Code talkers were Indigenous Americans who used their languages to help the United States military communicate in secret. This black-and-white photograph shows two Navajo code talkers operating a radio during World War II (1939-1945). The Navajo language was unknown to the Germans and Japanese and proved impossible for them to decipher.
Credit: NARA

On November 11, the anniversary of the end of World War I (1914-1918), the United States observes Veterans Day honoring men and women who have served in the United States armed services. In 1919, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed November 11 as Armistice Day to remember the tragedies of war and appreciate peace achieved by the armistice (truce). In 1938, Armistice Day was made a federal holiday. Congress renamed the day Veterans Day to honor all United States Veterans in 1954. Around the world, the anniversary of the end of World War I is a day to remember those who have died in war. Australia, Canada, and New Zealand observe Remembrance Day on November 11. The United Kingdom observes Remembrance Day on the Sunday closest to November 11.

November is also Native American Heritage Month, a time to observe the cultures, histories, and traditions of Indigenous Americans. Many Indigenous Americans have served in the United States armed forces, contributing to the United States’ success in World War I (1914-1918) and World War II (1939-1945). Most notably, Indigenous Americans called the Code Talkers developed and used codes that enabled the United States and its allies to communicate globally without enemy interference.

The Code Talkers were small groups of Indigenous Americans who served in the United States armed forces in World War I and World War II. Code Talkers developed and used codes in Indigenous American languages to send secret messages, helping the United States and its allies win both wars.

The engineer Philip Johnston suggested the United States Marine Corps use Navajo language as a code during World War II. He grew up on a Navajo reservation and knew that the Navajo language is unwritten, difficult to decipher (decode), and unknown to most people who are not Navajo. In 1942, the United States Marine Corps recruited 29 Navajo men to develop the code. The code talkers used familiar wards to represent U.S. military terms. For example, bombs were called eggs in Navajo. They also created a new phonetic alphabet with Navajo words.

Similarly, in World War I, 19 Choctaw men had served in the U.S. Army, sending and receiving messages based on the Choctaw language. During World War II, 17 Comanche men used their language for code in the U.S. Army Signal Corps.

Purple Heart Battalion was the nickname given to a Japanese American unit in the United States Army during World War II (1939-1945). The unit was officially the 100th Battalion of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team.
Credit: U.S. Army Photo/US National Archives

Today, August 7th, is National Purple Heart Day! Why is it called a Purple Heart? And who has received the admirable honor?

The Purple Heart Medal was first called the Badge of Military Merit which was an honor only given to Privates, Corporals, and Sergeants (see Military Rank). George Washington created the award in 1782 to recognize soldiers who excelled in bravery and service. The first recipients were Army soldiers William Brown and Elijah Churchill who served in the American Revolution. Washington designed the medal, a heart made out of purple cloth. In 1932, Army Gen. Douglas MacArthur redesigned the medal as gold medal in the shape of a heart with George Washington on it held by a purple ribbon. Later in 1942, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt changed the eligibility of recipients to include posthumous (after death) recognition and people wounded and injured in battle in all branches of the military. Over the years, more changes have been made to the eligibility for the Purple Heart.

The front and back of a modern US Purple Heart medal.
Credit: © Gary Blakeley, Shutterstock

Many people have earned a Purple Heart for their service. Author Kurt Vonnegut was awarded a Purple Heart after he was held captive in Dresden, Germany, during World War II (1914-1918). He saw that city’s destruction by British and American bombing in 1945. His response to that event is reflected in Slaughterhouse Five (1969).

President John F. Kennedy received a Purple Heart for his service in the Navy following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.​​ A Japanese destroyer cut Kennedy’s boat in two. Two of the crew were killed. Kennedy led the 10 other men to safety despite an injured back from the attack. For his heroism and leadership, Kennedy received the Navy and Marine Corps Medal. For being wounded in combat, he was awarded the Purple Heart.

American football player Pat Tillman also received a Purple Heart. Tillman played for the Arizona Cardinals in the National Football League. After seeing the devastation of the September 11 terrorist attacks upon the United States, Tillman enlisted in the military. He was later killed in the line of duty while serving in the Afghanistan War in 2004. Following his death, Tillman was awarded the Silver Star, for valor in combat, and the Purple Heart, awarded to those injured or killed in the line of duty.

