C. Alfred "Chief" Anderson

Born on February 9, 1907 in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, C. Alfred “Chief” Anderson was chief instructor of the Tuskegee Airmen. In August 1929 he purchased a used Velie Monocoupe and with no flight schools willing to take Black students, Anderson taught himself how to fly and earned his license at the end of the year.  By 1932, he had also earned his commercial and air transport licenses.  In July 1933, along with his copilot Dr. Albert E. Forsythe, Anderson undertook a round-trip transcontinental flight from Atlantic City, New Jersey to Los Angeles, California. Flying without several essential instruments and using roads as navigation points, Anderson and Forsythe were successful in their mission and later flew many other endurance flights in their famed Lambert Monocoupe plane, The Spirit of Booker T. Washington, to Cuba, Haiti, and Jamaica.  After the Civilian Pilot Training Program was open to Black students, he became an instructor at Howard University and at the onset of World War II, Anderson was named chief instructor to the 99th Pursuit Squadron, a group later known as Tuskegee Airmen.  It was in this position that Anderson earned the nickname “Chief.”  After the War, he returned to Tuskegee to teach and assist with the maintenance and upkeep of aircraft.  In 1967, he created the Negro Airmen International (NAI) organization for Black American pilots and through this non-profit, he continued to teach students until his retirement in 1989.  C. Alfred “Chief” Anderson died on April 13, 1996 in Tuskegee, Alabama.

Gen. Benjamin O. Davis, Jr.

Born on December 18, 1912 in Washington, D.C., General Benjamin O. Davis Jr. was the first Black American in the United States Air Force to attain the rank of General.  Davis came from a military background, as his father was an officer in the United States Army and, after 41 years in service, retired at the rank of brigadier general.  In July, 1932, Davis entered the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, becoming the only Black American cadet.  He faced a great deal of racism there and despite his hard work and academic success, the military would not admit him to the Army Air Corps.  Although he was an officer, Davis was still segregated within the United States Army and eventually assigned to the Tuskegee Institute, an all-Black organization.  After Black flying units were created in 1941 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Davis became part of the first training class.  In 1942, he received his wings and was promoted to  lieutenant colonel, becoming commander of the newly-formed 99th Pursuit Squadron, now known as the Tuskegee Airmen.  The pilots saw action in Tunisia and Sicily.  Afterward, Davis was sent back to the United States to command the 332nd Fighter Group, also an all-Black unit.  In 1944, the unit arrived in Italy and flew their Republic P-47 Thunderbolts out of Ramitelli Airfield.  The Tuskegee Airmen were an essential part of the Allied air victory in World War II, flying over 15,000 sorties with 112 confirmed kills  and losing only 91 of their own planes.  When the armed forces became integrated in 1948, Davis joined the newly-formed United States Air Force and continued campaigning for equality within the services. In 1950, he became the first Black American to graduate from the Air War College and was sent to the Pentagon for two years, before being reassigned to a combat wing and serving in Korea. He was temporarily promoted to brigadier general in 1954 and became the director of operations for the Far East Air Forces.  In 1957, he was reassigned to West Germany and in 1961 he went back to the United States and became the director of manpower and organization at the United States Air Force Headquarters.  Davis was named chief of staff for United States forces in Korea in April 1967 and promoted to lieutenant  general, making him the first Black American in the United States Air Force to attain that rank.  The remainder of his Air Force career was spent as a commander for various units in the Middle East, Southern Asia, and Africa.  Davis retired on July 1, 1970.  On December 9, 1998, he was promoted to general, USAF (Ret).  General Benjamin O. Davis Jr. died on July 4, 2002 in Washington, D.C.

