Charles McGee, brigadier general and one of the last surviving Tuskegee Airmen, dies at 102

[Razor]

Charles McGee, a Tuskegee Airman who flew 409 fighter combat missions over three wars and later helped to bring attention to the Black pilots who had battled racism at home to fight for freedom abroad, died Sunday. He was 102.

After the U.S. entry into World War II, McGee left the University of Illinois to join an experimental program for Black soldiers seeking to train as pilots after the Army Air Corps was forced to admit African Americans. In October 1942 he was sent to the Tuskegee Army Air Field in Alabama for flight training, according to his biography on the website of the National Aviation Hall of Fame.

"You could say that one of the things we were fighting for was equality," he told The Associated Press in a 1995 interview. "Equality of opportunity. We knew we had the same skills, or better."

McGee graduated from flight school in June 1943 and in early 1944 joined the all-Black 332nd Fighter Group, known as the "Red Tails." He flew 136 missions as the group accompanied bombers over Europe.

More than 900 men trained at Tuskegee from 1940 to 1946. About 450 deployed overseas and 150 lost their lives in training or combat.

McGee remained in the Army Air Corps, later the U.S. Air Force, and served for 30 years. He flew low-level bombing and strafing missions during the Korean War and returned to combat again during the Vietnam War. The National Aviation Hall of Fame says his 409 aerial fighter combat missions in three wars remains a record.

 

[SureWord]

Those "Red Tails" P-51C Mustangs were great planes. Mostly used for bomber escorts because of their long range. They could escort the bombers into Germany which other fighters couldn't do but could easily handle any fighter the German's could throw at them. Supposedly, when Hermann Goering first seen them flying over he said, "The War is lost".

The man lived a long life and seen a great many events in history. 

Edited January 18, 2022 by SureWord