The passing of Roscoe Brown Jr. (Tuskegee Airman, age 94)

[CoastieJohn]

Yup....a historic figure.

Does anyone know if there is some type of recognition for the "last Tuskegee Airman", similar to the last Doolittle Raider?

[bipe215]

With complete respect to Mr Brown, who was the real deal, he was not the first US pilot to shoot down an ME-262.

[Stephan Wilkinson]

Roscoe, who I knew, was not "the last Tuskegee Airmen." There were some 10,000 Tuskegee Airmen, including the 994 pilots, because we consider all of the members of ground crews and support units, who were also segregated, to be DOTAs (Documented Original Tuskegee Airmen). Some are still alive. At my Tuskegee Airmen chapter's annual dinner this past February, we had three of them in attendance and we're hoping they will be there for next year's dinner.

[Chris Brame]

Stephan, have you heard about the Southern Museum of Flight getting the B-25 from the Chanute museum? It was a Tuskegee veteran as well. I wonder how many other surviving warbirds have a Tuskegee history?

[Stephan Wilkinson]

Chris, the only aircraft with documented TA histories that I know of offhand are at least one trainer at the Moton Field National Historic Site. (Which has a website so bad that it's impossible to learn which airplanes are there, but I think they include a PT-17 and a Piper Cub. The website shows a photo of a P-51 on display, but I don't know if that's a legitimate TA airplane.) There also are a few Piper Cubs in civilian hands that have been identified as original TA trainers, plus others that have been claimed to be original; I tried to buy one last year, but it turned out to be bogus.

I can't find anything about the Southern Museum B-25. There's nothing on the museum's website yet, and a very quick search turns up nothing. Can you tell me more? I might want to do an Aviation History Magazine "Briefing"on it. The B-25s are a neglected part of TA history, since the bomber group never got into combat. Other than during the Freeman Field Mutiny...

[CoastieJohn]

Roscoe, who I knew, was not "the last Tuskegee Airmen." There were some 10,000 Tuskegee Airmen, including the 994 pilots, because we consider all of the members of ground crews and support units, who were also segregated, to be DOTAs (Documented Original Tuskegee Airmen). Some are still alive. At my Tuskegee Airmen chapter's annual dinner this past February, we had three of them in attendance and we're hoping they will be there for next year's dinner.

Thanks. Do we know or maybe I should ask, is anyone tracking them and know how many are left? Years ago (2001-ish) I had a chance to meet a couple of them at Selfridge ANGB.

[Stephan Wilkinson]

I just did a quick search, and the National Park Service, which of course operates the Moton Field National Historic Site, says, "Nobody knows for certain, but the best information is that about 200 are still alive." Most of them are obviously former ground and support personnel. Some media reports and Roscoe Brown obits said that he was "the last pilot," but I don't think that's true.

[Lynn Allen]

Blue skies sir and thank you for your service...

[Stephan Wilkinson]

I appreciate your sentiment, but I need to explain that those of us who are members of the Tuskegee Airmen association today include just a tiny number of remaining legitimate DOTAs, plus thousands of younger members--black, white, Hispanic, Asian--who are simply dedicated to preserving the Airmens' legacy, largely through the aviation youth programs that we run as volunteers. I'm a member of the Maj. Gen. Irene Trowell-Harris Chapter of the Airmen, based at SWF, in New Windsor, New York, and my fellow members are 50/50 African-American and white (I'm as white as Wonder Bread), and some are military and ex-military, some of us are pilots and some not. There are 55 Tuskegee Airmen chapters across the country; we are one of the most active; I'm an instructor/mentor in the chapter's Lee Archer Jr. Red Tail Youth Flying Program.

When people see me in my Tuskegee Airmen A2 jacket and question how I could possibly be "a Tuskegee Airmen," I explain that there was only one thing wrong with the Tuskegee Experiment during World War II: they were segregated. Today, we're integrated, and the experience has been one of the most rewarding of my life.

If there's anybody out there within range of Stewart Airport, I urge you to join us. Go to tai-ny.org for membership information.

[Chris Brame]

I can't find anything about the Southern Museum B-25. There's nothing on the museum's website yet, and a very quick search turns up nothing. Can you tell me more? I might want to do an Aviation History Magazine "Briefing"on it. The B-25s are a neglected part of TA history, since the bomber group never got into combat. Other than during the Freeman Field Mutiny...

From the display sign at Chanute; the plane was being disassembled to be moved last October:





Would the July 1945 to January 1946 timeframe put it there during the bomber group's training period before they were disbanded?

[Stephan Wilkinson]

Hard to say...the 477th Bombardment Group did do some initial multi-engine training at Tuskegee, though it was largely stationed at locations such as Selfridge and Freeman Field, but this could certainly have been one of their trainers.

[JohnTerrell]

I can't believe that there are any reports stating that Roscoe Brown was the last Tuskegee pilot - I can name just off the top of my head Charles Mcgee, Bob Friend, Alexander Jefferson, and George Hardy, and that surely isn't all of them.

With regard to surviving WWII aircraft documented as having been used by the Tuskegee Airmen, I know of two Stearmans that are said to be, those being 41-8303 restored/operated by Matt Quy (donated to the Smithsonian) and 41-25454 now owned/operated by the Collings Foundation, as well as two AT-6 Texans that claim to be, those being 42-48884 owned/operated by Lewis Air Legends and 49-3292 (don't know the original WWII production serial) owned/operated by the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Museum. The P-51D owned/operated by the Hangar 11 Collection in the UK is claimed to be an original Tuskegee aircraft as well, through circumstantial evidence - it is known to have been assigned to the 15th AF (for which the 332nd was one of four Fighter Groups), and is known to have been sent back to the US following the end of the war (like a number of other Mediterranean-based US aircraft), and traces of red paint were found below fairings/panels around the tail when the aircraft was stripped bare/closely inspected a good number of years ago (though it did serve in a number of ANG groups, post-war, and I don't know if it has ever been ruled out if those traces of red paint could have come from that time period or not (post-WWII, it is said to have been assigned to the 192nd FS, based at Reno, NV, but a large number of 192nd FS Mustangs were also based for a time in Iceland, at which point these aircraft had the entire area of the tails painted red up to the production joint)).

[CoastieJohn]

I just did a quick search, and the National Park Service, which of course operates the Moton Field National Historic Site, says, "Nobody knows for certain, but the best information is that about 200 are still alive." Most of them are obviously former ground and support personnel. Some media reports and Roscoe Brown obits said that he was "the last pilot," but I don't think that's true.

I did a little looking around too. This 2005 article says about 100 are left.

https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid= ... 4668&hl=en

Here are some articles I located that maybe worthy of further research if you are not already familiar with them. Disregard if you already know about them.

Company A Negro WAC's is mentioned. Were they flyers and if so what happened to them?


Training Negros In The Virgin Islands


First Class To Go Thru Tuskegee


First German Plane Shot Down Over Sicily?


The Abraham Lincoln Battalion (ALB) fighting in the Spanish Civil War, This is pre-Tuskegee.


James L. H. Peck, Flew Combat Flts in the Spanish Civil War. (Similar to the Flying Tigers, Pre-Tuskegee)


Cleveland M. Colbert, Flew Combat Flts In The Spanish Civil War (Pre-Tuskegee)