Former Tuskegee Airman Speaks At Navy MLK Ceremony | 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-05.05.25

Airborne-NextGen-05.06.25

AirborneUnlimited-05.07.25

Airborne-Unlimited-05.01.25

AirborneUnlimited-05.02.25

Tue, Jan 22, 2008

Former Tuskegee Airman Speaks At Navy MLK Ceremony

Describes Group's Many Triumphs Over Adversity

A standing-room-only crowd gathered at Stennis Space Center, MS on January 17 to hear Robert A. Decatur, one of the 130 remaining Tuskegee Airmen, tell his story of duty, service and perseverance in a Martin Luther King (MLK) Jr. Day program.

Decatur joined the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1943 and became one the 966 Tuskegee Airmen. He flew missions in Europe in World War II and in Korea. He became an attorney, judge, professor and an author after his military service. He was the attorney to Martin Luther King Jr., and represented civil rights workers across the South in the 1960s.

Rear Adm. (Sel.) David Titley, commander of the Stennis-based Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command (NMOC), called Decatur "a true hero" and a "living American legend."

Decatur told the group the story of the Tuskegee Airmen -- their service and the discrimination that stalked them. He pointed out that Tuskegee Airmen-escorted US bombers who flew 1,500 missions in Europe without loss, while the Tuskegee Airmen were not allowed to land in England.

His said his slogan, "Through adversity to the stars," was fitting for the Tuskegee Airmen.

"That says it all about the Tuskegee Airmen because God knows we went through adversity," Decatur said. "At Keesler Air Field for basic training, we were treated like lepers, but we were determined to succeed. We had to succeed."

Commercial airlines would only hire the war-decorated Tuskegee Airmen to be Sky Caps.

"There was more respect given us by the Germans than we received from our white pilots," he said.

The Tuskegee Airmen were named for Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, the black college where they trained and received their wings. The project was considered an experiment because there were no black military pilots.

However, the students demonstrated that, given proper training and the opportunity, they were just as capable as anyone else in the Armed Forces. Their success as combat pilots led directly to the desegregation of the U.S. military in 1948.

"Tuskegee Airmen were in the forefront of the fight for human rights, human dignity," Decatur said. "I'm hoping people will remember what we did and how we did it."

Apparently people remembered. Decatur said that in a tribute for the Tuskegee Airmen, Gen. Colin Powel said: "Upon your backs, I have risen to be the first African-American Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff."

NMOC sponsored the event and invited Decatur, and Titley introduced him. The Naval Oceanographic Office MLK Program Committee organized the event.

(Aero-News thanks George Lammons, Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command Public Affairs)

FMI: www.news.navy.mil/local/cnmoc/

Advertisement

More News

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (05.06.25)

Aero Linx: International Federation of Airworthiness (IFA) We aim to be the most internationally respected independent authority on the subject of Airworthiness. IFA uniquely combi>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (05.06.25): Ultrahigh Frequency (UHF)

Ultrahigh Frequency (UHF) The frequency band between 300 and 3,000 MHz. The bank of radio frequencies used for military air/ground voice communications. In some instances this may >[...]

ANN FAQ: Q&A 101

A Few Questions AND Answers To Help You Get MORE Out of ANN! 1) I forgot my password. How do I find it? 1) Easy... click here and give us your e-mail address--we'll send it to you >[...]

Classic Aero-TV: Virtual Reality Painting--PPG Leverages Technology for Training

From 2019 (YouTube Edition): Learning To Paint Without Getting Any On Your Hands PPG's Aerospace Coatings Academy is a tool designed to teach everything one needs to know about all>[...]

Airborne 05.02.25: Joby Crewed Milestone, Diamond Club, Canadian Pilot Insurance

Also: Sustainable Aircraft Test Put Aside, More Falcon 9 Ops, Wyoming ANG Rescue, Oreo Cookie Into Orbit Joby Aviation has reason to celebrate, recently completing its first full t>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

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