They were told they couldn’t fly and it took an act of Congress to get them in the air. They turned out to be one of the greatest combat units of World War II and are being remembered as Veteran’s Day approaches.
The Lima Kiwanis Club hearing from the Ohio Memorial Chapter of Tuskegee Airman. They were a group of African American military pilots of both fighters and bombers. It was the “Appropriations Bill Public Law 18” passed on April 3rd of 1939 that approved the training of these pilots through civilian flight schools willing to train black Americans. While the Tuskegee pilots faced segregation at home and in the service one man told Courtney Gaiter he was treated better as prisoners of war than he was treated back home.
Courtney Gaiter of the Ohio Memorial Chapter says, “The Germans treated him better as a prisoner of war than he did in his own country. He was from Minnesota originally. But he said it’s a sad day when that happens but he said that’s the way it was. Germans didn’t have time for that nonsense. They were there to fight a war. They didn’t care. It was one standard for everybody, black, white, whatever if you got caught that was it.”
To learn more about their role in the war and beyond log on to tuskegeeairmen.org.