United States Senator Tammy Duckworth received a Purple Heart after her helicopter was shot down by a rocket-propelled grenade in 2004. She lost both legs and some of the use of her right arm.

Other recipients of the Purple Heart include pilot Joseph Jacob Foss, marine and former United States secretary of veterans affairs Jesse Brown, the first Asian American to serve in the Senate and the House of Representatives Daniel Ken Inouye, and Senator John McCain. Two service animals, Sgt. Stubby the dog who served in World War I and Sgt. Reckless the horse who served in the Korean War, received the award for their efforts. Animals are no longer eligible for the Purple Heart.

United States Air Force pilot Gail Halvorsen ties parachutes onto candy bars to drop for German children as part of Operation Little Vittles during the Berlin Airlift.
Credit: U.S. Army

Gail Seymour Halvorsen was born on Oct. 10, 1920, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Halvorsen graduated from Bear River High School in 1939. After high school, he received a scholarship to a pilot-training program. He earned his pilot’s license in September 1941.

In May 1942, Halvorsen signed up for the Civil Air Patrol, the volunteer civilian auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force. Halvorsen attended Utah State University before receiving a call for training in March 1943. He completed basic training in Wichita Falls, Texas. Halvorsen earned the opportunity to train with the British Royal Air Force (RAF) in Miami, Oklahoma, and received his military pilot wings in 1944. Halvorsen flew supplies to countries in the South Atlantic, as well as England, Italy, and parts of North Africa, through the end of World War II (1939-1945). After the war, he returned to the United States and flew cargo planes.

In the summer of 1948, Halvorsen was assigned to Operation Vittles, the U.S. arm of the Berlin Airlift. Halvorsen’s schedule included three round-trip flights to Berlin daily. Once, at Tempelhof Air Base in West Berlin, he met children and gave them his gum rations. He was impressed with the children’s manners and promised to drop them more candy. When the children asked how they would know which plane was his, Halvorsen responded that he would waggle the wings of his plane, rocking them back and forth. This habit earned him the nickname Uncle Wiggly Wings.

Halvorsen began dropping candy, chocolate, and gum from his rations and convinced other pilots to donate their rations. He crafted parachutes using handkerchiefs, so the candy would drift safely to the ground. Halvorsen began receiving letters addressed to Uncle Wiggly Wings from the children of West Berlin. His superior officer noticed newspaper articles on the candy drops and thus became aware that Halvorsen was breaking Air Force rules by conducting unofficial drops. Halvorsen was allowed to continue after it became clear that the effort was helping the Allies to gain favor among the Germans and around the world. The United States Air Force named the mission “Operation Little Vittles.” People in the United States began donating supplies. American candy companies began donating candy, and students in the United States volunteered to tie handkerchief parachutes to the candy. Halvorsen and other pilots dropped more than 20 tons (18 metric tons) of candy and 250,000 parachutes from Sept. 22, 1948, to May 13, 1949.

Halvorsen returned to the United States in January 1949. The operation continued without him. The Air Force granted Halvorsen a permanent commission in the United States. He received the Cheney Award for humanitarian actions from the Air Force. Halvorsen studied aeronautical engineering at the University of Florida, graduating in 1951 and earning a master’s degree in engineering in 1952. He served as the project engineer for the Wright Air Development Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. He also worked on the Titan III rocket in Inglewood, California. He returned to Germany to serve as commander of the Tempelhof Air Base until his retirement in 1974. He earned a master’s degree in guidance and counseling from Wayne State University in 1973, while stationed in Germany. He logged more than 8,000 hours of flight time in his 31-year career.

After retiring from the Air Force, Halvorsen served as the assistant dean of student life at Brigham Young University from 1976 to 1986. He participated in a candy drop over Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1994. Halvorsen received the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor granted by Congress, in 2014. Halvorsen wrote a memoir, The Berlin Candy Bomber (2017).

United States Senator Tammy Duckworth
Credit: U.S. Congress

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month. All month long, Behind the Headlines will feature AAPI pioneers in a variety of areas.

Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat from Illinois, was elected to the United States Senate in 2016. As a senator, she has been a champion for civil rights, environmental justice, and veterans’ affairs.

Ladda Tammy Duckworth was born in Bangkok, Thailand, on March 12, 1968, to a Thai mother and an American father. Her father had been serving in Southeast Asia in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War (1957-1975). When Tammy Duckworth was a child, the family moved around the region while her father worked with the United Nations and private corporations. She became fluent in Thai, Indonesian, and English. The family later moved to Hawaii, where Duckworth finished high school. She earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Hawaii (also spelled University of Hawai‘i) in 1989.

Duckworth joined the Army Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) in 1990 while working on a master’s degree in international affairs at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. She completed her degree in 1992. That year, she also got her commission as a reserve officer and trained as an army helicopter pilot. In 1996, while studying for a doctorate in political science at Northern Illinois University, she transferred to the Illinois National Guard. She later completed a doctorate in human services at Capella University, an online-based school.

In 2004, while Duckworth was still a student at Northern Illinois, her National Guard regiment was sent to Iraq. On November 12, her helicopter was shot down by a rocket-propelled grenade. She lost both legs and some of the use of her right arm. In December, she was awarded a Purple Heart for her injuries. The Purple Heart is a medal given to soldiers of the U.S. armed forces who are wounded or killed in combat. Following a lengthy recovery, Duckworth began working for better medical care for veterans. In 2006, she ran unsuccessfully for an Illinois seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich then named her director of the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs. In 2009, President Barack Obama appointed her assistant secretary of Veterans Affairs.

In 2012, Duckworth was elected to the U.S. House, representing a district in the Chicago suburbs. She was reelected in 2014. Also in 2014, she retired from the Army Reserves, having achieved the rank of lieutenant colonel. In 2016, Duckworth defeated incumbent Republican Senator Mark Kirk to win a seat in the U.S. Senate.

Duckworth married Bryan Bowlsbey, an officer in the Army National Guard, in 1993. In 2018, she became the first sitting U.S. senator to give birth when she delivered a daughter, Maile Pearl. The couple’s first child, Abigail, was born in 2014, while Duckworth was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Duckworth’s memoir, Every Day is a Gift, was published in 2021.

United States President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris speak in Wilmington, Delaware, on Nov. 7, 2020, after being declared the winners of the presidential election. Both wear masks to help limit the spread of COVID-19.
Credit: © Andrew Harnik, AFP/Getty Images

Joe Biden became the 46th president of the United States on January 20. His inauguration looked different than inaugurations past. Because of the ongoing pandemic (global outbreak) of the coronavirus disease COVID-19, efforts were made to limit the size of crowds and prevent the spread of germs. Gone were the parades and balls. Instead, the country marked the transition of power with virtual parades and televised performances.

As is tradition, the chief justice of the Supreme Court of the United States swore in the incoming president. This year, that honor went to Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. Biden then give his inaugural address and conducted a review of military troops. Celebrities were on hand to help celebrate the occasion. Lady Gaga performed the national anthem, and Jennifer Lopez gave a musical performance.

The events took place on the west front of the United States Capitol—which, only two weeks before, was raided by a violent mob intent on halting Biden’s certification as winner of the presidential election. President Donald Trump, under impeachment for inciting the mob, did not attend the inauguration ceremony, becoming one of only a handful of outgoing presidents to skip the inauguration.

A poem by Amanda Gorman drew particular attention. Gorman, a Black woman, became the youngest poet to read at a presidential inauguration. The poem, titled “The Hill We Climb,” was written for the occasion and referenced the January 6 Capitol attack.

Thousands of military troops and police officers had been stationed at the Capitol—and at state capitols around the country—in anticipation of further violence. Experts had warned of far-right extremist groups’ desire to stage attacks at such locations on or around Inauguration Day. In the weeks leading up to the inauguration, 15,000 troops—more soldiers than in Iraq and Afghanistan—had been stationed in Washington, D.C. The weekend before the inauguration, several groups of armed protesters showed up at the capitols of such states as Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. They were met with military vehicles and police barricades. In the end, however, the inauguration festivities went off without violence.

