Posted on 01/19/2012 9:20:05 PM PST by ex-Texan
The skies were filled with bombers and fighter planes. Their engines hummed steadily, in the otherwise quiet skies above Germany. The target of the March 24, 1945, mission was the Daimler-Benz tank assembly plant—one of the most heavily guarded targets of the Third Reich.
As they approached Berlin, the reality of one of the most dangerous air missions of World War II became apparent. They were up against the world’s first operational fighter jets—the German ME 262. Amid the horrors of World War II, these were the monsters of the skies. They could fly 150 mph faster than the fastest U.S. fighter plane, and could climb 1,300 feet higher than the P-51 Mustangs they were up against in the battle.
“They had just a devastating effect when they encountered American bombers because they could climb up very high and just make passes through the bomber formations and knock them out,” said retired Air Force Col. Roosevelt Lewis.
Yet flying with the Americans was something the Germans had not expected—the Tuskegee Airmen. They were African-American fighter pilots who had to fight prejudice at home so they could go to war against the Germans, and whose participation in the battle was an honor. “They were afraid of nothing,” Lewis said. “They wanted a chance to fly and fight for this nation.”
The men who flew the red-tailed P-51 Mustangs are said to have never lost a bomber in all their hundreds of escort missions. The black pilots were discriminated against at every turn, yet they took that discrimination as a cause to show the world what they could do.
They saw that mission through, and escorted the bombers back to safe ground.
A Continued Legacy
This photo from September 1944, shows Capt. Andrew D. Turner signaling to the chief of his ground crew before taking off from a base in Italy. He was a member of the 15th U.S. Army Air Force. (National Archives)
Lewis is the president of the Tuskegee Airmen chapter in Tuskegee, Ala., and was trained at the now-famous airbase by the men who helped end segregation in the military.
He has made it his life’s work to teach their legacy.
The spotlight is once again on the Tuskegee Airmen. Director George Lucas is releasing a film about them on Jan. 20, “Red Tails,” based on the nickname given to them by the bomber crews, “Red Tailed Angels.”
Lewis is just one of many African-Americans inspired by them. He met the leader of the Tuskegee Airmen, Gen. Benjamin O. Davis Jr., when he joined the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) in 1960.
“He said something that has always stayed with me,” Lewis said. “He said that ‘your performance is your measure of merit in this life.’”
Gen. Davis taught him virtues he carries to this day, which he has in turn passed to younger generations today. He said discrimination goes beyond just race—maybe a person doesn’t get picked for a basketball game because they’re short, or they get pushed to the side due to other notions.
Yet what he learned is that a person needs to do well under all circumstances, and that a person needs to have both a passion for what they do, and the ability to persevere through hardships.
Then eventually, “those things will show,” he said. And when the opportunity finally comes, “Your performance has to be like nobody has performed before.”
He referred back to the famous bombing mission on Berlin. Just prior to the mission, the leading general received a message from the bomber crews saying if they were going into Berlin, they wanted Red Tailed Angels by their sides.
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Hearing this, Davis changed the nose art on his P-51 to “By Request,” which was a note to he and his men that when nobody believed in them, they performed, and they showed what they could do, and when the time came, others came to them.
“For the first time during the war, the airmen were in such demand until they were requested by the white bomber units because of their reputation and because of the work they did in protecting their escorts,” Lewis said.
Yet he noted what the Tuskegee Airmen have left behind is not “a black story or a white story.”
“This is an American story, of the first order,” he said. “This is really a story of discipline. A story of excellence. A story of people not giving up no matter the odds. These were Americans who would not give up—who fought for the opportunity to fight for their country, and when they were given that opportunity they excelled.”
He added that the story of the Tuskegee Airmen is one that does not want to live in segregation. Rather, it is a lesson that when a person is bulled and cast aside and judged, they can charge on without self-pity, and achieve greatness without resentment. And it is a reminder that the only way to eliminate discrimination is to soar above it.
Hit primary link above for great photos
/johnny
*Ping* !
