Tuskegee Airmen Shot Down Racial Stereotypes

Mar 28, 02:19 PM

Current Headlines: The racial climate in 1941 was such that the Army Air Corps didn't expect much when it began training a small group of African- American men to become pilots at Alabama's historically black college, the Tuskegee Institute.

But what it got was one of the most successful flying squadrons in American military history. Shattering racist stereotypes, the airmen flew more than 15,000 sorties over North Africa and Europe during World War II, destroyed more than 250 enemy aircraft on the ground and 150 in the air, and fiercely protected the Allied bombers they escorted.

"We dared not fail," said retired Air Force Lt. Col. Charles W. Dryden, 86, who earned his wings at the Tuskegee program in 1942. "We dared not fail because the white folks could say, 'See, we knew they couldn't do it.' "

Three New Mexicans -- John Allen, Robert Lawrence and James Williams -- helped prove they could, and then some. They will join around 300 airmen (out of nearly 1,000 who trained at Tuskegee) Thursday in the Capitol rotunda in Washington, D.C., to receive the Congressional Gold Medal.

While the Army Air Corps might not have expected much from its African-American soldiers, by opening the door of opportunity it allowed them to deliver. And it created a tradition of giving minorities the chance to build distinguished military careers based on ability, talent and willingness to work toward their goals.

Thursday's ceremony is public validation of the Tuskegee Airmen and their many accomplishments, from heroism in wartime to overcoming stereotypes in times of peace.

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