Another major threat to the United States—COVID-19—led officials to scale down inauguration celebrations. Biden’s inauguration schedule began Tuesday night, with a somber memorial to the 400,000 Americans who have died from the disease, held at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on the National Mall. To limit the spread of germs, tickets for the events were not made available to the general public. And, instead of a traditional parade down Pennsylvania Avenue, there was a virtual parade featuring music, poets, and dancers. The parade honored America’s frontline workers (workers likely to encounter COVID-19). In place of balls in honor of the new president, there was a star-studded television event on Wednesday night. Hosted by Tom Hanks, the event featured such entertainers as Demi Lovato, Justin Timberlake, and Kerry Washington. The television event ended a day filled with celebration and patriotism.

Members of the South Korean pop group BTS are, left to right, front row: Suga and V. Back row: J-Hope, RM, Jin, Jimin, and Jungkook.
Credit: © RB/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images/Getty Images

The South Korean pop music group BTS made history this month—and not because they shattered another sales record. The oldest member of the group, Kim Seok-jin—known as Jin—turned 28 on December 4. According to South Korean law, men must complete 21 months of military service once they turn 28, if not sooner. But on Tuesday, December 1, South Korea’s National Assembly revised the country’s Military Service Act to allow K-pop stars to postpone their military service until they turn 30. (K-pop is a term used to describe music and artists originating in South Korea’s popular music industry.) Under the law, K-pop stars who have been awarded government medals for spreading South Korean culture can apply to postpone military service. BTS won one of these medals in 2018.

BTS, also known as Bangtan Boys, gained international fame in the mid-2010’s with the help of the video-sharing website YouTube. The group is known for its expressive vocals, stylish image, sharp dance moves, and strong fan base and social media presence. The music of BTS combines elements of rap, hip-hop, pop, and electronic dance music (EDM). The group also is known for its lyrics about the challenges faced by young people. The group’s vocals are mainly in Korean, but BTS also performs lyrics in English and Japanese.

BTS originally stood as an abbreviation for Bangtan Sonyeondan, Korean for Bulletproof Boy Scouts. The initials were later also said to stand for Beyond the Scene. The members of the group are J-Hope (born Jung Ho-seok), Jimin (Park Ji-min), Jin (Kim Seok-jin), Jungkook (Jeon Jeong-guk), RM (Kim Nam-joon), Suga (Min Yoon-gi), and V (Kim Tae-hyung).

BTS was formed by the South Korean music producer and record executive Bang Si-hyuk. The group’s first single was “No More Dream” (2013). The song deals with the pressures many young Koreans feel from their culture and society. Since 2013, the group has released many successful recordings. The band’s first full-length studio album was Dark & Wild (2014).

In 2020, the group released the single “Dynamite,” making BTS the first South Korean pop act to debut at number 1 on the Billboard “Hot 100″ chart. It was also the first song the group recorded entirely in English.

Madeline Swegle, the United States Navy’s first Black female tactical air pilot, stands in front of a T-45C Goshawk jet trainer aircraft at the Naval Air Station in Kingsville, Texas.
Credit: Michelle Tucker, U.S. Navy

This summer, the American jet pilot Madeline Swegle became the United States Navy’s first Black woman tactical air pilot. Tactical air pilots support military units on the ground and at sea, attacking enemy fighters and striking targets. Swegle earned the “wings of gold” insignia as a naval aviator. As a tactical air pilot, Swegle can fly such fighter jets as the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.

Madeline Manhertz was born on Jul. 29, 1995, in Monterey, California. Her family later moved to Burke, Virginia, about 20 miles (30 kilometers) southwest of Washington, D.C. Manhertz became interested in planes at a young age, after seeing an aircraft presentation by the Navy precision flying team the Blue Angels. Manhertz graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 2017.

After graduating from the Naval Academy, Manhertz continued her training at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida. She then went on to the Naval Aviation Schools Command in Corpus Christi, Texas. In 2020, Manhertz married Naval aviator Scott Swegle. Months later, she finished her training at the Naval Air Station in Kingsville, Texas.

