Rep. Blunt Rochester Leads Letter Calling on Biden Administration to Establish a National Tuskegee Airmen Commemoration Day
Washington,
February 28, 2023
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Andrew Donnelly
(302-893-4406)
WASHINGTON – Today, on the final day of Black History Month, Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), and Congresswoman Elanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) led a group of members in writing a letter to the Biden Administration requisition a Presidential Proclamation establishing the 4th Thursday in March as National Tuskegee Airmen Commemoration Day.
The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of black pilots, aircrew, ground crew, and support personnel of the U.S. Army Air Corps who fought in World War II. As the first African American flying units in the U.S. military, their many successes paved the way for the desegregation of the U.S. military.
“The Tuskegee Airmen achieved unparalleled success, not just for their martial excellence but for their grit and determination as a trailblazing unit that would prove segregation a failed and unjust policy,” wrote the Members. “Their legacy requires the kind of recognition only a Presidential Proclamation could provide. Such a proclamation should honor their accomplishments but also recognize that the work of making the U.S. Armed Forces more representative must continue.”
Text of the letter can be found here or below.
February 28, 2023 The Honorable Joseph R. Biden The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President:
We write to respectfully request the issuance of a Presidential Proclamation establishing the 4th Thursday in March as National Tuskegee Airmen Commemoration Day.
The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of black pilots, aircrew, ground crew, and support personnel of the U.S. Army Air Corps who fought in World War II. As the first African American flying units in the U.S. military, their many successes paved the way for the desegregation of the U.S. military, which started in 1948 when President Harry S. Truman signed Executive Order 9981.1
The history of the Tuskegee Airmen dates back to World War I, when African American men attempted to serve in U.S. air units but were denied entry.2 Early African American aviators like Eugene Bullard, Cornelius Coffey, and James Banning had to persevere beyond the unjust race- based policies in the U.S. military and discrimination in civilian aviation.3 Unfortunately, the lack of a robust civilian aviation training apparatus available to African Americans meant access to military aviation opportunities was additionally circumscribed. By 1939, only 25 African Americans were licensed pilots in the United States.4 This stark inequity finally forced Congress to act. On June 27, 1939, Congress passed the Civilian Pilot Training Act, which prohibited exclusion based on race from federally funded pilot training programs.5 Six black colleges participated in the program: Hampton Institute, Howard University, North Carolina A&T, Delaware State College for Colored Students, Tuskegee Institute, and West Virginia State College.6 These necessary advancements in Black aviation laid the groundwork for the extraordinary achievements of African American aviators in World War II.
The illustrious service record of the Tuskegee Airmen began on March 19, 1941, when the United States Army Air Corps officially constituted the 99th Pursuit Squadron as the first all- Black combat squadron in the United States Armed Forces.7 The squadron was trained at the newly constructed Tuskegee Army Air Field in Tuskegee, Alabama, a few miles away from the Tuskegee Institute.8 By June 1943, the renamed 99th Fighter Squadron was flying combat missions over Sicily and the Mediterranean, supporting Allied bombers, naval formations, and other offensives. The Tuskegee Airmen scored several aerial victories against German FW-190s, BF-109s, and ME-262s, eventually earning three Distinguished Unit Citations in combat missions over the Mediterranean and Central Europe.9 By World War II’s end, three other all- black fighter squadrons were activated, all under the 332nd Fighter Group, as well as the 477th Bombardment Group flying B-25 medium bombers.10 Despite their successes, the Tuskegee Airmen endured extreme adversity, including notably prejudiced and unsuccessful attempts to disband the 332nd Fighter Group.11 The Tuskegee Airmen would fly over 15,000 combat sorties in World War II and receiving 744 air medal, including 96 Distinguished Flying Crosses, 14 Bronze Stars, and 8 Purple Hearts.121314
As World War II drew to a close, the Tuskegee Airmen in the 477th Bombardment Group staged a nonviolent demonstration to desegregate the officer’s club at Freeman Field, Indiana.15 Their demonstration for racial equity, staged between April 5-6, 1945, would prove to be a catalyst for the eventual desegregation of the U.S. Armed Forces.16 After the war, the Tuskegee Airmen won one last aerial victory in 1949 when they won the first ever U.S. Air Force Aerial Gunnery Competition (propeller), now known as “Top Gun,” beating the best pilots in the U.S. Air Force.17 By July of 1949, the 332nd Fighter Group, the 477th Bombardment Group, and all other all-black aviation units of the U.S. Air Force were deactivated as the U.S. military finally moved toward full racial integration.18
The Tuskegee Airmen achieved unparalleled success, not just for their martial excellence but for their grit and determination as a trailblazing unit that would prove segregation a failed and unjust policy. Their legacy requires the kind of recognition only a Presidential Proclamation could provide. Such a proclamation should honor their accomplishments but also recognize that the work of making the U.S. Armed Forces more representative must continue.
Thank you for your consideration of this request. Sincerely,
Lisa Blunt Rochester Member of Congress
Eleanor Holmes Norton Member of Congress
André Carson Member of Congress
Deborah K. Ross Member of Congress
James P. McGovern Member of Congress
Gwen S. Moore Member of Congress
Dwight Evans Member of Congress
Danny K. Davis Member of Congress
Rashida Tlaib Member of Congress
Barbara Lee Member of Congress
Bonnie Watson Coleman Member of Congress
Shontel M. Brown Member of Congress
Sheila Jackson Lee Member of Congress
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