What do you get a Black History buff for her Wedding anniversary?….my husband knew exactly what to get me.

My Anniversary Present – WW II War Bond Poster Autographed by Two Tuskegee Airmen

My husband has an unusual job. Unusual in the sense that he travels almost constantly to alternative schools where he is often the lone white face with a Texas accent in largely African American and Latino urban schools in Chicago, New Jersey, Florida, Texas, and Pennsylvania. He ensures that teachers and administrators are doing what they’ve been paid to do.  Not a fun position to be in these days, but he feels it is his calling in life to ensure every child is safe and educated.

These are schools and children most do not want to serve, because the students have been deemed unteachable and dangerous. He monitors and designs educational programs and professional development for schools around the country.

One of the things they do is bring in as many motivational speakers for kids on a regular basis. So last week in New Jersey, my husband met two Tuskegee airmen who spoke in Trenton, and got them to sign a war bond poster….and then he brought the poster home for my wedding anniversary present!!!

WHAT?!?!
Yes, I know, pretty cool.
Anyway…

Milton Holmes at Red Tails Premiere

Most of us think we know all there is to know about the Airmen. However, Hollywood and politicians would have us think of them mostly as a group and not as individual men with stories. We know they were brave, they endured humiliation, and that there are very few of them left. We lose them everyday.

What I didn’t know, but learned after researching the two men who signed the poster, was how the war shaped their views on gender, sexuality, and even war. Very often they are framed as loyal, civil rights heroes, but we do not learn about their more nuanced positions on political issues. Sure they were brave, but do we really know them as individuals, as intellects?

Check out the 2 videos below. They start slow, but then reveal a great deal about how WWII changed these men individually and not just corporately.

Second Lieutenant Milton Holmes

This is an interview with one of the Airmen that signed the poster, Second Lieutenant Milton Holmes. What I found most notable is his  emphasis on teamwork as a basis for African American empowerment as well as the way the war changed his perspectives on gender and sexuality. He has some interesting things to say about Black Rosie the Riveters.  There’s a book yet to be written I think about gender and the Tuskegee Airmen.

Technical Sergeant George Watson Sr.

Retired Tech. Sgt. George Watson Sr., a 91-year-old veteran who served in the African-American fighter group during World War II, shared his experiences and life lessons with the 411th Engineer Brigade Soldiers, who are preparing for deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., on Jan. 27, 2012. http://www.army.mil/article/73197/

This is an interview with the other Airmen that signed the poster, George Watson Sr., now 92. A little about Watson: “George Watson, a technical sergeant trained at Tuskegee, was wounded in Italy in 1944, but didn’t report his injuries until 66 years later—for fear of being transferred from his service unit. German fighter pilots on nightly raids usually passed over the blacked-out Capodichino airfield without incident. On the evening of March 16, 1944, Watson was on guard duty. “This particular night I’m the only one out there and here come the Germans, getting louder and louder,” Watson recalls. “All of a sudden, I’m looking at these bombs coming down. At first I thought they were paratroopers. When they hit, it tore up 27 of our P-39 airplanes.”The attack also sent shrapnel slicing into Watson’s knees and ankle, an injury he didn’t report at the time for fear of being transferred from his unit. Not until 66 years later—after Watson finally reported his wartime injuries—did the military award him a Purple Heart.”

Tuskegee Airmen & Eleanor

It is a little off the subject but this is one of my favorite photos. I think it says a great deal about Eleanor but also a lot about the courageous acts of individual Black men. She uses the pathological fear of Black men being in close proximity to White women to help secure civil rights. This was getting Black men lynched throughout the South  and she turned it all on its head…

 First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt was very interested in the work at the Tuskegee Institute, particularly in the aeronautical school. In 1941 she visited Tuskegee Army Air Field and asked to take a flight with one of the Tuskegee pilots. Although the Secret Service was anxious about the ride, flight instructor Charles A. Anderson piloted Mrs. Roosevelt over the skies of Alabama for over an hour. That flight proved for Mrs. Roosevelt that blacks could fly airplanes and she did everything in her power to help them in that endeavor. Mrs. Roosevelt marked the occasion with a photograph of herself and Mr. Anderson which she promptly brought back to her husband, the President of the United States, and successfully urged FDR to utilize the 99th Squadron in combat missions.