[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Pages 3041-3042]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO THE TUSKEGEE AIRMEN

  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. President, today, with a great sense of honor and 
respect, I rise to pay tribute to the Tuskegee Airmen, both for their 
bravery while fighting for our country's freedom in World War II and 
for their contributions in creating an integrated U.S. Air Force.
  Like many of the heroes of World War II, these brave men left their 
families at home to fight overseas for the principles of freedom and 
democracy. Unlike most of their colleagues, these great airmen also 
fought an enemy of racism and prejudice at home. Thankfully, on both 
fronts, they were victorious. I am proud to stand today to recognize 
this great accomplishment, honor their service, and thank them for 
their dedication to racial equality in the U.S. armed services.
  For decades, our military denied African Americans the opportunity to 
serve in leadership positions in the armed services. Although willing 
to serve a country that did not yet fully recognize their own civil 
rights, these men were systematically denied the benefit of skilled 
training in preparation for war. It was thought that they lacked the 
qualifications for combat duty or the ability to use sophisticated 
equipment. In 1941, under pressure from civil rights organizations, the 
Army Air Force set up a training program in Alabama to experiment with 
training

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African Americans as military pilots. The training for this program 
took place at the Tuskegee Institute in Tuskegee, AL, the famous school 
founded by Booker T. Washington on July 4, 1881.
  There was doubt among many in the military that African Americans 
were up to the task, but the Tuskegee Airmen proved them all wrong. 
Fighter pilots, navigators, bombardiers, and maintenance staffs were 
successfully trained to be members of the 332nd Fighter Group. The 
airmen were under the able command of COL Benjamin Davis, Jr., and the 
highly motivated group flew successful missions over Sicily, the 
Mediterranean, and North Africa.
  By the end of the war, 992 men had graduated from the pilot training 
programs at Tuskegee, and 450 had seen combat overseas. The Tuskegee 
Airmen were awarded numerous high honors, including Distinguished 
Flying Crosses, Legions of Merit, Silver Stars, Purple Hearts, the 
Croix de Guerre, and the Red Star of Yugoslavia. In all their combat, 
they never lost a bomber to enemy fighters. A Distinguished Unit 
Citation was awarded to the 332nd Fighter Group for ``outstanding 
performance and extraordinary heroism'' in 1945. By the end of the war, 
the Airmen had overcome segregation and racial prejudice to become one 
of the most highly respected fighter groups of World War II.
  We must never forget the spirit and dedication of these great 
patriots. Today, as our Air Force is playing such an important role in 
the global war on terrorism, the ideas and principles that the Tuskegee 
Airmen represent remain of the utmost importance. With this in mind, I 
stand today in support of S. Con. Res. 11, a resolution that Mr. Shelby 
and I have submitted to express the sense of Congress that the U.S. Air 
Force should continue to honor and learn from the great example set by 
the Tuskegee Airmen. I ask my fellow Senators to support this 
resolution, and I urge the U.S. Air Force to continue to take note of 
this important part of its storied history.

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