[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Pages 8087-8088]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO DR. JAMES WILLIAMS

 Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I wish to speak today on behalf 
of the Tuskegee Airmen; specifically, I would like to speak about Dr. 
James Williams, a Tuskegee Airman, renowned physician, and one of my 
Las Cruces constituents. He has lived a fascinating life and I think 
that the following story truly exemplifies why he is deserving of a 
Congressional Gold Medal.
  As a World War II-era first lieutenant in the Army Air Corps, Dr. 
Williams was put into a terribly difficult situation when he refused a 
superior White officer's order to sign a base regulation. The effect of 
this regulation

[[Page 8088]]

would have been to keep Black officers from entering the White 
officers' club, tennis courts, and pool. He rightly recognized that a 
segregated Army was not one that would be able to fight wars together. 
Because of this act of disobedience, he and 100 other Black officers 
were sent to Godman Field, KY, where they were met by 75 armed MPs. 
Held under house arrest at Godman, some there felt that they were being 
more closely watched than the German POWs being housed there.
  Thankfully, the house arrest only lasted for 5 days before the Black 
officers were able to show that the White officers looking to keep the 
base facilities segregated were failing to follow Army regulations. 
They were quickly released and returned back to Freeman Field. However, 
a letter of reprimand stayed in all of their files until 1995, when the 
Air Force officially vindicated them.
  Though Dr. Williams's unit never saw action in the European theater, 
they did fight against racism and for equality while serving our 
Nation. His contributions to this fight did not end with his military 
career. As a surgeon and the president of the Cook County Physicians 
Association, he worked to end discrimination in Chicago area hospitals. 
He met with President Kennedy on the issue and also served as Dr. 
Martin Luther King's physician when he was in Chicago.
  New Mexico is lucky to have such a great man as a constituent and I 
am pleased to see that he and his comrades have finally received their 
Congressional gold medals. It is late in coming, but I believe it 
demonstrates that our Nation recognizes his fight as our own. Using Dr. 
Williams's selfless example, I will continue working to ensure equality 
for all Americans and end discrimination of all kinds.

                          ____________________