to find out what a truly great man he is.

[boston1954]

What I'd like to know is: Why is Sen. Robert Byrd standing there? Wasn't he a member of the triple K?

[martinab1]

I think that because they were segregated from the others fighter pilots, proved that they could protect those that they were escorting on a mission, lost no planes, and fought the Germans in the air......they all, whether alive or deceased, should get a metal and that is including the surviving families of those that have died.

It is only right to honor them for their sacrifices and long overdue.

[zootallures2]

There was a time when people thought slavery and segragation would never end, just like the same people of today who cling to war.

[thgdriver]

It was reported in my hometown newspaper that the flyer's were expected to pay $38.00 each if they wanted a copy of the medal. Aviation Technology Group Inc. of Englewood, Colorado will be paying for 400 of the bronze medals. The company manufactures jet-fighter trainers according to my newspaper. I also understand that all must pay their own way to Washington if they want to attend the ceremony in the capitol rotunda.

When one looks at all the "PORK" that was just tacked on to the money for the war in Iraq, that's a shame.

[mainemade]

To quote a local Medal of Honor holder, whom we recently lost...
"I alone am no hero, I will accept with Honor this award on behalf of every person who has ever fought for his/her life in any war" Major Jay Zeamer Jr. 1918-2007 Pilot US Army Air Force Flying Fortress. Probably the only pilot of a bomber to shoot down an enemy Japanese fighter, from a remote trigger in the cockpit. Medal of Honor holder, 2 air medals, 2 Silver Stars, and 2 Flying Crosses.

[kp74]

Nice story, Well deserved honor Let's just leave it at that.


Can't believe this is the same guy! LOL sorry just had to add this.
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t310/Tambou/RS19863.jpg?t=1175217377

[bahamanc]

My local station carried a similiar story, except they added the airmem had to buy their own medals - the US Government was not providing them. The medals to honor these men, after all this time, would only cost about $30K. If this story is true, CBS should be ashamed for not reporting the whole story and Bush/Congress should be exposed for what I think is a slap-in-the-face to these men. BTW, I am a 61 year-old white male who was born and raised in NC.

[silver9991]

Yes!!!! Thanks for doing this, and presenting the honors, however belatedly. (And, reading the stuff already posted here, I really don't give a hangnail if it is Bush or Clinton or anyone giving the honors; this thing transcends today's petty politics, usar.)

[ninjabear20]

As a vetran with 22 years of service, I salute each and every one of these honored treasures of our nation. Lets see some of these rappers give these men some props, because without them, where would the rappers be?

[peach652]

Yaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!
'Bout time!!!!

[chrissix]

"they were no more heroic than the men of the other fighter groups...Should we note the sacrifices yes - are they deserving of a special honor - no"

To accomplish more, with less, under worse circumstances and with less support than others, above and beyond the call of duty, is the very definition of medal _earning_ behavior. If these men aren't deserving of special recognition, no one is. Saying that they do not reveals volumes about the person saying it, no matter how politically correct and polite their prejudices are worded.

[mrvolleyba11]

Way long overdue but better late than NEVER! ...I had the honor of speaking with a few of these hero's while on the Thunderbirds at airshows celebrating the AF's 50 anniversary. Truely a great bunch of men, American hero's, and role models (for all races).

[bobgee_1999]

saransk: You posted without rancor, so no one should hammer you. The reason I disagree with you is that as black men in the 40s, the Tuskegee guys weren't even considered human by many Americans, and were certainly not afforded the same legal rights as whites. I personally remember seeing "COLORED" water fountains on a visit to Florida as recently as the 1960s. These men were cultural heroes as much as war heroes. They had no reason to want to serve a country that abused them daily. But they not only served militarily with distinction, they also furthered the cause of decency and helped, incrementally, to improve the lives of black Americans. They are heroes for a lot of reasons. It's important to know and understand the historical period and the position of blacks in society then to fully comprehend the story of the Tuskegee Airmen.

[taddles-2009]

"To honor one group with a special award diminishes the effort and actions of every other fighter group in the USAAF in WWII. Should we note the sacrifices yes - are they deserving of a special honor - no
Posted by saransk at 04:57 PM : Mar 29, 2007"

The point is not to honor the Tuskeegees above all the other brave fighter groups but to acknowledge that these airmen fought and died and deserved recognition. The Tuskeegee airmen were not given the recognition that all the other air units were after the war, they were quietly forgotten. This honor is no less than that received by all the other airmen after the war, just a bit late in coming.

[bigsk8fan]

"At the risk of being "hammered" . . . To honor one group with a special award diminishes the effort and actions of every other[s] . . . " Posted by saransk

Not to hammer, but to educate you, the fact is that the US Armed Forces were for a time quite open minded and desegregated, much UN-like American society. But the US Military establishment entered a phase where you can see absolutely no recognition of African American involvement or meritorious service. During the period from one great war to another, WWI to WWII, almost no high medals are awarded to African Americans. Recognition came freely during WWII to Whites and non-blacks. This really was not the case with blacks who saw diminished roles, and recognition when service merited. So I agree with you, to recognize one segment of society without recognizing the other diminished all. Now this error is being corrected.

[ampsanne]

This is too sad. Just why has it taken 60 years to give these men the recognition they deserve.
It is not only these men, but others that aren't given the recognition they deserve. I know of one man who served in the Tuskegee Airmen, and that was Coleman Young. Too bad he isn't around to be recognized with this fine group. Not too long ago some other serviceman finally received honors for serving in World War Two, and it was because they had lost his records. These men should be honored as soon as possible for their great feats, not some 60 years later, when most of them are dead and gone.

[bigsk8fan]

The Tuskegee Airmen proved their worth before, during and after WWII. Besides Tuskegee Airmen, 99th Pursuit Squadron and 332nd Fighter Group, there were many other notable stories: (1) The 761st "Black Panther" Tank Battalion, (2) 92nd Division Buffalo Soldiers (made up of 24th and 25th Infantry going back to the Indian Wars and Spanish American War), (3) 555th Parachute Infantry Company - The Triple Nickle was the first Black airborne unit, (4) USMC 7th and 52nd Defense battalion, (5) USS Mason (DE-529Evarts class destroyer escort, (6) Subchaser 1264 USS PC-1264, and numerous other service, engineering, MP, and others.

[saransk]

At the risk of being "hammered" I think much of this is "feel good."
What about the other fighter squadrons that did their missions, lost men, and fought the Luftwaffe as part of their daily routine. While I agree that the African-American aircrews and staff had to overcome real obsticles to fly, they were no more heroic than the men of the other fighter groups who flew the long escort missions into Germany. To honor one group with a special award diminishes the effort and actions of every other fighter group in the USAAF in WWII. Should we note the sacrifices yes - are they deserving of a special honor - no