Tuskegee Airmen memorabilia on display at Tuskegee University for family and friends
A donation of Tuskegee Airmen memorabilia has been given to Tuskegee University, with family and friends able to see it all for themselves.
Members of a group called Tuskegee Airmen Family and Friends joined the university and the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site to donate treasured and rarely seen memorabilia to the university’s archives for preservation.
“It’s a great honor that the university is finally just giving us a wing that we can put our archives in because we have so much stuff, and so many people have so many things that they don’t know what to do with,” Lanelle Roberts Brent, the daughter of Col. George “Spanky” Roberts, told Action 8 News.
“This is beyond huge. This is for the men and women who served in this experience. They deserve all of the recognition that they can afford because of what Black people went through in this country,” Amelia Montgomery, the widow of PFC Dabney Montgomery said.
“As a family member, as all of our family members, we are very concerned about continuing the legacy of not only our fathers, but for the nation to know about these men. They are pretty well all passing now, but this is a way to preserve that memory and that legacy,” Carol Gleed Weaver, the daughter of Col. Edward Gleed, said.
The keynote speaker for the event was Tuskegee Airman and WWII combat pilot Lt. Col. George E. Hardy. The ribbon cutting ceremony also marked the official Tuskegee Airmen Day as recognized in the State of Alabama.
The Tuskegee Airmen were the first Black military fighter pilots in the United States Army Air Corps. The men flew more than 15,000 sorties throughout Europe and parts of Africa during WWII. The Tuskegee Airmen also played a vital role in desegregating the U.S. Armed Forces. They proved that African Americans were equally qualified and had the intellectual capacity to become successful military pilots.
There were more than 16,000 men and women who participated in the “Tuskegee Experience” training at Tuskegee Army Air Field in the 1940s and all are considered Tuskegee Airmen.
