[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 173 (Tuesday, December 1, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Page S8239]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                     HONORING MILTON PITTS CRENCHAW

 Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. President, I wish to honor today Milton Pitts 
Crenchaw, an aviation pioneer from Little Rock, AR, who paved the way 
for integration in the U.S. military and impacted generations of 
aviators.
  Crenchaw, known as the father of black aviation in Arkansas, 
developed a love of flying while at the Tuskegee Institute. He exceled 
in the program, and after earning his pilot's license, he pursued his 
instructor's certificate. Following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, 
Crenchaw joined the Army Air Corps Civilian Pilot Training Program as a 
flight instructor.
  He had the distinction of being one of the original supervising 
squadron commanders for the Tuskegee Airmen. He trained hundreds of 
cadets during the 1940s, an accomplishment he was rightfully proud of.
  ``The first thing that he takes pride in is that he and the other 
Black flight instructors paved the way for people of color to enter the 
field of aviation. He is proud that he was chosen to implement that 
program,'' his daughter Dolores Crenchaw Singleton said in a recent 
interview.
  Crenchaw helped break the barriers that existed in the military. His 
passion for aviation continued after his tenure at Tuskegee, serving as 
a flight instructor at several air bases, including Camp Rucker, AL, 
where he became the first Black flight instructor.
  Crenchaw honorably served with the U.S. Army Air Corps and the U.S. 
Air Force for more than 40 years.
  He also shared his love of aviation with Arkansas, and he was 
instrumental in creating an aviation program at Philander Smith College 
in Little Rock. Crenchaw taught aviation at the school from 1947 to 
1953, holding classes at Adams Field in the Central Flying Service 
building.
  Along with the accolades of inductions in the Arkansas Aviation Hall 
of Fame and the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame, in 2007 he was awarded the 
Congressional Gold Medal, along with other members we have come to 
admire as the Tuskegee Airmen.
  Milton Pitts Crenchaw passed away on November 17, 2015. Today he will 
be laid to rest at the Arkansas State Veterans Cemetery in North Little 
Rock. He was a true American hero whose leadership helped secure 
victory and peace for all freedom-loving people of the world.

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