Academy to honor Tuskegee Airmen May 5

  • Published
  • U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. --  The Air Force Academy will honor the Tuskegee Airmen with a wreath laying ceremony and parade, 11:15 a.m. May 5 at the Academy. 

The event was organized and hosted by the Academy's Way of Life Committee and the Hubert L. "Hooks" Jones Chapter of Tuskegee Airmen, Inc.

The event recognizes a major milestone in Air Force history by celebrating the first African-American aviators, who served in World War II.

The wreath laying will take place at the Academy's Tuskegee Airmen statue on the Honor Court west of the Cadet Chapel, followed by the Tuskegee Airmen Parade on the terrazzo. 

The Tuskegee Airmen were African-Americans who, at a time of racial segregation in the military, answered the call to arms and trained at Tuskegee, Ala. 

By the end of the war, 992 men graduated from pilot training and 450 were sent overseas for combat assignments. They flew fighters on ground attack and bomber escort missions over North Africa and Europe and never lost a bomber to enemy fighters.

During the same period, approximately 150 lost their lives while in training or on combat flights. 

On March 29, 2007, the Tuskegee Airmen received the Congressional Gold Medal in the rotunda of the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.

This is the highest civilian award which may be bestowed by the Congress. 


NOTE:  :  Media members interested in covering the ceremony and interviewing Documented Original Tuskegee Airmen should call the Public Affairs office at (719) 333-7593, 7639, or 7731 no later than 3 p.m., Monday, May 4. 

"The Air Force's Academy, producing lieutenants for our Air Force and our nation."