WICHITA, Kansas -- The current movie, “Red Tails”, tells the story of the Tuskegee airmen, a group of pilots in World War II.
They were unique because of the color of their skin and the obstacles they faced simply getting into combat.
You could argue they fought on two fronts: against the Germans and Japanese in the war and against racism at home.
George Boyd, 86, of Wichita knows the story far better than most. He lived it.
“I was privileged to fly with the Tuskegee Airmen. I had the opportunity to learn. I could fly an airplane before I could drive a car.”
To understand the history made by Boyd and others, it’s necessary to understand what the United States was like just before World War II.
The Jim Crow laws of segregation were very much in force and in most places blacks were second class citizens.
That meant separate water fountains, separate schools, separate dining rooms and movie theatres. For the most part, separate everything, and it was no better in the military.
“If you were in the Air Force, you handled weapons and drove trucks," says Boyd. "In the navy you’d cook or you were a janitor. It was all menial tasks. You couldn’t get into combat. They didn’t send you to training.”
Many military leaders felt blacks couldn’t be good officers and shouldn’t be in combat.
But under pressure from black leaders and educators, the military started a separate flying unit.
The Tuskegee Airmen took their name from the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama.
That’s where the military built a separate airfield, training facilities and barracks for black pilots.
Even after proving they were good pilots, it took a long time before they were finally allowed in combat.
When they were allowed to fight, their record matched the best of any flying group in the war.
They escorted U.S. bombers to their targets and back and shot down a great many German planes.
At least 66 Tuskegee airmen died in combat.
As impressive as their record was, as important the proof that they could lead and fight, being successful black pilots still took a back seat to something else.
“It was kill or be killed”, says Boyd. “Our guys knew they could fly airplanes. There wasn’t any question about it. So they did the best they could. Here’s what we wanted to do: we wanted to win the war.”
It wasn’t until the war was over that the U.S. military was integrated under order from President Truman, and the Tuskegee Airmen played a big part in that order.
In the years since the war, they have been honored and recognized.
There was the Congressional Gold Medal given to surviving airmen in 2007.
They were honored guests at President Obama’s inauguration in 2009 and now this movie to add to an HBO movie done back in 1995.
George Boyd retired a major after 28 years in the Air Force and later became director of the Kansas Civil Air Patrol.
Still vigorous, he spends a lot of time speaking to groups around the country about a time and an accomplishment most younger people know nothing about.
“I don’t talk about it in terms of bragging or being a pioneer. It’s just that this is history I’ve lived through, that I share with people and that’s the way I like to look at it.”
Their place in history is assured.
Boyd goes out of his way to say the U.S. would have won the war with or without the Tuskegee Airmen and that’s certainly true.
But, it’s also true that in their combat flying they struck a blow in the war at home, a war that would last a great deal longer than the one in which they fought.