A fantasy. Of course it happened. This is a common, though unfortunate exaggeration associated with the T.A. There's no need to reinvent their history in order for them to deserve the adulation we have for them, and for all those from the Greatest Generation who served their country in WWII.
God is the great Equalizer.
He is no respecter of persons.
We will all face Him, and account for our decisions in life.
God Bless the Tuskegee Airmen!
I had the honor of meeting one of the remaining Airmen after he gave a speech a couple of years ago.
He made it clear during and after that he was an American, not an “African-American.”
“There’s no need to reinvent their history in order for them to deserve the adulation we have for them”
One of these “historical fiction” movies had black soldiers liberating a concentration camp; it was well documented that it was an absolute fiction. They should give credit where it is due; outright lying casts doubt on the true events worthy of praise.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16227836/ns/us_news-life/t/wwii-pilot-corroborates-tuskegee-airmen-loss/
Interesting read. Still amazing though that the losses were counted as “a few”. I wonder how many planes total they escorted, etc.
I remember Dr. Lewis A. Jackson, Director of Training at the Army Air Corps 66th Flight Training Detachment, which prepared pilots who would eventually fly in the 99th Pursuit Squadron, who’s in-laws lived next door in my childhood.
http://www.aaregistry.org/historic_events/view/lewis-jackson-aviation-pioneer
http://www.bjmjr.net/ww2/jackson.htm
Urban legend
While they did a great job it must be remembered that by the time the T.A. had reached Germany the Luftwaffe was all but gone. As for the mission this article talks about, there was no German airforce left by March 25, 1945.
The ME262 turned out to be very vulnerable while taking off and landing and most of them were shot down then. There were never enough of them to be a real threat to the Allied forces, thanks to Hitler's idotic short sightedness.
The T.A. were and amazing bunch but the lies told about them to make them seem even more amazing does them disservice. They were forced to serve in Africa flying worn out P40s for so long that by the time they reached Germany, the Luftwaffe had very few planes left and there best pilots were, for the most part, dead and the ones flying were rookie pilots with very little skill.
There were many black units in WWII, most of them did menial jobs but these jobs were necessary and contributed greatly to the war's end. The members of the Red Ball express, driving trucks and bringing up the needed supplies to keep the troops going were mostly black and they were all heroes, facing death many times over, both from the enemy and from the speeds and bad roads over which they had to drive.
The Tuskegee Airmen have nothing to be ashamed of, either by their record in Africa and in Germany, but lying about it does them dishonor and sooner or later the truth will come out and it will make them look bad, even though they are not the ones lying.
I heard last week that the characters in the movie are all fictional. If true that is a shame since there were some remarkable men in the TA. That said, I want to see this movie anyway.
I appreciate what the Tuskegee Airmen did but I always wonder what the ulterior motive is whenever they are accorded such accolades.
The Tuskegee airmen’s legacy per perseverance pales in comparison to the 442 Infantry Regiment.
These Japanese Americans suffer as great if not greater racial discrimination.
But is their combat record that speaks volumes.
21 Medals of Honor
52 Distinguished Service Crosses
560 Silver Stars
22 Legion of Merit Medal
4,000 Bronze Stars
9,489 Purple Hearts
14,000 men served in the 442, only 4,000 survived the war.
And only 1 movie made of them.
Perhaps in Hollywood all animals are equal. Some more equal than others.
Made me learn a bit about the Red Ball Express. Thanks!
“When Gen. Patton said for you to be there, you were there if you had to drive all day and all night....”
http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=43934
I do think that the contribution of the Tuskegee Airmen was inspiring. Anybody who really reads American history knows American is a state of mind and character less then any particular lineage. I have ancestors going back to the early colonists mixed with many other things over the course of American history. I have met men of all races who are better Americans then myself. People on the left misunderstand conservatives we judge people by their character and have little tolerance for the excuses of those who lack it.
No thanks on a historically inaccurate movie, by the failure George Lucas. He needs to apologize for the BS that he did to star wars.
I don’t know myself but there’s probably a web site out there that does!
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