Kentuckians to Be Honored As Tuskegee Airmen: WW II UNIT's MEMBERS TO GET CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL

Mar 29, 03:33 AM

Current Headlines: By Delano R. Massey, The Lexington Herald-Leader, Ky.

Mar. 29--Five Kentucky natives will be among about 300 survivors of the Tuskegee Airmen being honored today in Washington.

Nearly 60 years after making history as the country's first all-black unit of airmen in World War II, the Tuskegee Airmen will receive the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian award bestowed by Congress.

The ceremony, which takes place this afternoon in the Rotunda of the Capitol, comes nearly a year after Congress approved the honor. The award is for the entire Tuskegee Airmen program -- nearly 15,000 pilots and members of ground support.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who will be speaking at the medal ceremony, said yesterday in a statement that "this recognition of the Tuskegee Airmen is long overdue."

"They fought to protect a country that, in large part, didn't want them in combat," he said. "By doing so, they transformed that disdain into admiration and respect."

Kentucky was home to 14 of the airmen. There are six surviving members, and all but one will be in Washington, said Ron Spriggs, executive director of the Ron Spriggs Exhibit of Tuskegee Airmen Inc.

Spriggs said the following will be in attendance: Julius Calloway, a retired U.S. Air Force major from Louisville; Frank Walker, a retired U.S. Army first lieutenant of Richmond; Morris Washington, a U.S. Army Air Corps captain from Prospect; Herb Glenn, a cadet from Paducah who now lives in Toledo, Ohio; and Washington Ross, a retired lieutenant colonel from Ashland who currently lives in Detroit.

Alvin Larue Sr. of Louisville, a flight officer with the U.S. Army, will not attend, Spriggs said.

Spriggs, an eight-year veteran of the Air Force, was not a Tuskegee Airman, but you'd never know based on his excitement.

For nearly five years, Spriggs has made it his mission to keep the airmen's legacy alive. He has a traveling exhibit and a permanent exhibit at the aviation museum near Blue Grass Airport.

"In my opinion, this is the homecoming they never got 60 or 70 years ago," Spriggs said. "By honoring them with this gold medal, America is finally saying, 'Welcome home. Good job.'"

Reach Delano R. Massey at (859) 231-1455; 1-800-950-6397, Ext. 1455; or dmassey@herald-leader. com.

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