One of our most highly anticipated library presentations was a phenomenal success with an audience of almost 100.

"Come meet the direct descendants of Original Tuskegee Airmen and hear their personal stories, plus historical facts about the famed “Red Tails,” the first African-American fighter pilots of World War II. Learn about American history that you won’t find in a history book. See real World War II artifacts pertaining to the famed 99th and 332nd Red Tails Squadrons! See and hear real combat footage and video of some of the Original Airmen."
Through incredible stories told by his daughter, Lanelle, we learned a great deal about George Spencer Roberts. When the Army Air Corps was going to include blacks, it made its announcement in January 1941 and activated the 99th Pursuit Squadron on March 22, 1941. That began the introduction of blacks into military aviation. After receiving his pilot’s license in the Civilian Pilot Training Program, Spanky entered aviation cadet training with the first class of Tuskegee Airmen, who trained at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. He completed his training on March 7, 1942, and was commissioned a 2nd lieutenant. He entered combat in North Africa in May 1943, eventually flying more than 100 missions against the enemy in Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. It was an emotional and educational history lesson that we were all eager to learn.
These unsung heroes proved themselves equals in extraordinary fashion while fighting two wars simultaneously... One war was fought valiantly against the Germans and another was fought against racism in their own country. What began as an experiment proved to be a fantastic success.
Rod Gillead shared stories about his dad, Le Roy Gillead. Le Roy was one of the 401 original Tuskegee Airmen of the 99th Pursuit Squadron (began in spring of 1941, pre-Pearl Harbor). His technical training was as an airplane mechanic. He went on to navigation and bomber training, aerial gunnery, and was then assigned as a navigator-bomber in the 477th Bombardment Group in June of 1944. Oh man, the stories each of these Red Tail children can tell!



Lanelle's mom, Edith, was the squadron's historian, keeping newspaper articles, documenting the success of this experiment.

The pilot program was based at the Tuskegee Institute in Tuskegee, Alabama. Its members gained a reputation for skillfully and successfully escorting bombers into combat zones. By the end of World War II, the Red Tails had flown 1,578 missions, destroying more than 260 German planes, more than 1,000 ground vehicles and sinking one naval destroyer. They also earned scores of medals, including a Silver Star, 14 Bronze Stars, eight Purple Hearts and 150 Distinguished Flying Crosses. WOW, heroes indeed!

And not quite wanting the magic to end, we all came back to our cabin for dinner and camaraderie. Oh what a night!