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FILE-
Retired
U.S. Air
Force
Col.
Charles
McGee, a
Tuskegee
Airman
and a
decorated
veteran
of three
wars,
flies a
Cirrus
SF50
Vision
Jet with
assistance
from
pilot
Boni
Caldeira
during a
round
trip
flight
from
Frederick,
Md., to
Dover
Air
Force
Base in
Delaware
on. Dec.
6, 2019.
McGee,
one of
the last
surviving
Tuskegee
Airmen
who flew
409
fighter
combat
missions
over
three
wars,
died
Sunday,
Jan. 16,
2022. He
was 102.
(AP
Photo/David
Tulis,
File) |
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Celebrated
Tuskegee
Airman
Charles
McGee
dies at
102
By
DOUGLASS
K.
DANIEL
apnews.com
WASHINGTON
-
Charles
McGee, a
Tuskegee
Airman
who flew
409
fighter
combat
missions
over
three
wars and
later
helped
to bring
attention
to the
Black
pilots
who had
battled
racism
at home
to fight
for
freedom
abroad,
died
Sunday.
He was
102.
McGee
died in
his
sleep at
his home
in
Bethesda,
Maryland,
said his
son, Ron
McGee.
After
the U.S.
entry
into
World
War II,
McGee
left the
University
of
Illinois
to join
an
experimental
program
for
Black
soldiers
seeking
to train
as
pilots
after
the Army
Air
Corps
was
forced
to admit
African
Americans.
In
October
1942 he
was sent
to the
Tuskegee
Army Air
Field in
Alabama
for
flight
training,
according
to his
biography
on the
website
of the
National
Aviation
Hall of
Fame.
“You
could
say that
one of
the
things
we were
fighting
for was
equality,”
he told
The
Associated
Press in
a 1995
interview.
“Equality
of
opportunity.
We knew
we had
the same
skills,
or
better.”
McGee
graduated
from
flight
school
in June
1943 and
in early
1944
joined
the
all-Black
332nd
Fighter
Group,
known as
the “Red
Tails.”
He flew
136
missions
as the
group
accompanied
bombers
over
Europe.
More
than 900
men
trained
at
Tuskegee
from
1940 to
1946.
About
450
deployed
overseas
and 150
lost
their
lives in
training
or
combat.
In
recent
years
the
Tuskegee
Airmen
have
been the
subject
of
books,
movies
and
documentaries
highlighting
their
courage
in the
air and
the
doubts
they
faced on
the
ground
because
of their
race. In
2007 a
Congressional
Gold
Medal,
the
highest
civilian
award
from
Congress,
was
issued
to
recognize
their
“unique
military
record
that
inspired
revolutionary
reform
in the
Armed
Forces.”
McGee
remained
in the
Army Air
Corps,
later
the U.S.
Air
Force,
and
served
for 30
years.
He flew
low-level
bombing
and
strafing
missions
during
the
Korean
War and
returned
to
combat
again
during
the
Vietnam
War. The
National
Aviation
Hall of
Fame
says his
409
aerial
fighter
combat
missions
in three
wars
remains
a
record.
He
retired
as a
colonel
in the
Air
Force in
1973,
then
earned a
college
degree
in
business
administration
and
worked
as a
business
executive.
He was
accorded
an
honorary
commission
promoting
him to
the
one-star
rank of
brigadier
general
as he
turned
100.
Another
event
marked
his
centennial
year: He
flew a
private
jet
between
Frederick,
Maryland,
and
Dover
Air
Force
Base in
Delaware.
In 2020,
McGee
drew a
standing
ovation
from
members
of
Congress
when
introduced
by
President
Donald
Trump
during
his
State of
the
Union
address.
In
addition
to
encouraging
young
men and
women to
pursue
careers
in
aviation,
McGee
was a
source
of
information
about
the
Tuskegee
Airmen
and
offered
a unique
perspective
on race
relations
of the
era
through
the
airmen’s
nonprofit
educational
organization.
“At the
time of
the war,
the idea
of an
all
African
American
flight
squadron
was
radical
and
offensive
to
many,”
McGee
wrote in
an essay
for the
Smithsonian
National
Air and
Space
Museum.
“The
prevailing
opinion
was that
blacks
did not
possess
the
intelligence
or
courage
to be
military
pilots.
One
general
even
wrote,
‘The
Negro
type has
not the
proper
reflexes
to make
a
first-rate
fighter
pilot.’
The
Tuskegee
Airmen
certainly
proved
men like
him
wrong.”
Charles
Edward
McGee
was born
Dec. 7,
1919, in
Cleveland,
the son
of a
minister
who also
worked
as a
teacher
and
social
worker
and was
a
military
chaplain.
He
graduated
from
high
school
in
Chicago
in 1938.
Survivors
include
daughters
Charlene
McGee
Smith
and
Yvonne
McGee,
10
grandchildren,
14
great-grandchildren
and a
great-great
grandchild.
His wife
of more
than 50
years,
Frances,
died in
1994.
A family
statement
described
McGee as
“a
living
legend
known
for his
kind-hearted
and
humble
nature,
who saw
positivity
at every
turn.”
In
tweets
Sunday
honoring
McGee,
both
Vice
President
Kamala
Harris
and
Defense
Secretary
Lloyd J.
Austin
III
called
him an
American
hero.
“While I
am
saddened
by his
loss,
I’m also
incredibly
grateful
for his
sacrifice,
his
legacy,
and his
character.
Rest in
peace,
General,”
Austin
wrote.
In his
Smithsonian
essay,
McGee
wrote
that he
was
often
asked
why the
Tuskegee
Airmen
were so
successful
in
combat.
“I would
say it
was
because
of our
courage
and
perseverance,”
he
wrote.
“We
dreamed
of being
pilots
as boys
but were
told it
was not
possible.
Through
faith
and
determination
we
overcame
enormous
obstacles.
This is
a lesson
that all
young
people
need to
hear.”
He
added:
“I am
most
proud of
my work
as a
Tuskegee
Airman
that
helped
bring
down
racial
barriers
and
defeat
the
Nazis.”
___
Associated
Press
writer
Daisy
Nguyen
contributed
to this
report.
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