#332nd Fighter Group

[nocternalrandomness]

Tuskegee Airmen from the 332nd FG photographed in Aug 1944 at Ramitelli Airfield , Italy

[kylaym]

Alex Jefferson ❤️🫡

[mimi-0007]

Paul Adams 1920-2013, joined the Tuskegee Airmen shortly after graduating from South Carolina State University. He flew with the 332nd Fighter Squadron (the famed "Red Tails") throughout WWII. He would retire from the military in 1962. He then would become a teaching in the Lincoln (NE) public school system. They named Adams Elementary school for him in 2008.

Paul Adams and his fellow Tuskegee Airmen were the first African-American aviators in the U.S. military, whose distinguished record many historians credit with helping pave the way for the civil rights movement.

The group set an unprecedented record, flying more than 1,500 missions in Europe and North Africa. Adam served in nine major campaigns and received the Commendation Medal with three Oak Leaf clusters, each of which signifies subsequent bestowals of the same honor.

Doane College recognized him with the President's Honor of Distinction Award the same year. In 2007, he received the Congressional Gold Medal along with other Tuskegee Airmen, who were known as "guardian angels" by white airmen who were escorted by the African-American pilots during the war. Adams received a bronze replica at a ceremony in Lincoln. Doane College recognized him with the President's Honor of Distinction Award the same year.

And two years later, Adams, at President Barack Obama's invitation, attended the inauguration of the first black president along with other Tuskegee Airmen. Adams went on to become one of the first black teachers in LPS, and in 2008, his accomplishments were honored when the district named a new school after him.

He became a frequent visitor at Adams Elementary, where books about Tuskegee Airmen fill the library and teachers make a point to read them to students. The history became an integral part of Adams Elementary school

[usaac-official]

Marcelius Smith (L) and Roscoe Brown (R) of the 332nd Fighter Group work on the engine of a P-51 at Ramitelli, Italy, March 1945

[aviationgeek71]

Tuskegee Airmen 15th Air Force, 332nd Fighter Group, 100th Fighter Squadron

[shoshiwrites]

A-2 leather Tuskegee Airman jacket worn by Woodrow W. Crockett via the Smithsonian Institution.

From the American Air Museum:

Woodrow W. Crockett was born in 1918 in Homan (Miller County) and lived in Little Rock (Pulaski County), where he attended Dunbar High School and Junior College before leaving to join the army in August 1940. In 1942, Crockett transferred to the Tuskegee Institute and became an aviation cadet. He graduated and was commissioned as a second lieutenant on March 25, 1943. Crockett served in the 100th Fighter Squadron and the 332nd Fighter Interceptor Group, flying 149 combat missions in fifteen months. He was stationed at McGuire Air Force Base and McCloud Air Force Base in Washington as a member of the Twenty-fifth Air Division, as well as Edmond Air Force Base in California. He was a graduate of the United States Air Force Command and Staff College in Montgomery, Alabama. Crockett later served in the Korean conflict, completing forty-five missions and receiving numerous awards and accolades. Crockett retired after thirty years of military service in 1970 with over 5,000 hours of flight time and 520 combat hours. In 1992, he was inducted into the Arkansas Aviation Hall of Fame and, in 1995, was made a member of the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame.

Further information on Lt. Col. Crockett can be found at the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame Foundation and the Encyclopedia of Arkansas.

[captain-price-unofficially]

P-51D "Lollipop II" of the 332nd Fighter Group, Fossia, Italy. WWII

[lboogie1906]

First Lieutenant Nancy Leftenant, known as “Lefty” (September 29, 1920) was to the late James and

Eunice Leftenant in Goose Creek, South Carolina. She graduated from Amityville High School, Amityville, New York.

She graduated from New York’s Lincoln School of Nursing. She tried to sign up for the Armed Forces but was informed that the military was not accepting Black nurses. She persevered and in January 1945, she volunteered and was accepted into the Army Nurse Corps as a reservist. Nurses of Color were not permitted into the regular Army at that time. She was given the rank of Second Lieutenant and her first assignment was to Lowell General Hospital, Fort Devens, Massachusetts where she treated WWII wounded. She and other Black nurses impressed the doctors due to their superior performance so they were promoted to First Lieutenant after only 11 months.

In 1946, she was assigned to the 332nd Station Medical Group, Lockbourne Army Air Base. She became the first Black woman integrated into the regular Army Nurse Corps.

She was assigned to Lockbourne Army Air Field when President Harry Truman issued Executive Order 9981, abolishing segregation in the military. In 1948 she applied for and received Regular Army Nurse Corps status.

The 332nd Fighter Group was deactivated at Lockbourne Air Force Base.

Once the Tuskegee Airmen were disbanded, she joined the Air Force. She served in Germany, Tokyo, Alaska, Ohio, Alabama, Maryland, New York and New Jersey. She was a Flight Nurse with the 6481st Medical Air Evacuation Group, Tachikawa, Japan. She set up hospital wards in Japan and active war zones. She was credited with saving many lives during the wars. She had to wait five years for her certification as a Flight Nurse. She returned to Amityville High School as the School Nurse.

