Remembering our Veterans: "The Tuskegee Airmen"

The George S. "Spanky" Roberts Chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen, Inc. were at the Neighbors Fairs. Tuskegee Airmen, Inc is a non-profit organization with 50 chapters nationwide. Photo by Barbara

"In June 1941, the Tuskegee program officially began with formation of the 99th Fighter Squadron at the Tuskegee Institute, a highly regarded university founded by Booker T. Washington in Tuskegee, Alabama. In all, 992 pilots were trained in Tuskegee from 1940 to 1946; about 445 deployed overseas, and 150 Airmen lost their lives in training or combat.

On 29 March 2007, about 350 Tuskegee Airmen and their widows were collectively awarded the Congressional Gold Medal at a ceremony in the US Capitol rotunda."