Tuskegee Airmen

The Tuskegee program began officially in June 1941 with the 99th Pursuit Squadron at the Tuskegee Institute. The unit would consist of 47 officers and 429 enlisted men, and would be backed by an entire service arm. After basic training at Moton Field, they were moved to the nearby Tuskegee Army Air Field for conversion training onto operational types. Consequently, Tuskegee became the only Army installation containing all four phases of pilot training at a single location. The first five black cadets to be commissioned as pilots of the Army Air Forces were graduated at the Tuskegee Army Air Field program in 1942.   The 99th was finally considered ready for combat duty by April 1943 and shipped out of Tuskegee on April 2, bound for North Africa where it would join the 33rd Fighter Group. Given little guidance from battle-experienced pilots, the 99th's first combat mission was to attack the small strategic volcanic island of Pantelleria in the Mediterranean Sea, to clear the sea lanes for the Allied invasion of Sicily in July 1943. The air assault on the island began on 30 May 1943. The Italian population of 11,500 surrendered on 11 June: it was the first time in history an enemy's military resistance had been overcome solely by air power. By the spring of 1944 more graduates were ready for combat, and the all-black 332nd Fighter Group had been sent overseas with three fighter squadrons: The 100th, 301st and 302nd. Under the command of Colonel Davis the squadrons were moved to mainland Italy, where the 99th Fighter Squadron, assigned to the group on 1 May 1944, joined them on 6 June at Ramitelli Airfield, near Termoli, on the Adriatic coast. Flying escort for heavy bombers, the 332nd earned an impressive combat record. The Allies called these airmen "Red Tails" or "Red-Tail Angels," because of the distinctive crimson paint predominately applied on the tail section of the unit's aircraft. From 1941 through 1946, nine hundred and ninety-six pilots graduated at TAAF, receiving commissions and pilot wings. Black navigators, bombardiers and gunnery crews were trained at selected military bases elsewhere in the United States.

Lt. Col. Marcella A. Hayes-Ng 

Lt. Col. Marcella A. Hayes-Ng 

Born on July 24, 1956 in Mexico, Missouri, Lieutenant Colonel Marcella A. Hayes-Ng was the first Black American female pilot to graduate from the United States Army Aviation School. She graduated at the top of her class from the University of Wisconsin’s Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) program in 1978.  It was this time in ROTC that lured her to a military career, with the goal of becoming a pilot.  After a year in the Army, she earned her wings in November 1979.  Hayes-Ng flew TH-55 and UH-1 helicopters.  She spent her military career at multiple bases in the United States, Panama, Macedonia, Germany, and Korea.  Lieutenant Colonel Marcella Hayes-Ng retired from the United States Army on September 30, 2000. 

Maj. Gen. Marcelite J. Harris 

Maj. Gen. Marcelite J. Harris 

Born on January 16, 1943 in Houston, Texas, Major General Marcelite J. Harris was the highest-ranking Black American female officer in the United States Air Force, as well as the Department of Defense. In 1965, after six months of officer training school at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, she was assigned to the 60th Military Aircraft Wing at Travis Air Force Base, California where she began her career in administration. In 1970, she spent nine months training to become an aircraft maintenance officer at Chanute Air Force Base, Illinois.  Harris assumed managerial roles as a maintenance supervisor in the United States, Germany, Thailand, and Japan, and saw minor action during the Vietnam War.  Harris spent the rest of her military career in maintenance.  On May 25, 1995, Marcelite J. Harris was promoted to major general.  After her retirement, she consulted for many agencies and private corporations, including NASA, United Space Alliance, NAACP, and the United States Air Force Academy.  Major General Marcelite Harris died on September 7, 2018 and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Capt. Vernice “FlyGirl” Armour 

Capt. Vernice “FlyGirl” Armour 

Born in 1973 in Chicago, Illinois, Captain Vernice “FlyGirl” Armour was the first Black American female combat pilot.  Coming from a military family, she joined the Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps in 1993 at Middle Tennessee State University.  She spent two years with the Tempe, Arizona police department before joining the Marines in October 1998. Subsequently, she was commissioned as a second lieutenant and went to flight school at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas.  Armour earned her wings in 2001 and was sent to Camp Pendleton to train on Bell AH-1W SuperCobra helicopters.  She served two combat tours for Operation Iraqi Freedom, flying with the Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 169.  In addition to her career as a pilot, Armour was also a diversity liaison officer for the Pentagon.  She left the United States Marine Corps in 2007, having attained the rank of captain.  Since leaving the military, Captain Vernice “FlyGirl” Armour has become an author, public speaker, consultant, and is currently an entrepreneur.

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