Black History Month: The Tuskegee Airmen of World War II

"...The Tuskegee Airmen are to military aviation what Jackie Robinson is to major league baseball. It is surprising that many Americans, both young and old, have not heard of them."
- Military.com

The hard-scrabble Depression years were aviation’s glamour era. A public desperate for relief from day-to-day woes hung on the exploits of aviation pioneers such as Amelia Earhardt, Howard Hughes, Eddie Rickenbacker and Jimmy Doolittle.

But for young men with the wrong skin color, the dream of a career in aviation dangled beyond reach. A 1925 Army War College study concluded that “African-Americans were inherently ill-suited for combat physically and psychologically,” so black pilots were not accepted in the U.S. military. The picture was little better for those who wished to pursue commercial aviation.

Overcomers

Charles Anderson could find no flight instructor willing to take him. He was so determined to fly he bought his own plane and taught himself to take off and land. Impressed by his grit, German-born Ernest Buehl agreed to work with him in 1929.

Buehl recalled the battle Anderson faced. “When the government agent came [to license Anderson], he took me aside and called me everything under the sun because I would even attempt to get that man into an airplane. I finally told him, ‘I’m a foreigner. I’m a citizen by the paper. That guy’s born here.’” Charles became the first black American to receive his pilot's license and worked as a flight instructor through the 1930s.

Harold Brown grew up in rural Michigan, the son of a logger. Harold “had a love affair with an airplane. What caused it, I have no idea. It was almost as if I was born to fly.” 

As a sixteen-year-old, Harold scraped together $35 for flying lessons. But he was painfully aware that a dramatic shift in attitude was needed before he could fulfill his dream. “I said, ‘By the time I'm ready, everything will change.’”

Winds of Change

In 1939 the winds of change began to blow. Congress ordered the Air Corps to accept blacks into its Civilian Pilot Training Program (CPTP). Dozens of black men successfully completed the program.

But the Army Air Corps wasn’t interested in offering them slots. Pressure from civil rights leaders mounted. President Roosevelt made campaign promises. Historic Tuskegee Institute, a private black college founded by Dr. Booker T. Washington which had run a successful CPTP, was selected to host a new program. The effort, nicknamed the “Tuskegee Experiment,” had a stated goal to determine whether black men could succeed as military aviators. Many believed the true goal was to prove they could not.

The Airman and Mrs. Roosevelt: "You Can Fly All Right" 

 The program got a P.R. “lift” when Eleanor Roosevelt visited the Tuskegee campus in March, 1941. Charles Anderson, the black pilot who had taught himself to fly, now served as head of flight training for the program. Much to the secret service’s chagrin, Eleanor agreed to a half-hour flight with Anderson.

Eleanor Roosevelt after her flight with Charles Anderson: “Well, you can fly all right.”

The photo op gained widespread visibility, and the First Lady leveraged personal connections to raise $175,000 to help complete building projects at the airfield. When Harold Brown graduated from high school in June 1942, the Tuskegee program awaited him.

Many Hurdles

Charles McGee grew up a preacher’s kid in the Midwest. Charles’ father, an AME pastor, instilled in him a belief that all people stand as brothers and sisters before God, regardless of skin color. An outstanding student, Charles enrolled in R.O.T.C. at the University of Illinois and participated in the Pershing Rifles, an elite drill team. He was accepted into the Tuskegee program.

The discrimination Charles had experienced growing up did not prepare him for life in the South. 

“As the train left Southern Illinois, you had to change your location in the car.... You could feel the change in atmosphere....”

- Charles McGee

The segregation extended to the air base. 

“Everything [on base] was black or white. They wouldn't let black officers in the white officers' club.... We went to the movie theater and they had a sign up that said, 'Blacks in the back.’” 

- Tuskegee Airman Roscoe Brown

After the men graduated, the Army’s strict segregation dictated that black officers could not serve over white enlisted men. Qualified black pilots could not receive their commissions until a companion program in Illinois produced black crews and a full complement of mechanics and supporting staff. Army policy also restricted black officers to assignments in “predominately black nations.” But the need was great enough that 355 graduates of the Tuskegee program saw combat over Italy and Germany anyway.