She married Air Force Reserve Captain Bayard K. Colon after retirement. She and five of her twelve siblings served in the military. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

[madamlaydebug]

Day 19 of 366 Days of Black History...

Many of the original Tuskegee Airmen went on to further pursue careers within the military. This Is What You Need To Know About The Tuskegee Airmen. #PushBlackHistory 👇🏿

✈️ Active from 1940-48, Black pilots were trained at Tuskegee University to get the chance to serve in WWII.

✈️ The Tuskegee Experiment trained nearly 14,00 specialists plus 1,000 pilots. After the persistence of black newspapers like the Chicago Defender and Pittsburgh Courier and the NAACP, FDR began to consider using black pilots in the segregated air force.

✈️ Known for their red-tailed fighter planes, the Tuskegee Airmen were composed of the 99th Pursuit Squadron, 332nd Fighter Group, and the 477th Bombardment Group of the United States Army Air Forces.

✈️ Pilots were truly badasses. They fought in Italy, North Africa, Austria and Germany often with hand me down planes.

✈️ Tuskegee Airmen had a higher success rate than their white counterparts. The 99th shot down 12 German fighters in two days and out of the more than 200 escorts they only lost 25 bombers compared to 46 by the 15th pilot groups.

[thechildrensmuseum]

During World War II, around 1,000 Black pilots were trained at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama to be a part of the U.S. Army Air Corps. It was the first time the U.S. had opened its doors to Black pilots. This print entitled 'The Lonely Angels' is of the famous Tuskegee Airmen of the 332nd Fighter Group, also known as the Red Tail Bombers. They were responsible for escorting and protecting American bombers from German fighter planes, and had one of the lowest loss records of any escort flying group. 

[uvmagazine]

On February 19, 1942, the #TuskegeeAirmen made history as the first African American pilots who fought in World War II in the 1940s and maintaining the aircrafts.

Officially known as the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group of the United States Army Air Corps, the group was subjected to segregation and discrimination during their time in the army despite being as brave in fighting enemies as the rest of the military. Meanwhile, racism in America was still very much alive through Jim Crow laws.

[usafphantom2]

A Life of Dedicated Service: Remembering Brigadier General Charles McGee

Jan 18, 2022

By Michael Hankins

Brig. Gen. Charles E. McGee, the eldest of the surviving Tuskegee Airmen, passed away on January 16, 2022. His life of dedicated service included flying combat aircraft in three major wars—a feat that was unthinkable before his career began, when the US military banned African Americans from combat flying roles.

Brig. Gen. Charles McGee speaks to a group of visitors at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.

Born in Chicago in 1919, McGee spent his formative years as an Eagle Scout and worked for the Civilian Conservation Corps before studying engineering at the University of Illinois, where he also participated in the ROTC program. On his 22nd birthday, Japanese aircraft bombed Pearl Harbor, and the next day American officially entered World War II. After hearing of the US Army Air Corps’ new program to allow African Americans to train as combat pilots, McGee enlisted. Before leaving for training, McGee married his partner, Frances Nelson. Two days after their ceremony, McGee received his orders and became an aviation cadet.

McGee had experienced discrimination where he grew up in the northern United States, but noted that in Alabama, where Tuskegee Air Field was located, the racism was much more blatant. “Back in those days, the city of Tuskegee was off limits, and the sheriff wasn’t a friend. You didn’t buy gas or walk down the street in certain areas,” McGee said. But flying lifted his spirits. Even his early training rides sometimes became spiritual experiences. “Flying up to 45,000 feet to watch the sun set and stars come out,” he said. “It makes you realize we human beings are just one small aspect in a mighty grand universe.”

Tuskegee Airman Charles McGee stands in front of his P-51 Mustang Kitten during World War II.

After earning his wings and 2nd Lieutenant’s commission in June 1943, McGee joined the 302nd Fighter Squadron, part of the racially segregated 332nd Fighter Group, one of the units of the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II. Stationed in Italy, McGee flew P-39 Airacobras, P-47 Thunderbolts, and P-51 Mustangs on attack missions and bomber escorts. On August 24, 1944, McGee was escorting a group of B-24 Liberator bombers over Czechoslovakia while flying his P-51, named Kitten, partially after his nickname for his wife and partially as a reference to his crew chief, who “kept that engine purring like a kitten.” A group of German fighters pounced on the bombers, and McGee engaged, chasing a Fw 190 into a dive before shooting it down.

McGee ended his combat time in World War II after 136 missions, and then became an instructor for the 477th Bombardment Group (Medium), a group of African Americans training to become B-25 Mitchell crews.

Despite his decorated service, McGee faced harsh discrimination upon returning home. “In Europe, I was Charles McGee,” he said. “When you came down the gangplank in America, it’s, ‘Oh, you’re black.’ It was blacks this way, whites that way.” Even when serving in the United States, McGee was forced to leave his family behind because African Americans were not allowed to buy or rent homes in the areas around the bases to which he was assigned.

