[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 29 (Wednesday, March 3, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E297]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               HONORING THE LIFE OF DR. LINKWOOD WILLIAMS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. STEVE COHEN

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, March 3, 2010

  Mr. COHEN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of physician 
Linkwood Williams, a famed Tuskegee Flight instructor and Memphis 
physician. He was born to Mr. and Mrs. Elbert and Bessie McNeal 
Williams on August 29, 1918 in Bonita, Louisiana. At the age of three, 
he and his family moved to Madison, Illinois where he attended school 
through the twelfth grade, then worked with his father at a local steel 
mill.
  Having encouragement from his father to pursue higher education, Dr. 
Williams applied and was accepted to study industrial arts at Tuskegee 
Institute in Alabama, which was one of six colleges where pilot 
training was offered and the only facility in the country for training 
black military pilots. After two years of studying, he decided to 
pursue full-time training in the Civilian Pilots Training Program, a 
program that would prepare him to quickly adapt to military aviation in 
the event of a national emergency. Successfully progressing through all 
Civilian Pilots Training courses, Dr. Williams became part of the 
Tuskegee Experience and went on to train many of the 450 pilots who 
served in the 332nd Fighter Group. The Tuskegee Airmen were the first 
combat group of African American pilots and flew with distinction 
during World War II.
  At the end of the war, Dr. Williams married Katie Whitney, moved to 
Cleveland, Ohio, and became the third African-American to join the 
carpenters union. He later enrolled at Western Reserve University to 
complete the required pre-med courses for acceptance into medical 
school. Afterwards, he applied to and was accepted to Meharry Medical 
College in Nashville, Tennessee. During the third year of his 
residency, he was hired as a part-time instructor to teach Air Force 
ROTC cadets at Tennessee State University.
  After completing his residency, Dr. Linkwood Williams moved to 
Memphis, Tennessee and began his OB-GYN practice, becoming the first 
African American OB-GYN in the city. He worked for 31 years until his 
retirement in 1995.
  Dr. Linkwood Williams was a member of Mississippi Boulevard Christian 
Center, where he served in the Community Outreach Group, the American 
Medical Association, The Memphians, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, and 
Sigma Pi Phi (Delta). Dr. Linkwood Williams passed away surrounded by 
his family on Saturday, February 20, 2010 and was laid to rest on 
Saturday, February 27, 2010. He was 91 years old. Dr. Williams truly 
left his mark on the world through his service to the citizens of 
Memphis, Tennessee. We are grateful to have had the pleasure of his 
dedication and perseverance in the community.

                          ____________________