In the early stages of my research I borrowed this book from the library and I sure am glad I did. Something I found interesting was that they simultaneously fought two wars. This book really talked about how they had to fight Hitler and segregation. Hitler ruled the skies in Europe and Jim Crow ruled the skies in the US. Young black men came to Tuskegee, Alabama in the early 1940s, when the US Army opened pilot training to African Americans. Tuskegee was chosen as the place for the first black military pilot training because Tuskegee Institute had already been training black civilian pilots, Tuskegee Institute lobbied for the contract to operate a primary flight school for pilots, the region had more days of good flying weather than many other …show more content…
The reason people say this is because the Tuskegee Airmen had the best record for losing bombers. But, remember that the Tuskegee Airmen also shot down many airplanes. The 99th Fighter Squadron shot down 18 enemy airplanes before it was assigned to the 332nd Fighter Group, and the 332nd Fighter Group and its squadrons shot down 94 enemy airplanes, for a total of 112 enemy airplanes shot down by the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II. None of the Tuskegee Airmen became aces for having shot down five enemy aircraft. However, three Tuskegee Airmen each shot down four enemy aircraft, and four of the Tuskegee Airmen each shot down three enemy aircraft in one day. One reason there were no Tuskegee Airmen aces is that their units deployed to combat later than the white fighter units. Most of the 332nd Fighter Group mission reports indicate no enemy fighters encountered. The 477th Bombardment Group was the first black bombardment group. It had been active briefly in 1943 as a white bombardment group, but when it was activated again, at Selfridge Field, Michigan. It was a predominantly a black bombardment group. It received its pilots from twin-engine training at …show more content…
Al but three of them, who were accused of using force, were released on April 9. Col. Selway, commander of the 477th Bombardment Group and the base commander, then ordered all black officers at Freeman Field to sign a new base regulation to acknowledge the separate officers clubs policy at the base. 101 black officers refused to sign and they were arrested. On April 13, they were flown to Godman Field, Kentucky, and kept in confinement. On April 23, they were released because War Department regulations did not authorize segregated officer clubs. Many of the airmen who were quoted in the book said that this event was a great example of segregation and how the Tuskegee Airmen were treated. When the Tuskegee Airmen were in Europe they did not experience any segregation. Lt. Col. Leo Gray says in this book that the native people were very welcoming. They would send thank you cards to the base saying that they were very grateful. In 1949 the 332nd Fighter Group sent a team to compete in the Air Force gunnery meet in Las