[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 56 (Friday, March 30, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E698]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      HONORING THE TUSKEGEE AIRMEN

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. AL GREEN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 29, 2007

  Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Madam Speaker, I wish to honor the Tuskegee 
Airmen, the group of African-American pilots who flew with distinction 
during World War II as the 332d Fighter Group of the U.S. Army Air 
Corps. Additionally, I am compelled to honor an excellent servant to 
our Nation, Mr. Matthew W. Plummer, an original Tuskegee Airman who 
served as an instructor for U.S. Army cadets training at Tuskegee. His 
tireless work, like that of so many other Tuskegee Airmen, helped to 
make our country a more perfect union.
  Prior to the Tuskegee Airmen, not a single U.S. military pilot had 
been African-American. However, due to the work of the African-American 
civil rights community, the United States Congress in 1941 forced the 
Army Air Corps to form an all-black combat unit. In June 1941, the 
Tuskegee program officially began with formation of the 99th Fighter 
Squadron at the Tuskegee Institute, a highly regarded university 
founded by Booker T. Washington in Tuskegee, Alabama. The Airmen were 
placed under the command of Capt. Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., one of the 
few African-American West Point graduates.
  During World War II the Tuskegee Airmen fought with amazing gallantry 
and uncompromismg determination. They flew escort for heavy bombers, 
established an impressive combat record, and often entered combat 
against greater numbers of superior German aircraft, while emerging 
victorious. These brave fighters fought for their country at a time 
when their country would not fight for them. They were forced to suffer 
from the daily disease of racism even while in uniform. However, the 
Tuskegee Airmen chose to fight for their country as hard as they fought 
against racism, and they would eventually prove that they were the 
greatest of the ``Greatest Generation''.
  By the end of the war, the Tuskegee Airmen were credited with 
shooting down 109 Luftwaffe aircraft and destroying numerous fuel 
dumps, trucks and trains. The squadrons of the 332nd Fighter Group flew 
more than 15,000 sorties on 1,500 missions. The unit was awarded a 
Distinguished Unit Citation for a mission flown on March 24, 1945, 
escorting B-17s to bomb the Daimler-Benz tank factory at Berlin, 
Germany, an action in which its pilots destroyed three Me-262 jets in 
aerial combat.
  The Tuskegee Airmen were awarded several Silver Stars, 150 
Distinguished Flying Crosses, 14 Bronze Stars, and 744 Air Medals. In 
all, 992 pilots were trained in Tuskegee from 1940 to 1946. Of the 
airmen 445 deployed overseas and 150 Airmen lost their lives in 
training or combat.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to honor the Tuskegee Airmen for 
their service to our country, their work to end segregation in the U.S. 
military, and their courage which has empowered millions of African-
Americans and other minorities across our great country.

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