Bessie Coleman, a pioneering aviator, became the first Black woman to be licensed as a pilot. Coleman, shown wearing an aviator’s cap in this black-and-white photograph, earned her license in 1921.
Credit: © Underwood & Underwood/Corbis

Swegle is the latest in a long line of Black aviation pioneers. Another was Bessie Coleman, who, in 1921, became the first Black woman licensed as a pilot. In her 20′s, Coleman became interested in flying. In the United States, flight schools refused to teach her because she was Black and a woman. Robert S. Abbott, a Black newspaper publisher, encouraged Coleman to go to France for flight instruction. After studying French, she went there and earned her license. In 1922, Coleman began touring with air shows in the United States as a stunt pilot. Her performances and speaking engagements made her a celebrity.

The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of Black pilots, crew, and support staff that served in the Army Air Corps during World War II (1939-1945). This photograph, taken in Ramitelli, Italy, in 1945, shows airmen at a tactical meeting.
Credit: Library of Congress

Two decades later, the Tuskegee Airmen broke new ground for Black aviators. The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of Black Americans who served in the Army Air Corps during World War II (1939-1945). The name Tuskegee Airmen is used most often to refer to combat aviators, but the group also included bombardiers, navigators, maintenance crews, and support staff.

The men were trained at Tuskegee Army Air Base, near Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University), a historically Black college in Alabama. Members of the Tuskegee Airmen were the first Black Americans to qualify as military pilots in any branch of the armed forces. Many became decorated war heroes. The success of the Tuskegee aviators helped lead to a decision by the United States government calling for an end to racial discrimination in the military. In 2007, the United States awarded the Tuskegee Airmen the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian award given by Congress.

March 4, 2020

Tomorrow, March 5, marks 250 years since the Boston Massacre took place in Massachusetts in 1770. One of the most famous events of colonial American history, the Boston Massacre was not actually a massacre but rather a street clash that ended in the killing of five colonists by a squad of British soldiers. The name Boston Massacre was invented to rally American colonists against British policies. The massacre was one of the many events that led to the American Revolution.

Crispus Attucks, center, was a leader of the patriot mob that was fired upon by British troops in the Boston Massacre of 1770. Attucks and four other people were killed in the clash. Credit: Granger Collection

To mark the 250th anniversary of the Boston Massacre, the Massachusetts Historical Society is hosting an exhibition called “Fire! Voices From the Boston Massacre.” The exhibition features engravings and personal and published accounts of the confrontation, the aftermath, and the resulting trial of the British soldiers. Tomorrow, on March 5, the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution will lay a wreath at the grave of the victims of the massacre in Boston’s Old Granary Burial Ground. There, the five victims—Crispus Attucks, James Caldwell, Patrick Carr, Samuel Gray, and Samuel Maverick—are buried together.

In 1768, the assignment of British troops to Boston had upset local citizens. A riot began when 50 to 60 people threatened a British sentry. Captain Thomas Preston, a British officer, brought several soldiers to the sentry’s assistance. By that time, the crowd had grown to about 400 people and was pressing close to the soldiers. The soldiers then fired into the crowd, killing three people and wounding eight others, two of whom died later.

The Boston Massacre was an incident that took place on March 5, 1770, when British soldiers fired into a mob, killing five Americans. Patriot propaganda such as this engraving by Paul Revere called the incident a massacre to stir up feeling against the British government. Credit: Detail of “The Boston Massacre, 5th March 1770″ (1770), engraving by Paul Revere; Worcester Art Museum (© Bridgeman Art Library/SuperStock)

The angry citizens of Boston demanded the removal of the British troops and the trial of Captain Preston and his men for murder. British authorities in Boston agreed to these demands. At Preston’s trial, the future president John Adams and Josiah Quincy were counsel for the defense. It could not be proved that Preston ordered his troops to fire, and he was acquitted. Two of Preston’s soldiers were later found guilty of manslaughter. They were branded on their thumbs as punishment. The first shots of the American Revolution were fired five years later at Lexington and Concord, near Boston.

February 28, 2020

On March 1, 1870, 150 years ago this Sunday, Paraguay’s President Francisco Solano López was killed by Brazilian troops in the Cerro Corá valley of northeastern Paraguay. López’s death marked the end of the War of the Triple Alliance (also called the Paraguayan War), the bloodiest war in Latin American history. The conflict had begun in 1864 and pitted Paraguay against the nearby nations of Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay—the “Triple Alliance.” Paraguay lost the war, its population was decimated, and much of the country was destroyed.

