[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 15]
[Senate]
[Page 20911]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 THE TUSKEGEE AIRMEN 17TH ANNUAL SALUTE

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, this weekend hundreds of individuals from 
throughout the Nation will be gathering in my hometown of Detroit, MI, 
to honor, remember, and pay tribute to one of the most illustrious and 
feared U.S. Army units in the Second World War, the Tuskegee Airmen. 
These individuals will be gathering for the Tuskegee Airmen National 
Historical Museum's 17th Annual Salute Reception and Dinner.
  The story of the Tuskegee Airmen is unique in many ways but starts 
with similarities to the story of so many members of the ``Greatest 
Generation'' who fought in the Second World War. It is a story of young 
men who answered the call of duty and fought to defend our Nation with 
courage, pride, and zeal against the forces of tyranny and oppression. 
These men have earned our Nation's enduring respect for their actions 
and deeds in defense of the United States.
  But of course their story is also unique. In addition to being one of 
the most successful air combat units in the Second World War, the 
Tuskegee Airmen, whose pilots trained at the Tuskegee Army Air Field in 
Tuskegee, AL, overcame a pattern of rigid segregation and prejudice 
that questioned their ability to serve as Airmen and prevented them 
from training and working with their white counterparts.
  Led by the recently departed General Benjamin O. Davis, the first 
black general in the Air Force, the Tuskegee Airmen flew over 15,500 
sorties, completed over 1,500 combat missions, and downed over 260 
enemy aircraft. They even sunk an enemy destroyer. Amazingly, no bomber 
escorted by the Tuskegee Airmen was ever downed. But 66 Tuskegee pilots 
flying escort did make the supreme sacrifice for our Nation and another 
32 were taken as prisoners of war. Collectively, these actions won the 
Tuskegee Airmen 3 Presidential Citations, 95 distinguished Flying 
Crosses, 8 Purple Hearts and 14 Bronze Stars.
  Upon returning home from war, these Airmen found a society still 
deeply segregated. The Tuskegee Airmen themselves remained segregated 
from the larger military and were unable to provide their skills and 
aptitude to other units that were in dire need of qualified airmen. It 
was not until President Truman issued Executive Order 9981 that 
segregation was ended in the United States Armed Services. This 
Executive Order played a vital role in the subsequent integration of 
our Nation. The valor and dedication of the Tuskegee Airmen played a 
vital role in changing our Nation's attitude toward integration and 
racial diversity.
  In recent years, our Nation has rightly sought to honor those who 
served in the Second World War and to recognize the challenges faced 
and overcome by the Tuskegee Airmen. I know my Senate colleagues join 
me in commending the Tuskegee Airmen for their willingness, to 
paraphrase Philip Handleman, an aviation historian from Oakland County, 
MI, to fight two wars at the same time: one war against the forces of 
totalitarianism abroad and the other against the forces of intolerance 
and prejudice at home, and to have the determination to win them both.

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