Dark eagles soaring high through hostile enemy skies. Climbing ecstatically free, honor bright, courage aflame, determined to be among the Elite. Undaunted, daring men, serenely secure in their dedicated professionalism and skill, they forged an unmatched record. They flew over 200 escort missions, and never lost a single bomber under their protection.

Their fame may not match the feats they accomplished, there were no laudatory ‘Twelve O’clock High’, ‘Top Gun’ or ‘Command Decision’ epics for them. It’s unfortunate that some of the silence that surrounded their commander, Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. at West Point, still remains. Like the intrepid men of the 369^th U.S. Infantry, the famed ‘Harlem Hellfighters’ before them, these courageous patriots were literally forced to battle their way into combat. Once they got into action, they acquitted themselves admirably, both in  support of ground units and as bomber escorts.

The Tuskegee Airmen were not just pilots; the ground crews that maintained and repaired their aircraft were also Americans of African descent. Together, they proved that, contrary to the beliefs prevalent at the time, black men were amply endowed with the physical and mental attributes necessary to constitute a highly efficient aerial combat team.

The men of the 332nd were the equal of anything on the ground or in the skies. If the personal realization of a job well done is acclaim enough, then no one has been more amply rewarded.

©February 8, 2007