Tuskegee Airmen in Italy

The Tuskegee Airmen's Legacy

“They have a saying that excellence is the antidote to prejudice; so, once you show you can do it, some of the barriers will come down.”

- Roscoe Brown

The group’s record proved exemplary. They flew over 1500 missions, losing only 27 bombers they escorted, as compared with an average of 46 for other units. 

Eighty-four Tuskegee Airmen lost their lives. Thirty-two were captured. Harold Brown was one of them. CBN has produced a fascinating video clip in which Brown credits God with intervening twice to save his life after his plane went down in Germany. 

“You realize somebody, somebody had to be looking out for you; somebody had to be taking care of you. And there’s only somebody in the world who I know is capable of doing that—God.” 

- Harold Brown

Charles McGee continued to serve in Korea and Viet Nam, racking up a whopping 409 combat missions. In 2011 Colonel McGee was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame. Those fortunate enough to know him laud him as “an American patriot who kept the faith,” and “a man of God who loves his family.”

P-51 Mustang restored with the iconic "Red Tail Squadron" markings, as flown by Charles McGee and the Tuskegee Airmen in Europe (By Max Haynes, Max2Air.com) 

“Blacks have fought in every war going back to the Revolutionary War. Each time we did that, we thought that if we defended the country and did it with dignity and excellence, the broader community would end segregation. After World War II, that finally happened when in 1948, President Truman signed executive order 9981 eliminating segregation in the armed forces.”

- Roscoe Brown

The outstanding service the Tuskegee Airmen rendered—in spite of every obstacle—was instrumental in bringing our nation a step closer to the Biblical truth McGee’s father taught him. 

God is no respecter of race. All who kneel before the Cross do so at the same level.

I stepped away from a marketing career that spanned continents to write what I love: stories of reckless faith that showcase God's hand in history. I'm so excited to see my debut novel, The Plum Blooms in Winter, launch this October from Mountain Brook Ink! Inspired by a remarkable true story from World War II's pivotal Doolittle Raid, The Plum Blooms in Winter is an American Christian Fiction Writers' Genesis Contest winner. The novel follows a captured American pilot and a bereaved Japanese prostitute who targets him for ritual revenge. For updates and related goodies, you're invited to subscribe to my newsletter HERE.

I live outside Phoenix with my husband, a third-generation airline pilot who doubles as my Chief Military Research Officer. We share our home with two all-grown-up kids and a small platoon of housecats.

A little bit of this and that about Central Park

                                                                                                                 
Central Park, Manhattan, New York City, New York. The park’s designers had a 

vision . . . A visionary dream to create an oasis for city dwellers who otherwise might never experience the things many of us take for granted like grass, trees and the peacefulness of nature.

The park was established in 1857, then in 1858, after winning a design competition, landscape architect and writer Frederick Law Olmsted along with an English architect, Calvert Vaux were commissioned to improve the design of Central Park.

Most of the city of Manhattan was built using a grid system. Straight roads, streets, and avenues intersecting at ninety-degree angles. So, instead of straight walking paths, Central Park is comprised of curved walkways. Through the entire eight-hundred and forty-three acres, there is but one straight path. 

Here are a few fun facts about Central Park:

1. Central Park has its own police force. The Central Park Precinct employs both regular and part-time officers. In the early 1980’s, before the park had its own police unit, the crime rate was approximately 1,000 various crimes per year. In 2005, after the inception of the park’s force, crime dropped to about one-hundred crimes annually. In addition to the Central Park Precinct, New York City Parks Enforcement Patrol also patrols Central Park. An all-volunteer ambulance service provides free emergency medical service to patrons and operates a rapid-response bicycle patrol park.

2. The Central Park carousel is a major attraction. Supposedly, from 1873 to 1921 the carousel powered by a live mule or horse hidden beneath the ride. Apparently, the carousel operator would bang his cane on the floor indicating to the live animal beneath to either begin walking or to stop thus causing the ride to move. 

       3. Did you know if you get lost in the park just find one of the 1,600 lamp posts and you can find your location? It’s true. The lamp posts, or luminaires, have a series of four numbers on their sides which correlate with the location of the post. The first two digits tell you the closest street. If the post’s number is 8215—you’re near 82nd Street. The second two numbers will tell you if you’re on the east or west side. Even digits indicate the east side and odd, the west.

