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AWESOME AIRMEN, EPIC BATTLES

Tuskegee Airmen at Aviation Museum

By MEGAN WILLIAMS

Date published: 2/18/2010

FOR THE FREE LANCE-STAR

More than 60 years ago, a group of American pilots set out for Europe to fight in World War II. In the process, they helped change the social fabric of their country.

Today, the story of the Tuskegee Airmen--the first black military aviators in the United States armed forces--continues to be told. On Tuesday and Thursday of next week, at the Virginia Aviation Museum in Richmond, two original members of the Tuskegee Airmen will tell their stories of adversity and, ultimately, success.

"The museum is about aviation," said Mike Boehme, director of the Virginia Aviation Museum. "And the Tuskegee Airmen are one of the special events that occurred in history."

Since 2003, the museum has been hosting the Tuskegee Airmen as a way to celebrate Black History Month--and an important event in the history of aviation.

Members of the community can come and listen to speakers, tour dioramas, view a documentary about the origins and accomplishments of the Tuskegee Airmen, and view artifacts and memorabilia from World War II.

They will also get a chance to hear firsthand accounts detailing how those pilots, whom history has come to note as heroes, were not always viewed as such.

REWRITING HISTORY

One of the individuals who will be speaking at the museum is retired Chief Master Sgt. Grant S. Williams Sr., who was a member of the 96th Air Service Group--a support group that assisted the pilots of the 99th and 332nd squadrons. Williams witnessed the first group of pilots graduate from the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama.

"The Tuskegee Airmen was an experiment," Williams said. "But it wasn't to see if we could do it, but to prove that we couldn't do it."

After pressure was put on Congress by labor unions to form an all-black combat unit, legislation was passed, and in June 1941 the Tuskegee program officially began at the Tuskegee Institute.

Yet the prevailing opinion was that the program would not succeed.

But failure was not an option, Williams said. He shipped out to Italy and over the next 22 months, Williams saw the accomplishments of the Tuskegee Airmen exceed the expectations of most.

"When bombers went into battle," Williams said, "they started asking for us. They noticed when the 332nd escorted them, they came back with all their bombers."

What: Tuskegee Airmen: Black History Month Presentations When: Tuesday, Feb. 23, and Thursday, Feb. 25, at 9:30 and 11 a.m. Where: Virginia Aviation Museum Cost: Included with Aviation Museum admission. Tickets are $6 for ages 13-59, $5 for ages 4-12 and persons over 60, and $5.50 for active military. Info: 804/864-1400; vam.smv.org/aboutus/news

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Date published: 2/18/2010