George Watson | |
---|---|
Born | August 10, 1920 |
Died | June 19, 2017 [1] |
Allegiance | United States of America |
Service/ | United States Army Air Forces United States Air Force |
Unit | 332nd Fighter Group |
Battles/wars | World War II |
George Watson Sr. was a supply sergeant and support personnel for the Tuskegee Airmen, the 332nd Fighter Group. He served in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. [2] Mr. Watson was sent to Italy in 1944 and served as a supply sergeant. On March 29, 2007, Watson attended a ceremony in the U.S. Capitol rotunda, where the surviving veterans of the Tuskegee Airmen (and their widows) were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in recognition of their service. [3]
The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of primarily African American military pilots and airmen who fought in World War II. They formed the 332d Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group (Medium) of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF). The name also applies to the navigators, bombardiers, mechanics, instructors, crew chiefs, nurses, cooks, and other support personnel.
Charles Walter "A-Train" Dryden was a U.S. Army Air Force officer and one of the original combat fighter pilot with the 332nd Fighter Group's 99th Fighter Squadron,a component of the Tuskegee Airmen. Among the United States' first eight African American combat fighter pilots, Dryden is notable as a member of the Tuskegee Advance Flying School (TAFS)'s Class Number SE-42-C, the program's 2nd-ever aviation cadet program.
Lt. Col. Alexander Jefferson is an American retired Air Force officer, famous as one of the Tuskegee Airmen, the 332nd Fighter Group. He served in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II.
Alfonza W. Davis was the first African-American aviator from North Omaha, Nebraska, to be awarded his "wings." He was a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, a recipient of the Purple Heart, Distinguished Flying Cross and the Distinguished Unit Citation. Davis was assumed to be dead after going missing on or about October 29, 1944, on a mission over the Adriatic Sea off the coast of Italy.
Spann Watson was an American military aviator and civil servant who served with the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II. He flew over 30 missions in North Africa, Italy and Southern Europe. On March 2007, Watson attended a ceremony in the U.S. Capitol rotunda, where he and other surviving veterans of the Tuskegee Airmen were honored with the Congressional Gold Medal in recognition of their service. He died on April 15, 2010, aged 93.
Mitchell Higginbotham was a U.S. Army Air Force officer who was a member of the African American World War II fighter group known as the Tuskegee Airmen.
Master Sergeant Buford A. Johnson was a member of the famed group of African-American World War II pilots and support personnel known as the Tuskegee Airmen. During World War II, he served as the chief mechanic servicing the fighter planes of the 99th Fighter Squadron of the 477th Composite Group.
George Hardy is an American retired pilot and military officer. In World War II Hardy served with the Tuskegee Airmen and flew 21 combat missions. In the Korean War he flew 45 combat mission as the pilot of a bomber. In the Vietnam War Hardy flew 70 combat missions piloting an AC-119K gunship.
Paul Adams was a World War II pilot with the Tuskegee Airmen. He was one of the first black teachers in the Lincoln Nebraska public school system. Adams also served as the president of the Lincoln Chapter of the NAACP. In 2008 the city of Lincoln Nebraska built a new elementary school and named it after Adams. The mascot of the school in an aviator.
Sergeant First Class Thomas Franklin Vaughns is an American veteran who was a member of the famed group of World War II-era African-Americans known as the Tuskegee Airmen. He is a recipient of the National Defense Service Medal in 2019, for his service in the Korean War. He is also a member of the Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame.
James Johnson Kelly was a United States Army Air Force/United States Air Force officer who served with the 99th Fighter Squadron and 332nd Fighter Group. He served in the Korean War at the Battle of Chosin Reservoir, and he retired in 1971 as a Major in the Air Force and a Squadron Commander.
Sgt. Major Thomas Ellis from San Antonio, Texas, was a member of the famed group of World War II-era African-Americans known as the Tuskegee Airmen. He served in the 301st Fighter Squadron and the 332nd Fighter Group during WWII.
James H. Harvey III is a retired United States Army Air Corps/U.S. Air Force (USAF) officer and former African-American fighter pilot with the 332nd Fighter Group's 99th Fighter Squadron, best known as the Tuskegee Airmen, "Red Tails," or among enemy German pilots, Schwartze Vogelmenschen. He is one of the 1007 documented Tuskegee Airmen Pilots.
LTC Alva Newte Temple was an officer in the U.S. Army Air Forces and combat fighter pilot with the 332nd Fighter Group's 99th Fighter Squadron and 300th Squadron, best known as the all-African American Tuskegee Airmen, "Red Tails," or among enemy German pilots, “Schwartze Vogelmenschen”. He was one of the 1007 documented Tuskegee Airmen Pilots.
Halbert Leo Alexander was an officer in the U.S. Army Air Forces/U.S. Air Force and a fighter pilot with the all-African American 332nd Fighter Group's 99th Fighter Squadron and 300st Fighter Squadron, colloquially known as the Tuskegee Airmen. He was one of the 1007 documented Tuskegee Airmen Pilots.
Charles DeBow was an officer in the U.S. Army Air Force and combat fighter pilot and commanding officer of the 332nd Fighter Group's 301st Fighter Squadron, best known as the prodigious, all-African American Tuskegee Airmen. He was one of the 1,007 documented Tuskegee Airmen Pilots.
Willie Lee Ashley Jr. was an U.S. Army Air Force officer and combat fighter pilot with the 332nd Fighter Group's 99th Fighter Squadron, best known as the Tuskegee Airmen.
Edward Creston Gleed was an U.S. Army Air Force officer with the famed Buffalo Soldiers/9th Cavalry Regiment, 332nd Fighter Group’s operations officer, and combat fighter pilot with the 99th Fighter Squadron, best known as the Tuskegee Airmen. He was one of the more prominent members of Tuskegee Airmen's ninth-ever aviation cadet program, as well as one of 1,007 documented Tuskegee Airmen Pilots. His classmates included Robert B. Tresville, West Point's seventh African American graduate and the 100th Fighter Squadron's Commanding Officer.
William Hugo “Bill” Holloman III was a U.S. Army Air Force officer, combat fighter pilot, and high-profile member of the prodigious 332nd Fighter Group's 99th Fighter Squadron, best known as the Tuskegee Airmen, "Red Tails," or “Schwarze Vogelmenschen” among enemy German pilots.
James Alonzo Walker was an American aviator from Manning, South Carolina who served as a Tuskegee Airman during World War II. He flew more than 102 missions in the European Theatre of WWII, and was shot down in action over Italy. He served in the military until 1964. He became the first African American commander of an integrated unit in 1950.