4. Have you ever considered fishing in the middle of Manhattan? 

Well, you can. Fishing is allowed in Central Park, and at the far north end of the park in the Harlem Meer is supposedly the best place to cast your reel. You might get a bite from carp, catfish, black crappie, bass, chain pickerel and pumpkinseed. There's a catch-and-release policy in place, so whatever you catch . . . has go back in the drink.


5. Central Park’s Sheep’s Lawn was just that—a sheep’s lawn. Today, locals and visitors alike flock to sheep’s lawn to relax on the green grass, read a good book while soaking up the sun’s rays, or maybe play a friendly game of catch. But from 1864 to 1934 this area was home to free grazing sheep. When not roaming the green grassy area, the sheep were kept in a bordering Victorian building which is now Tavern on the Green restaurant. 

The first time I saw Central Park. I was across the street at the American Museum of Natural History. It was a rainy, dreary day and still there were people roaming the paths. I read on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Park the real estate value of Central Park was estimated by the property appraisal firm, Miller Samuel to be about $528.8 billion in December 2005. I have to wonder if the creators of Central Park ever imagined that their dream of an oasis in the city would be the success it is today.

Have you ever visited Central Park? Or would you like to? Please, take a moment to share your experiences or dreams with us in the comments below and thank you so much for stopping by Heroes, Heroines and History today.

Michele


*Above pictures curtesy of Wikimedia-Commons.


 

Multi award-winning author, Michele K. Morris’s love for historical fiction began when she first read Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House book series. She grew up riding horses and spending her free time in the woods of mid-Michigan. Married to her high school sweetheart, they are living happily-ever-after with their six children, three in-loves, and eight grandchildren in Florida, the sunshine state. Michele loves to hear from readers on Facebook, Twitter, and here through the group blog, Heroes, Heroines, and History at HHHistory.com.

Washington Under Siege: The Conway Cabal

By J. M. Hochstetler

General George Washington,
by Charles Willson Peale, 1776

George Washington’s reputation is so great in this country that it’s hard for us today to imagine that he had detractors who actively worked to remove him from command of the army during the Revolution. But in the winter of 1777–1778, a number of senior army officers, congressmen, and other influential men did just that. Among them were Dr. Benjamin Rush, a respected army physician today known as the father of American medicine; Samuel Adams; James Lovell; Richard Henry Lee; General Thomas Mifflin; Major General Horatio Gates—and Brigadier General Thomas Conway, for whom the cabal came to be named.

General Horatio Gates,
by Gilbert Stuart, 1793-94

The campaign of 1777 ended in a series of military setbacks for Washington that included defeats at Brandywine and Germantown and the British Army’s subsequent capture of Philadelphia, which forced Congress to hastily relocate to York, Pennsylvania, for the duration. Never a good political move. And what made it worse is that the Northern Army, commanded by Gates, Washington’s chief rival who had many allies in Congress, won a stunning victory at Saratoga, NY, capturing British General John Burgoyne’s entire army. Many historians credit the victory to Benedict Arnold’s leadership on the battlefield rather than “Granny” Gates’ efforts, but the 1777 campaign was the catalyst that caused an increasing number of officers in the army and members of Congress to question Washington’s abilities as commander in chief.

General Thomas Conway

Conway was an Irishman who was educated in France, served in that country’s army, and eventually enlisted in the Continental Army with the rank of brigadier. He and Washington weren’t bosom chums, and his condescending attitude put other officers off, too, but he did serve with some distinction during the Philadelphia campaign. That October he began lobbying Congress for a promotion to major general, and he added criticisms of Washington to his letters. He also corresponded with Gates, and in a private letter wrote, “Heaven has been determind to save your Country; or a weak General and bad Councellors would have ruined it.”

General James Wilkinson

Fatally, Gates’ aide, General James Wilkinson, happened to visit General William Alexander, Lord Stirling’s headquarters. Evidently while drunk, he quoted Conway’s comment to one of Stirling’s officers, who in due course relayed the matter to his commander. Stirling in turn felt obligated to alert Washington that his subordinates were scheming against him behind his back and sent his own letter quoting this comment. Washington, of course, wasn’t blind to Gates’ political connections and popularity, enhanced by the success at Saratoga. He was also very well aware of the broadsides, letters, and talk questioning his abilities and congressional maneuvers already under way to remove him as commander. So Conway’s remark fueled the fire. Washington immediately fired off a terse letter to Conway in which he quoted his comment back to him. One can imagine him writing the missive with gritted teeth.

