Isabel Wilkerson

Isabel Wilkerson Instagram – We say that we are a country that values courage and patriotism, that we honor the sacrifices extended on behalf of one’s nation. The Tuskegee Airmen gave their all, rose to the moment, against the odds, when their country most needed them. They are among what Americans have come to call the Greatest Generation, a part of the collective effort to defend this nation from the threats posed during World War II.
They did not boast about their role in the war, and yet, the story of the Tuskegee Airmen is one of the most inspiring in aviation history. Most of them are gone now, but they would be devastated and heartbroken to see any erasure of their service from the nation’s consciousness.
The Tuskegee-based organization that keeps their memory alive issued a statement urging that their contributions and those of the Women’s Air Force Service Pilots (also known as WASPs, shown in photo 4) not be excluded from future military training programs:
“The service and sacrifice of the Tuskegee Airmen and the WASPs, who were also removed from the Air Force’s training courses,” the Tuskegee Airmen, Inc., wrote, “are an essential part of American history and carried significant weight in the World War II veteran community. We believe the content of these courses does not promote one category of service member/or citizen over another. They are simply a part of American military history that all service members should be made aware of.”
Eighty years after their mission, they are part of the firmament. Whenever I happen to mention that my father had been a Tuskegee airman, people of all backgrounds and ethnicities stand at attention, eyes sometimes welling up because they know, as do most Americans, of the valor and expertise of these brave pilots. Which is why nothing can take away what they have given to history — they live on in our memories and in the fabric of this nation. | Posted on 27/Jan/2025 07:49:36