Free to Fly

The famous Tuskegee Airmen — the all-black WWII fighter pilots — touch down in Philly.

by Mark Maurer

ATTENTION: Legend has it that the Tuskegee Airmen, who fought in North Africa and Europe from 1941 to 1946, never lost a bomber in combat. (CLICK IMAGE FOR LARGER VERSION)

Eugene Richardson remembers the first time he careened through the sky in a P-51 Mustang. He especially remembers the freedom he felt, taking to the air in that single-seat fighter plane. He was 18 and attending flight school in Tuskegee, Ala., during World War II.

"I had dreamed about soloing since I was a little kid," says Richardson, now 83. "That was a happy, happy day."

As one of the first black fighter pilots — the famous Tuskegee Airmen — he helped put a dent in the rigid segregation of the U.S. military. After months of flight training, those sent overseas went on bombing missions in North Africa and Europe from 1941 to 1946. Richardson's class graduated just two months before the war ended, so he never made it into combat. That's fine with him; he just wanted to fly.

Today through Sunday, Richardson and the other surviving members of the famous squadron will gather at the Marriott Downtown for the 37th annual Tuskegee Airmen Convention, last held in Philadelphia in 1976. To celebrate the occasion, the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program is dedicating a mural to the airmen on 39th and Chestnut; it is expected to be completed by late August.

Mostly the convention is a reunion for old colleagues, but on Saturday afternoon, the pilots will host a free public forum to discuss experiences, field questions and sign autographs. As of November 2007, 125 of the 992 original black fighter pilots were still living, according to Tuskegee Airmen Inc. Though the Tuskegee Airmen is said to be the only fighter group to never lose a bomber to the enemy, time has shrunk their numbers — making the symposium an even-more-rare opportunity.

Richardson, who chairs the speakers bureau of the Greater Philadelphia branch of the Tuskegee Airmen, says the organization's goal is "to perpetuate our legacy and educate people about what went on in the war, and how we performed." The airmen were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in March 2007 for their service.

Bert Levy, 85, a member of the bomber group, says black youths should understand that racial intolerance hasn't entirely vacated our society. He encourages them to be on the alert, and not take the airmen's feats for granted. "Being accepted as an aviation cadet was like climbing the Himalayas," he says, due to the steep rate that African-Americans were cut from the program after preliminary testing.

Levy gets choked up talking about the color barriers prevalent in the communities where the airmen were trained. "There were spots where you just didn't think about going," Levy remembers.

"We were subjected to the character and habits of the community in Alabama," recalls Richardson. "But the base was for black pilots only and it felt darn good."

The convention this year will focus on informing today's youths about the history of the airmen, Richardson's forte. Besides teaching math and science in Philadelphia, he served as vice principal and principal of several inner-city middle schools. He is concerned that children aren't being taught about the airmen. "Kids are learning very little about it," he says. "We were just one unit in the military, but for inner-city kids, it's necessary for them to know how we changed history. [Teaching on the subject] just hasn't improved to the extent I think it could."

The most practical way to educate youth might be via meet-and-greets like the one on Saturday. "Usually when history is written, something gets lost in the translation," says Linda Carroll Pitts, chairwoman of Tuskegee Airmen Inc. and the organizer of this year's convention. "This time, you're hearing it directly from the source. How often do you get to spend time with American heroes?"

(mark.maurer@citypaper.net)

The 37th Annual Tuskegee Airmen Convention, Thu.-Sun., July 17-20; public forum, Sat., July 19, 1:30-2:30 p.m.; Philadelphia Marriott Downtown, 1201 Market St., tuskegeeairmen.org/TAI_Convention.html.