[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 11380]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




    HONORING TUSKEGEE AIRMEN AND THEIR CONTRIBUTION IN CREATING AN 
                   INTEGRATED UNITED STATES AIR FORCE

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. LOIS CAPPS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 1, 2004

  Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H. Con. 
Res. 417 and in recognition and gratitude for the lifetime of service 
provided to his country by Central Coast resident and Tuskegee Airman, 
Mr. Art Hicks.
  The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of brave Americans who volunteered 
to become this country's first African-American military pilots. These 
courageous men flew airplanes for their country in the war against 
fascism, while enduring and waging their own struggle against racism 
and segregation here at home. Despite the predictions of many defenders 
of segregation that the Tuskegee Airmen would end in failure, they 
developed a record of unparalleled skill and courage.
  One hundred fifty brave Tuskegee Airmen were lost during training or 
combat, but they destroyed more than 1,000 German aircraft. 
Unbelievably, despite flying over 200 bomber escort missions during the 
war, they never lost a single bomber under their escort.
  No one exemplified the honor and service of the Tuskegee Airmen more 
than Art Hicks. He was born in Georgia in 1922 and grew up under the 
dark cloud of segregation and its daily dangers, indignities, and 
humiliations. During World War II, he volunteered to become a Tuskegee 
Airman.
  He eventually served 28 years in the military, retiring in 1971. But 
after the War, he continued to encounter the racism that also greeted 
so many of his fellow comrades.
  In 1989, nearly single-handedly, he fought and won a battle to remove 
a barrier to integration at the Elks Lodge and eliminate a stain from 
this venerable and honorable institution. Doubtless fueled by the same 
courage and commitment to fight wrong that had propelled him to sign up 
to be a Tuskegee Airman some four decades earlier, Mr. Hicks fought to 
eliminate the rule that allowed any three members of the Elks Lodge to 
block admission of potential members. In many cases, this rule helped 
to continue a pattern of exclusion based on race or religion. Mr. Hicks 
began a local letter-writing campaign, was eventually joined by the 
NAACP, and saw the rule abolished at the Elks national convention later 
that year.
  Mr. Speaker, the Tuskegee Airmen exhibited bravery, skill and 
sacrifice for their country, while often facing mistreatment from the 
society they were defending. They showed the best of America, and we 
are all so proud of their accomplishments. I am privileged to count one 
of them among my neighbors on the Central Coast of California.

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