By Ray Lenarcic

We all have our heroes. Some are locals-men or women who went way beyond the call of duty to save a life. Others are national, often distinguishing themselves in the nation’s wars; many are glorified on the silver screen (e.g., WWII hero Audie Murphy.) Among mine is Long Island’s own, Navy Seal Lt. Michael Patrick Murphy, whose heroics on a mountaintop in Afghanistan earned him the Congressional Medal of Honor and resulted in his death. Another is my childhood friend, Marine SSGT. Joseph “Stash” Zawtocki, Jr. who died on Christmas Eve, 1969, in a Viet Cong prison camp after enduring 684 days of captivity. And Lakota warrior Wilson Keeble whose heroic actions both in WWII and Korea are the stuff of legends; sadly, his Medal of Honor was awarded posthumously. Most recently, every Afghan interpreter who served valiantly in support of our troops only to be left to the mercy of the Taliban after we withdrew-heroes all. Finally, this Memorial Day, I ask you to remember the heroism of a group of men who had to fight to be allowed to fight-the Tuskegee Airmen.

In retrospect, I’ve often wondered why the hell they wanted to fight for a country that treated them and their people so badly. In the 1930s, economically, Blacks were the last hired and first fired from the usual “Negro occupations”-domestic help, street cleaners, garbage collectors, waiters, and bellhops. Those able to keep their jobs often had wages halved. In the South, they worked long hours as sharecroppers and tenant farmers, their families living in one-two bedroom shacks with no electricity or running water. Socially, they suffered from the infamous Jim Crow laws; segregated in every way imaginable-transportation, schools, lodging, public parks, theaters, hospitals, neighborhoods, cemeteries, restaurants, rest rooms. Imagine the debilitating impact upon the psyches of children who faced daily reminders that they were second-class citizens. Politically, Blacks were subjected to discriminatory requirements, including literacy tests and poll taxes. While racism reared its ugly head everywhere, it was particularly rampant in the South, where white-on-black murders were rarely prosecuted, and lynchings continued until the 1960s. Vestiges of it remain. Check out the movie “In the Heat of the Night” as an example.

Despite all this, some 1.2 million Blacks served in the armed forces in WWII, most in “support or maintenance” capacities. The one memorable exception, the Tuskegee Airmen. Before the 922 pilots were considered fit for active duty, they had to overcome numerous barriers reflective of the blatant segregation which remained alive and well throughout the military in the 1940’s. Their training was more rigorous than that of prospective white pilots. In the words of 2nd Lieutenant Coleman Young, post-war the first Black mayor of Detroit: “They made standards so high, we actually became an elite group. We were screened and super-screened. We were unquestionably the brightest and most physically fit young blacks in the country. We were super-better because of the irrational laws of Jim Crow. You can’t bring that many intelligent young people together and train ‘em as fighting men and expect them to supinely roll over when you try to f over ‘em, right?”

Once they had qualified, they continued to be thwarted by the prevailing racism. Trained Black officers were not allowed to train others because, in the words of the Commanding Officer of the Army Air Forces, Gen. Henry Arnold: “Negro pilots cannot be used in our present Air Corps units since this would result in Negro officers serving over white enlisted men creating an impossible social situation.” The 332nd Fighter Group’s first commanding officer was Col. Robert Selway, a racial segregationist. So, too, was his ranking officer, Maj. Gen. Frank Hunter commented, “Racial friction will occur if colored and white pilots are trained together.” They segregated base facilities so thoroughly that they even drew a line in the base theater and ordered separate seating by race. Blacks were denied access to the only officer’s club on base. When Lt. Milt Henry entered the club demanding his club rights, he was court-martialed. And, adding salt to their wounds, Tuskegee flyers were constantly denied deserved promotions.
Off base, among the demeaning experiences they encountered, were not being served by businesses. As an example, a local laundry wouldn’t wash their clothes and yet laundered those of captured German soldiers. Despite all this and more, they soldiered on. When asked why they put up with “all the crap,” one airman responded-“ for a better future; maybe if we proved to them we were their equal, just maybe ‘with liberty and justice for all’ will ring true after the war.”

Once they hit the skies in 1943, they never looked back. The 332nd Fighter Group, which included the famed 99th Pursuit Squadron, was known familiarly as the Red Tails because of the distinctive crimson unit identification. At war’s end it lost 84 pilots with 32 captured as prisoners of war. Among its numerous accomplishments: 1578 combat missions; 179 bomber escort missions (these pilots were so proficient that they were the most often requested by bomber squads); destroyed 112 enemy aircraft; 40 boats and barges destroyed. Among the awards and citations received: Three Distinguished Unit Citations; a Silver Star; 96 Distinguished Flying Crosses; 14 Bronze Stars; 744 Air Medals; 60 Purple Hearts.

The airman cited earlier regarding fighting for better lives for his people after the war returned home to business as usual. Jim Crow was still flying, stronger than ever. Instead of being thanked for their service to this country, they were subjected to unspeakable brutality while still in their uniforms. Two examples suffice. In August of 1946, Jack C. Jones was lynched in Minden, Louisiana. His crime-accused of looking at a young white woman through a widow of her family’s house. Richard Gordon and Alonza Brooks were murdered in Marshall, Texas, after a labor dispute with their employers. As for the highly celebrated GI Bill of Rights, it fell far short of making good its promises to Black GIs. For example, Black veterans were routinely denied mortgages. In 1947, Ebony magazine surveyed 13 cities in Mississippi and discovered that of the 3,229 VA home loans given to veterans, two went to African Americans.

As for the battle-tested Tuskegee Airmen, more battles remained to be fought-this time against their own country. Steeled by the resilience and perseverance that got them through the war, they won many of these as well. Several, including Rome native Herb Thorp who passed away recently, and the aforementioned Coleman Young, overcame obstacles, many of which remain, to make better lives for themselves and their families. Unfortunately, the ideals they fought to defend remain just that-ideals. One can only wonder when the words of our pledge will finally become a reality.

On Memorial Day, in “colored cemeteries” throughout the country, families will gather near gravestones to place garlands of poppies and lilacs and small American flags before them. They’ll say comforting prayers and shed tears in memory of the men who lie there in peace; Tuskegee Airmen who represented everything good about and were willing to fight and die for this country. Then they’ll turn and slowly leave, having done their duty for another year. Remember never to forget.