Conway’s response was to protest that he had never called Washington a weak general—a patent falsehood—and to go on to say tactlessly that, although Washington’s advice in council was “commonly sound and proper,” he was influenced by men who weren’t his equal in knowledge or judgment, nicely disparaging Washington and his staff in the same breath.

General Thomas Mifflin

Learning from Conway what had happened, Mifflin, a man Washington also distrusted, informed Gates of the leak. So Gates hastily wrote to Washington that he had sent the letters to the president of Congress, Henry Laurens, not to him, and that they had been stolen and copied by people he didn’t know. Not only didn’t this improve the relationship between him and Washington, it also confirmed that Gates and Conway had been exchanging disparaging correspondence with others behind Washington’s back!

The war of letters wasn’t going well in Congress either. Washington’s opponents succeeded in appointing Mifflin and Gates to the board of war, with Gates as its president. Over Washington’s opposition, Conway was promoted to major general and assigned to the new post of army inspector general, which rankled the commander in chief to no end. To add insult to injury, Conway was to work alongside Washington but to answer only to the board.

Alexander Hamilton,
by John Trumbull, 1806

Some historians suggest that Washington was oversensitive to criticism. Although the participants in the controversy engaged in a war of letters, making accusations and protesting innocence, no one ever formally requested Washington’s removal as commander. But he felt threatened enough about what was going on behind his back to inform congressional leaders that if his performance continued to be questioned, he would resign. Many officers including Washington’s aide, Alexander Hamilton, actively supported him throughout the affair, mobilizing to assist him politically and threatening to defend his reputation with their swords if necessary.

