Gone West: Tuskegee Airman Lt. Col. Eldridge Williams | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-07.07.25

Airborne-NextGen-07.08.25

AirborneUnlimited-07.09.25

Airborne-FlightTraining-07.10.25

AirborneUnlimited-07.11.25

Sat, Jul 11, 2015

Gone West: Tuskegee Airman Lt. Col. Eldridge Williams

Only 25 Members Of The Unit Survive Today

Another of the famed Tuskegee Airmen has Gone West.  Lt. Col. Eldridge Williams passed away on July 2 at the age of 97, according to a report from the Miami Herald.

Williams graduated from Officer Candidate School in the same class as actor Clark Gable, but with far less attention. When he was assigned to the Tuskegee Institute, an Army doctor grounded him for "poor eyesight," according to the report.

He rose to the rank of Captain, and became a flight instructor at Tuskegee. He was not assigned to duty overseas, but rather trained the men who flew combat missions in the European theater. He said he wanted to fly in combat. "You're on the team, you want to play," he once said.

Williams served as a flight instructor until the end of the war. He continued his military career until 1963, and then became a physical education teacher at a Miami middle school. After two years, he was promoted to an administrative position where he was tasked with integrating the Dade County, FL public schools.

Williams was one of the Tuskegee airmen presented with a Congressional Gold Medal by then-President George W. Bush in 2007. He was also invited to attend the inauguration of President Barack Obama.

The paper reports that there are now only 25 members of the unit who survive.

(Lt. Col. Eldridge Williams pictured in graduation photo)

FMI: http://tuskegeeairmen.org/

Advertisement

More News

NTSB Final Report: Aviat A1

Airplane Bounced About 3 Ft Then Touched Back Down And Then, With No Brakes Applied, The Airplane Began Veering To The Left Analysis: The pilot entered the airport traffic pattern >[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (07.08.25)

Aero Linx: British Microlight Aircraft Association (BMAA) The primary focus within all aviation activity is SAFETY. In all aspects of our sport SAFETY must come first, whether it b>[...]

Classic Aero-TV: Fly Corvair’s Reliable Engine Alternative

From SnF25 (YouTube Edition): William Wynne Builds Practical Aircraft Engines on the Corvair Platform Seeking an affordable alternative to the traditional aircraft engine options, >[...]

ANN FAQ: Contributing To Aero-TV

How To Get A Story On Aero-TV News/Feature Programming How do I submit a story idea or lead to Aero-TV? If you would like to submit a story idea or lead, please contact Jim Campbel>[...]

Classic Aero-TV: CiES Fuel-Quantity and e-Throttle Systems Praised

From 2023 (YouTube Edition): Bridge of CiES CiES Inc. is a Bend, Oregon-based designer and manufacturer of modular embedded aircraft systems and sensors. The company’s fuel-l>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2025 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC