When most people hear the words “Top Gun,” they think of Tom Cruise buzzing the tower and the song “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling.” They should probably think instead of the Tuskegee Airmen.
The first “Top Gun” event, after all, took place in 1949, and Tuskegee Airmen Capt. Alva Temple, 1st Lt. Harry Stewart, 1st Lt. James Harvey III, and alternate Halbert Alexander were the winners. That isn’t even one of the main reasons this group of heroes deserves honor and recognition.
The Tuskegee Airmen, the first black military pilots in the United States, first earned their wings during World War II. They were part of the U.S. Army Air Corps, a predecessor to the U.S. Air Force. Their training was conducted on an airfield at Tuskegee University in Alabama.
Initially, U.S. military officials had rejected the idea of black fighter pilots because of racist and bigoted perceptions that blacks would not make good pilots. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, however, overruled them. First, in 1938, FDR expanded the civilian pilot training program. Then, in 1940, he announced the Army Air Corps would train black pilots.
Forced to segregate because of the laws at the time, the War Department selected Tuskegee University in Alabama for training and built an airfield there. Nearly all of those in the program were college graduates; they were a diverse group, coming from all parts of the country. All aspects of aerial military combat were taught at Tuskegee, including navigation, mechanics, control tower operation, and, of course, piloting. The Tuskegee program would produce approximately 1,000 pilots and close to “14,000 navigators, bombardiers, instructors, aircraft and engine mechanics, control tower operators and other maintenance and support staff.”
“Nearly 1,000 fighter pilots trained as a segregated unit at an air base in Tuskegee, Ala.,” according to the Tuskegee University website about the airmen. “Not allowed to practice or fight with their white counterparts, the Tuskegee Airmen distinguished themselves from the rest by painting the tails of their airplanes red, which led to them becoming known as the ‘Red Tails.’ Hundreds saw combat throughout Europe, the Mediterranean and North Africa, escorting bomber aircraft on missions and protecting them from the enemy. Dozens died in the fighting; others were held as prisoners of war.”
The heroic pilots of the Tuskegee Airmen flew more than 15,000 missions over Europe and North Africa during World War II. As a result of their efforts, excellence, courage, and bravery, the Tuskegee Airmen were awarded more than 150 Distinguished Flying Crosses. Furthermore, in addition to being heroes on the air, they were legends on the ground. The accomplishments of the Tuskegee Airmen during the world’s greatest military conflict paved the way for the integration of the country’s military.
It has long been said that the Tuskegee Airmen were fighting wars on two fronts — against the evil forces of fascism in Europe and racism, prejudice, and bigotry in the U.S. And, in many ways, that makes their heroism and accomplishments even more impressive.
“Even the Nazis asked why African-American men would fight for a country that treated them so unfairly,” President George W. Bush said in 2007. “These men in our presence felt a special sense of urgency. They were fighting two wars. One was in Europe and the other took place in the hearts and minds of our citizens.”
As recognition for all that they sacrificed for their country, on March 29, 2007, decades after their heroism, Bush awarded the surviving members the Congressional Gold Medal. It was an honor long overdue.