USAF pilot Charles McGee during the Korean War in 1951. McGee was a Tuskegee Airman during World War II and was promoted to Brigadier General in 2020.

When the Korean War began in 1950, McGee had recently become the base operations officer at Clark Field in the Philippines. He quickly joined the 67th Fighter Bomber Squadron and flew his favorite aircraft, the P-51 (now redesignated F-51) Mustang on 100 combat missions. After Korea, McGee held a number of command positions around the US Air Force, including commanding the 44th Fighter Bomber Squadron, flying F-80 Shooting Stars.

By 1967, with the Vietnam War increasing in intensity, the Air Force assigned McGee to command the 16th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron at Tan Son Nhut Air Base in South Vietnam. Flying RF-4 Phantom II jet fighters on dangerous photo reconnaissance missions, McGee completed 172 combat missions and earned his first Legion of Merit.

After returning to several other leadership positions in the Air Force, McGee retired from service as a Colonel in 1973. With a total of 409 combat missions across three wars, he had earned the Legion of Merit twice, earned three Distinguished Flying Crosses, and was awarded a Bronze Star, among many other awards. After retirement, he went back to college to earn a degree and continued to serve in a variety of leadership positions, including the Boy Scouts, while helping to create and promote the Tuskegee Airmen Inc. He also made time to visit us at the National Air and Space Museum, signing books, speaking at family day programs, and participating in lectures. His willingness to share his story provided our visitors with a first-hand account of history, and many walked away moved by the change to hear from and speak to McGee.

Brig. Gen. Charles McGee stands on a stage during a family day at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.

In 2020, McGee received a promotion to Brigadier General. Then-Chief of Staff of the Air Force, General David Goldfein, noted the importance of recognizing McGee’s legacy: “Charles McGee is a genuine American hero whose courage in combat helped save a nation, and whose legacy is felt to this day across the entire US Air Force.”

Looking back, McGee and his fellow Tuskegee Airmen were a powerful force for change, helping to increase the effectiveness of the US military through a more equitable use of personnel—but McGee did not pursue his career out of a sense of advocacy. “It was more about wanting to do our best and accomplish the mission we were assigned,” he said. “We just wanted to be part of what the country was all about at the time. We could’ve said, ‘They don’t like us. They don’t want us’ and not served our country. We chose to serve, and it allowed our Air Force to see what we could accomplish, and ... bring about an important change in the country.”

@airandspace via X

[alleannaharris]

Today's Black History Month illustration is of Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., the first Black general officer in the US Air Force and the commander of the 99th Flying Training Squadron, known as the Tuskegee Airmen.

Davis was born in 1912 in Washington DC, and his father, Benjamin O. Davis, Sr. was the first African American to become a general in any branch of the US military.

Davis studied at the University of Chicago until he received a recommendation to attend West Point from Rep. Oscar S. De Priest, the only Black congressman at that time. Davis entered West Point in 1932 and faced discrimination and racism because he was the first Black cadet to attend West Point in the 20th century and only the fourth to attend.

During his time there, he never had a roommate, he ate his meals in silence, and was only spoken to if needed. Despite being shunned, he graduated from West Point in 1936 at the top 20% of his class. After he graduated in 1936, he was commissioned in the infantry and in 1941 he was one of the first African Americans admitted to the Army Air Corps and to pilot training.

Davis was soon promoted to lieutenant colonel, and he organized the 99th Pursuit Squadron, the first Black air unit. In 1943, he organized and commanded the 332nd Fighter Group, also known as the Tuskegee Airmen. By the end of WWII, he had flown 60 combat missions.

After WWII, he helped plan the desegregation of the Air Force in 1948 and in 1954, he became its first Black general. He held progressively higher commands throughout his career, and he became lieutenant general before retiring from the Air Force in 1970.

In 1998, he was advanced to four-star general, making him a general of the highest order in the US military. He was the first African American to be awarded in retirement. (Side note: the propeller in the portrait background is from a P-47 Thunderbolt.)

I’ll be back tomorrow with another illustration and story!

[usaac-official]

A recently recaptured P-47D formerly of the 332nd Fighter Group at Göttingen, 1945

[aviationgeek71]

Tuskegee Airmen with the 15th Air Force, 332nd Fighter Group, 100th Flight Squadron

[shoshiwrites]

Deputy Group Commander George S. "Spanky" Roberts with photographer Toni Frissell, at Ramitelli, Italy, March 1945.

Frissell wrote, "[j]ust before take off in stripped down mustang--no guns--for rendezvous with the fighter pilots." Aircraft is a P-51/D, number 37, with three German crosses in front of the number. It was named "Marcelle" and was assigned to Group Headquarters. It is shown configured for "Piggyback."

(Source: Photographer's notes and Tuskegee Airmen 332nd Fighter Group pilots.)