In January 1778, Conway and Gates appeared before Congress in an effort to clear their names, but they refused to reveal the letter that started the controversy. And I wonder why! General Lafayette, as though he was speaking for the French court, implied that France could not conceive of a commander other than Washington. At that point Congress saw the handwriting on the wall, and in the end, fully supported Washington. The cabal collapsed, with the consequence that Mifflin and Wilkinson both resigned from the board of war; Gates apologized for his part in the affair and slunk back to his own command; and Conway, who was transferred to a subordinate command, resigned from the army in protest. The Conway Cabal was the only serious threat to Washington’s command during the war, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Considering today’s political machinations, the writer of Ecclesiastes seems to have it right: There’s nothing new under the sun. Does any of this seem familiar to you in today’s political scene? Certainly no one enjoys being criticized, but do you think legitimate criticism of our leaders can be beneficial to the health and welfare of our republic, depending on how it’s handled? How might the suppression of all criticism be harmful? Please share your thoughts!

~~~

J. M. Hochstetler is the daughter of Mennonite farmers and a lifelong student of history. She is also an author, editor, and publisher. Her American Patriot Series is the only comprehensive historical fiction series on the American Revolution. Northkill, Book 1 of the Northkill Amish Series coauthored with Bob Hostetler, won Foreword Magazine’s 2014 Indie Book of the Year Bronze Award for historical fiction. Book 2, The Return, received the 2017 Interviews and Reviews Silver Award for Historical Fiction. One Holy Night, a contemporary retelling of the Christmas story, was the Christian Small Publishers 2009 Book of the Year.

Class Rings—The Start of a Tradition

High School and College. There are so many important moments in those seasons of a young person’s life. First dates, dances, yearbooks, first jobs, getting a driver’s license and/or first car. And getting a class ring.

I personally never got a class ring, either in high school or college. Not that I didn’t want one. I did. Not that we couldn’t afford one. My family could. I just…didn’t. I don’t even know why. So when my own son reached high school, I made sure we offered. He said he would love one, and he wears that ring proudly now as he goes through college. I will assume we might get him a college ring as well, but that decision is another year or more off.

For my most recently published story, The Brigand and The Bride, found in The Mail-Order Brides Collection, a ring plays an important part of the story. I needed a distinctive ring, something few others would have. I immediately thought of a class ring, since they’d likely be inscribed with a name and a year, and because only the students from that school would have one. But I quickly realized it would have to be from a prestigious school, since it didn’t seem likely that most one-room schoolhouses would be the types of places you’d find class rings. No, in that age, it would have to be an Ivy-league school or the like. Of course, I immediately had to wonder if class rings were even a thing back in the mid-1800s. The ring in my story was worn by my hero’s father, which means it would’ve been from around 1850, give or take a couple of years. Did class rings exist in those days?

West Point emblem

Why yes! Yes they did!

The tradition of class rings goes back to 1835, started by the graduating class from the United States Military Academy, or West Point. Interestingly, this was the first school to dream up the idea of each member of the graduating class having a memento to commemorate their time at the school—and as a symbol of shared camaraderie and pride. At first, the rings were all styled the same, and the only customization was what might be engraved on the underside of the ring. But as time passed, the schools were able to begin offering customization of slight changes to the basic ring being offered for that year, like the graduating senior’s name or other details to personalize the jewelry.

West Point Ring Weekends hold a lot of great moments. The “Firsties,” or seniors, have their official ring ceremony where the students receive their rings, followed by a formal dinner and a dance (which they call a “hop”). And from that point forward, the underclassmen mob the Firsties, asking to see their rings. However, they don’t just say, “May I see your ring?” They have a a special way of asking. They’ll repeat:

“Oh my gosh, Sir/Ma’am! What a beautiful ring! What a crass mass of brass and glass. What a bold mold of rolled gold! What a cool jewel you got from your school! See how it sparkles and shines? It must have cost you a fortune! May I touch it? May I touch it, sir/ma’am?”

I dare say that school is all about tradition, and the “ring poop” as it is called, is a fun one.

So what might a class ring from circa-1850 look like? I was excited to discover that J.E.B. “Jeb” Stuart, the famed Confederate general, was a graduate of West Point in 1854, and I was able to find pictures of his class ring. It was well worn, but in great shape for its age.

The stone was green, and when the ring was new, it had the West Point crest engraved in the stone’s surface. Jeb Stuart was a cavalry officer, and over the years between his graduation and his death in 1864, the engraving was word down, perhaps by the rubbing of the reins of his horse. As you can see on the underside of the ring, there is engraving including his name, along with the month and year of his graduation.

J.E.B. Stuart's West Point class ring

With the details of West Point being the first school to start the tradition of class rings and with a picture in mind of what such a ring might look like, I knew I could safely incorporate such a ring into my novella. Of course, you’ll have to read the story to find out how and why it’s important!

Interior of J.E.B. Stuart's class ring, showing
inscription and date/year.

It’s your turn: I’ll give away a copy of The Mail-Order Brides Collection to one reader, so you can see just how that ring plays into the story. To enter, please tell me whether you got a class ring in high school and/or college. If so, do you still wear the ring(s)? If not, did you want one, and what kept you from having one?

Jennifer Uhlarik discovered the western genre as a pre-teen when she swiped the only “horse” book she found on her older brother’s bookshelf. A new love was born. Across the next ten years, she devoured Louis L’Amour westerns and fell in love with the genre. In college at the University of Tampa, she began penning her own story of the Old West. Armed with a B.A. in writing, she has finaled and won in numerous writing competitions, and been on the ECPA best-seller list numerous times. In addition to writing, she has held jobs as a private business owner, a schoolteacher, a marketing director, and her favorite—a full-time homemaker. Jennifer is active in American Christian Fiction Writers and lifetime member of the Florida Writers Association. She lives near Tampa, Florida, with her husband, college-aged son, and four fur children.

Available now: The Mail-Order Brides Collection

What kind of woman would answer an advertisement and marry a stranger?

Escape into the history of the American West along with nine couples whose relationships begin with advertisements for mail-order brides. Placing their dreams for new beginnings in the hands of a stranger, will each bride be disappointed, or will some find true love?

The Brigand And The Bride by Jennifer Uhlarik

1876, Arizona
Jolie Hilliard weds a stranger to flee her outlaw family but discovers her groom is an escaped prisoner. Will she ever find happiness on the right side of the law?