Tuskegee Airmen (circa 1942 - Aug 1943)

PAGE SUMMARY

This page of the Tuskegee Airmen is a hidden history from the World War II Era that not many people/students will learn about through a textbook.

The group was incredibly important to the aerial portion of the war and provided the Americans/Allies with cover for bombing missions across Europe. Often overshadowed because it was a black military unit, their contributions are important nonetheless and need to be brought into the light by teachers.

This page provides  a number of primary sources, videos, and learning plans that are all designed to bring the efforts, achievements, and sacrifices of the Tuskegee Airmen to students around the United States. (Oliver Rodgers, April 2022).

Overview 

The Tuskegee airmen were the first group of black soldiers allowed to serve in aviation positions

Who Were They? from Tuskegee Airmen National Museum

• They were part of the 99th Pursuit Squadron of fighter planes identified by red tail markings.

• They provided coverage for bombers flying missions over Europe

• They were called Black Bird Men (Schwartze Vogelmenschen) by the German military; American bomber crews referred them as Red Tail Angels

  A Timeline detailing the foundation and accomplishments of the Tuskegee airmen in WWII 

Key figures and dates to research and decide where the Tuskegee Airmen fit in the history of the Military and in U.S. History: 

• First air unit formed in 1907 as the “U.S. Army Signal Corps formed an Aeronautical Division”

• Theodore Roosevelt the first president to have an air division

• Eugene Jacques Bullard- The very first African American military pilot and the only to serve in the United States military in all of WWI

• Rapidly increasing technology in aviation in the 20th century

• The Tuskegee Airmen’s Foundation was in 1941

• Military not desegregated until 1948 under Truman

• United States Air Force not incorporated as a branch of the military until 1947

• Received a 1945 unit citation from then President Truman but would not be recognized again until 2007 when George W. Bush awarded the congressional gold medal to the airmen nearly 60 years later. 

• Today still only 13% of the Airforce is represented by African American men and women

• Lee “Buddy” Archer, Jr. the African American pilot with the most confirmed kills in combat who happened to be a Tuskegee Airmen deployed in Europe during WWII

Submitted by Jason Rivera, Fall 2023 

Biographies of the members of the Tuskegee Airmen

Facts and Chronology from Tuskegee University

History.com- The Tuskegee airmen.

Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony, 2007

 Primary Sources

• Executive Order 8802: Prohibition of Discrimination in the Defense Industry (1941, by Franklin Roosevelt)  

• Command of Negro Troops: War Department Pamphlet (1944) 

• Roosevelt Letter to Walter White (1944) about nondiscrimination in the post-war GI Bill of Rights

• Article about support of The Tuskegee Airmen by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt 
• Includes Photograph of Eleanor Roosevelt and Charles Alfred Anderson

Mal Whitfield, 1948 Olympics 

Mal Whitfield was an Airman and 3 Time Olympic Gold Medalist

 Multimedia Resources

The Tuskegee Red-Tailed Angels from Smithsonian Channel

Wings for This Man, U. S. Army Film (1945) on YouTube

An interview with a surviving member of the Tuskegee Airmen. Discusses a movie called "Red Tails" that was made about the fighter pilots. 

Tuskegee Airmen Documentary, By Lucasfilm

Who were the Tuskegee airmen?

Learning Plans

Learning Guide to The Tuskegee Airmen from Teach with Movies

See United States History II.21 for more on battles of World War II

 Quiz Question: Why are the Tuskegee airmen so important to American military history?

Answer: the Tuskegee airmen defied the odds to become the first all black air unit at a time when the military believed African Americans were not smart enough to operate heavy war equipment. Not only did they prove this belief wrong but they were able to accomplish some pretty remarkable feats during the war including flying the longest bomber escort mission of the war into Berlin.