Tuskegee Airmen

The Tuskegee Airmen

Lynn M. Homan and Thomas Reilly have put together an excellent, exciting, comprehensive, and extremely valuable contribution to the collection of the lore of the Tuskegee Airmen. Without any doubt, it is by far the most complete photographic study of these twentieth century American heroes. Why have I not described them as black heroes? Put the black adjective aside and consider them as American heroes, not just black or white. This is American history at its best. The book does an excellent job of describing what the authors have described as the Tuskegee Experience which was comprised not just of the pilots that flew to distinction in Europe during World War II. Mechanics, armorers, the band, women; fifteen people were required to keep one combat fighter pilot in the air. Who has ever heard of the 477th Bombardment Group? Well, they were a group of black bomber pilots that trained at Tuskegee Army Air Field among other bases. When white Army Air Forces commanders established a segregated officers' club at Freeman Field, Indiana, hundreds of black officers dared seek admittance to this off limits club. When they attempted to enter they were arrested. Is this a good read? You bet it is. A finely crafted introduction expertly sets the stage for the almost two hundred photographs in the book. Each photographic caption tells an enlightening and obviously well-researched story. If you read only one book on the subject, The Tuskegee Airmen by Lynn M. Homan and Thomas Reilly is the one to read.

Black Knights
Between 1941 and 1948, black airmen trained at a segregated facility in Tuskegee, Alabama, in a social experiment that eventually led to the opening of the armed services to black men and women. What became known as the Tuskegee Experience was the culmination of 10 years of struggle by civil rights groups to get the War Department to allow blacks to serve in the military. The hard-fought victory fell substantially short of the real objective--an integrated armed service. Still, the Tuskegee airmen secured a significant place in American and black history for bravery in service on and off the battlefield. Through interviews with Tuskegee airmen and their families, as well as archival research, Homan and Reilly convey the organizational and personal struggles behind the Tuskegee Experience. Homan and Reilly detail the training and war missions of the black airmen, hardships overcome in Europe as well as at home. This is a treasure of photographs and recollections of an important part of American history.

"As an original Tuskegee Airman, I considered myself knowledgeable about the Tuskegee Experience. 'Black Knights: The Story of the Tuskegee Airmen' reminded me of events both sad and enjobable that have been forgotten for more than fifty-five years. Meticulously researched and thoughtfully written, the book also provided a wealth of detailed information with which I was unfamiliar."

The Tuskegee Airmen
Grade 6 Up?  Harris's well-researched book is as much a mid-20th century history of race relations in the U.S. as it is an account of the Tuskegee Airmen. The author's unbiased treatment of the Army Air Corps' original all-black unit, the 99th Pursuit Squadron, and of the courageous leadership of Benjamin O. Davis, make compelling reading. Harris begins with an investigation into the tribulations of the pioneers of black aviation and the institutionalized racism during and after World War I. The inception of the Tuskegee Experiment in 1941, as the Air Corps referred to it, and the combat-pilot training skills the airmen received are described in some detail. Interspersed throughout the text are personal testimonies and journal entries that give insight into the realities of wartime and homefront existence for the airmen and their families. In the chapter "Blacks and Whites Together," the author writes about the efforts that finally brought about the integration of the Air Force under its first secretary, Stuart Symington. Harris includes the later successes of Benjamin O. Davis, Charles McGee, and other black airmen. This book is an important inclusion in middle-school libraries as it outlines a chapter in black history that students are clamoring for. Numerous well-positioned black-and-white photographs, maps, and drawings are included on the attractive, well-designed pages.

In the book, The Tuskegee Airmen, there were several times when I was touched by the actions of the characters. The book was about a group of black men, "minorities," who were discriminated by the white commanding officers in the Unites States Air Force. Throughout the book, it talks about the struggles of the black men who just wanted to fly and serve for their country. Nobody wants these black men to be pilots, but towards the end of the book, on one of their last missions they were recommended as great flyers by white men who once discriminated against them.

What I liked about the book was that the men never gave up when everybody that they met would put them down, even their black commanding pilot. They showed courage even when their own friends that they had met were killed in combat or even killed themselves. They also showed honor, being that they felt and knew that they were Americans trying to serve for their country, when everyone else was just looking at them like some kind of ignorant black people.

What I disliked about the book was all of the racism going on at the time. The black pilots were just like any other pilots, but treated different because of their skin color. Throughout the book, the few black pilots who were outnumbered by the many white pilots still held their heads up strong and continued with their dreams of fighting for their country, and that was another thing that I liked.

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