Introduction

I’ve always been interested in military history, but it hadn’t been until quite late in my life that a
particular fighter group caught my attention. You see, I’d never been taught about them at school,
and I don’t remember ever reading books that mentioned them as a youngster. It was a lot later,
when a movie about this group of ‘pioneers ‘ was released, that I’d first become aware of these
men, and a lot later, that I’d begun to come across the odd piece of information that might have
easily been lost amongst a behemoth collection of wartime documentation.

Of course, the fighter group I speak of is the 332nd, also known as the Tuskegee Airmen. This Group was different than others in one obvious way: it was a segregated unit that comprised solely of African Americans.

The America of the time was very different than today, and sadly, although many supported these black aviators, there were many more whose prejudices ran deep, thus providing many additional obstacles that a young black pilot was challenged to overcome.

There are many other sites that can better provide an in depth history of
the 332nd Fighter Group, and so that I will leave to them. This offering
is my personal tribute to the men, who ironically fought against fascism
in Europe, for a country that often regarded them as second class
citizens themselves. It must be told that these men were true heroes
who paved the way to desegregation within the U.S. Air Force by 1948,
while also helping to initiate improvements in the way not only black, but
other ethnic minorities would be treated in the future.