Retired Tuskegee Airman Missed Opening Of 'Red Tails' Film

While many of us may have been going to local movie theaters Friday to see the George Lucas film, "Red Tails," another of the real Tuskegee Airmen was being interred at Arlington National Cemetery near the nation's capital. Retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Luke Weathers, Jr. was one of the thousands of men associated with the first opportunity for black pilots to fly for the US in combat. He died at age 90 in October.

The burial ceremony included a missing-man formation flown by four F-16s from the 113th Wing of the DC Capital Guardians. The Tennessean reports a caisson pulled by six horses carried Weathers’ body to his burial spot, an Air Force band accompanied the wagon, and family members wore red ties and scarves to pay tribute to the Red Tails.

Luke Weathers III, the deceased's son, is now 61 years old, and recalls that the fight for acceptance by the US military's first black fighter pilots went on long after WWII. He recalls that they proved themselves in combat, "and then they wanted their country to love them, but that didn’t happen, either. He would talk about his hard trials and tribulations to others, to children, because he never wanted us to feel like this is a reason we couldn’t make it. He would tell us nothing good comes easy. He’d say there are going to be barriers … and you can overcome them."

Meanwhile, at the box office, the film George Lucas backed with his own money after several studios turned the project down has done better than expected by Hollywood insiders. Reviews from actual viewers have been much better than early reviews from critics, with Box Office Mojo reporting an overall "A" rating, and an "A+" from viewers under 18 and over 50. The film grossed $18.8 million in its opening weekend, second only to $25.3 million.

FMI: http://redtails2012.com/