Provided Ground Support For The Segregated Unit's Aircraft

Tuskegee Airman William White has gone west, as the ranks of the storied unit continue to dwindle. White, 88, passed away at his home in Smithfield, VA.

White had been drafted as an infantryman in 1945, and was transferred to the Army Air Corps, according to a report from hamptonroads.com. He initially was trained as a supply clerk at Sheppard Air Force Base, and later was assigned to the 99th Pursuit Squadron and 332nd Fighter Group.

While in Texas, he was threatened with lynching, according to the report.

In a talk he gave in 2013 at the Isle of Wight County Museum, White said that his job was to "service the airplanes and keep them in the air. Whatever the planes needed, we would see to it until someone from maintenance would come pick them up."

White was one of the remaining Tuskegee Airmen to attend the second inauguration of President Barack Obama. He said during the lecture that experience "tops all other experiences I had."

White is survived by his wife, six children, six grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren.

FMI: http://tuskegeeairmen.org/