THE INAUGURATION
Tuskegee Airmen from Northeast Ohio to attend Barack Obama inauguration Friday, January 09, 2009 Brian Albrecht Plain Dealer Reporter Six decades ago they fought prejudice, discrimination, even threats of courts-martial to serve as the first black airmen in American military history.
On Jan. 20, the aging ranks of Tuskegee Airmen will be part of a second, similar historic event as invited guests for the inauguration of Barack Obama as the nation's first black president. "It's wonderful. Terrific. It's something I never thought I'd see in my lifetime," said Roy Richardson, 79, of Oakwood. Richardson is one of seven members of the North Coast Chapter of Tuskegee Airmen Inc. hoping to attend. The others are Joe Burrucker, 82, of Shaker Heights; Thomas Austin, 92, of East Cleveland; Arthur Saunders, 88, of Cleveland; Clarence Jamison, 90, of Shaker Heights; James Travis, 86, of Cleveland; and Edward Lunda, 85, of Akron.
During and shortly after World War II, from 1941 to 1949, they were among more than 16,000 black servicemen who joined an experimental program in the then-segregated American military to train in all aspects of aviation, as pilots, mechanics, bombardiers, navigators and support personnel.
The airmen initially trained at an Army airfield in Tuskegee, Ala., then at other bases across the country. Two fighter squadrons of Tuskegee Airmen served overseas in North Africa, Sicily, Italy, France and Germany, credited with shooting down or damaging 261 enemy aircraft.
Some 150 fliers were killed in training or combat. But their enemies were both overseas and at home, in battles against bigotry and discrimination, once reaching a point that 103 officer-airmen were arrested for trying to enter a segregated officers' club and were ordered to face courts-martial (charges that were subsequently dropped). "So there's been a change," chuckled Lunda, one of those arrested, referring to the difference in attitudes that made this inauguration possible.
Back then, "I imagine most African-Americans never really dreamed of this particular day coming. Maybe way down the line, but not this soon," he added. "We've come a long ways and still have a long ways to go, but this is a really great opportunity."
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Though these aviation trailblazers of the past have since aged - many now piloting canes and wheelchairs - they're scarcely deterred by the potential inauguration crowds and inclement weather. Uncomfortable? "Can't be any worse than it was 60 years ago," Richardson said. "It just makes it all worthwhile for me."
However, the logistics and costs facing the 235 Tuskegee Airmen expected to attend from across the country - finding transportation and lodging in a capital besieged by millions of well-wishers - can be daunting. Both the national Tuskegee group and local chapter are raising money and making arrangements to help ease those obstacles.
The local chapter is giving each member a $500 stipend, and donations can be made at any Charter One bank office. Bob Rose, first vice president of the national group, said inaugural arrangements are being made to transport the airmen from a central gathering area to a reserved seating area. He's also matching visiting airmen with offers from Washington-area residents and businesses for lodging and transportation.
Rose noted that this is the second presidential inauguration the Tuskegee Airmen have participated in as a group. The first was as parade marchers and flyover pilots for the 1949 inauguration of President Harry Truman, who desegregated the U.S. military in 1948.
Obama's inauguration is "one of the highlights of their dwindling years, next to the Congressional Gold Medal [awarded to the unit in 2007] and maybe in some cases, more important," Rose said. Former airman Burrucker still remembers the tears of joy that he and his family shed last August when Obama won the Democratic nomination. He expects more of the same come Jan. 20.
"Hopefully they won't freeze," joked Burrucker, who also hoped his granddaughter could join him for what he described as a "historic event in every sense of the word." But let the winter winds blow. "I'll just put on my long johns and weather the storm," he said. Just the way they did six decades ago, when they overcame the insults and a demeaning military-institutional attitude, said former airman Saunders. "We waded through all of that," he said. "Patience pays off."
The spirit remains unchanged, then and now. As Saunders said, "We'll tough it out. It means a great deal." Donations at local Charter One Bank offices can be made to: The Tuskegee Airmen North Coast Chapter Inauguration Fund. For additional details call 216-381-3266. To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: [email protected], 216-999-4853
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