George Lucas’ new movie Red Tails open today, about the exploits of the unit known as the Tuskegee Airmen in World War II. Before you see it, read the real story of Tuskegee Airman Dr. Roscoe Brown.
Brown also talks about how he came to be a pilot, some close calls, and the indignities the Airmen endured in the military. Link
“The most difficult part is something that the movie refers to: overcoming the negative beliefs about blacks that we couldn’t do certain things. Our training was relatively fair; however, once we went into combat, initially they didn’t want us to be in the high-responsibility positions escorting the bombers. Once they realized they were losing so many bombers, they wanted as many people as possible to escort them; we were given that mission, and we did it extremely well. Then, once people began to hear about us, they said, ‘We want those guys, they’re really good!’ We were probably as good as many of the white pilots, but many of the white pilots would leave the bombers and shoot down planes to become heroes; our commander insisted that we stay with the bombers, which is why the bombers would like seeing our Red Tails flying over them.
Brown also talks about how he came to be a pilot, some close calls, and the indignities the Airmen endured in the military. Link