Plans for banquet honoring Tuskegee Airmen

The Hiram E Mann Chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen, Inc is hosting their 10th Annual Awards Banquet on Saturday, October 24, 2009 at 6:30pm at Colleton County High School in Walterboro, SC.  During World War II, the Tuskegee Airmen became the first African American pilots to serve in the US military; many of these pilots received their combat training at Walterboro Army Airfield.  Several of the original Tuskegee Airmen are expected to attend the banquet

Three hundred people are expected to attend the banquet honoring the Tuskegee Airmen. The keynote speaker will be Lloyd W. Newton, a retired four-star general.  Col. John Wood, Commander of the 437th Airlift Wing at the Charleston Air Force Base will introduce Gen. Newton.  The Charleston Air Force Base and Colleton County High School Chorus are assisting with the banquet.

The Tuskegee Memorial, located at the Walterboro-Colleton Airport, was dedicated in May 1997 to the determined young men who enlisted to become America’s first black military airmen.  Four hundred and fifty Black fighter pilots under the command of Colonel Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., fought in World War II aerial battles over North Africa, Sicily and Europe, flying in succession, P-40, P-39, P-47 and P-51 aircraft.  These gallant men flew 15,553 sorties and 1,578 missions with the 12th Tactical Air Force and 15th Strategic Air Force.
Col.  Davis later became the first Black flag officer in the United States Air Force, retired as a 3-star general, and was honored with the 4th star in retirement by President Clinton.

German pilots, who both feared and respected the Tuskegee Airmen, called them Schwartze Vogelmenshen or Black Birdmen.  White American bomber crews reverently referred to them as Black Redtail Angels because of the bright red painted on the tail assemblies of their fighter aircraft and because of their reputation for saving so many bombers they provided close escort for the bombing missions over strategic targets in Europe.
Sixty six of these pilots were killed in combat, 32 were forced down or shot down and captured to become prisoners of war. Between them, they earned 150 Distinguished Flying Crosses, Bronze Stars, Silver Stars, Legions of Merit, one Presidential Unit Citation, and the Red Star of Yugoslavia.

The Tuskegee Airman completed their aviation training in Tuskegee, Alabama. The Walterboro Army Airfield was one of the training facilities used to prepare the Tuskegee Airmen for combat overseas.  Colleton County High School is located on the site of the barracks used by the Tuskegee Airmen while they were in combat training at Walterboro Army Airfield.