Oscar Wilkerson, last known surviving Tuskegee Airman from Chicago area, dies at 96

CHICAGO (CBS) -- The last known Tuskegee Airman from the Chicago area has died.

Oscar Wilkerson grew up in Chicago Heights before becoming a bomber pilot after World War II, in the nation's first Black aviation combat unit.

He said he later became a bus driver, because African-Americans weren't allowed to be commercial pilots. However, he bought a small plane with a friend and kept flying. 

In 2007, Wilkerson was one of 300 surviving Tuskegee Airmen to get a Congressional Gold Medal from then-President George W. Bush. 

He died last month at the age of 96.