This is the last known photograph of Paraguayan President Francisco Solano López. He was killed 150 years ago this Sunday on March 1, 1870. credit: Public Domain

It is a grim anniversary, but the War of the Triple Alliance still calls forth nationalistic pride in many Paraguayans. The country is marking the sesquicentennial of the end of the war with concerts, book launches, and conferences in Asunción, the capital, as well as special commemorations in the capital and at López’s death site along the Aquidabán Niguí River.

In 1862, as the United States struggled through a bloody Civil War, Paraguay’s first president, Carlos Antonio López, died after 21 years in power. His son, Francisco Solano López, then took over as a president with dictatorial powers. Francisco believed that Argentina and Brazil wished to occupy Paraguay and Uruguay, so he signed a defense treaty with Uruguay. In 1864, Paraguay went to war against Brazil to defend Uruguay’s government. After Argentina refused to let Paraguayan troops cross its territory to attack Brazil, López declared war on Argentina as well. In 1865, Brazil helped a new government take hold in Uruguay, which joined with Argentina and Brazil to form the Triple Alliance against Paraguay.

Paraguay fought the nearby countries of Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay (to the southeast, not on the map) in the War of the Triple Alliance (1864-1870). credit: World Book map; map data (c) MapQuest.com, Inc.

After initial Paraguayan victories, the turning point of the war came at the 1866 Battle of Tuyutí in southwestern Paraguay. In the bloodiest battle ever in South America, some 17,000 soldiers were killed at Tuyutí—most of them Paraguayan. A series of desperate battles followed as the Alliance armies gained the upper hand. By January 1869, Alliance troops had captured Asunción and controlled much of Paraguay, but López and a stalwart group of soldiers continued fighting a guerrilla campaign in the mountains. (Guerrilla warfare is conducted by roving bands of fighters who stage ambushes, sudden raids, and other small-scale attacks.) Brazilian troops eventually caught up with López and his remaining forces in the Cerro Corá valley, where the war ended with López’s death on the battlefield in 1870.

The war left Paraguay in ruins. Some historians estimate that the country lost about 60 percent of its prewar population, including nearly 90 percent of its men. In total, an estimated 400,000 people died in the conflict. Paraguay also lost a fourth of its territory. After the war, power struggles among rival political groups plagued the country. More than 30 presidents headed Paraguay’s government from 1870 to 1932.

February 19, 2020

In honor of Black History Month, today World Book remembers the Tuskegee Airmen, a group of African Americans who served in the United States Army Air Corps during World War II (1939-1945). The name Tuskegee Airmen is used most often to refer to combat pilots, but the group also included bombardiers, navigators, maintenance crews, and support staff. Members of the Tuskegee Airmen were the first African Americans to qualify as military aviators in any branch of the armed forces. Many became decorated war heroes. In 2007, the United States awarded the Tuskegee Airmen the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian award given by Congress.

The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of African American pilots, crew, and support staff that served in the Army Air Corps during World War II (1939-1945). This photograph, taken in Ramitelli, Italy, in 1945, shows airmen at a tactical meeting. Credit: Library of Congress

Last February, the National Air and Space Museum at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., hosted an event called “African American Pioneers in Aviation and Space.” Among the special guests at the event was the Tuskegee Airman Charles McGee, who turned 100 years old in December 2019. McGee flew 409 aerial combat missions during World War II, the Korean War (1950-1953), and the Vietnam War (1957-1975). His military honors include the Legion of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross, and two Presidential Unit Citations. McGee was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 2011.

Daniel “Chappie” James, one of the famous Tuskegee Airmen, poses with his P-51 Mustang fighter plane during the Korean War. Credit: U.S. Air Force

At the time of World War II, the U.S. War Department had a policy of racial segregation. Black soldiers were trained separately from white soldiers and served in separate units. They were not allowed into elite military units. In 1941, under pressure from African American organizations and Congress, the Army Air Corps began accepting black men and admitting them into flight training. The men were trained at Tuskegee Army Air Base, near Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University), a college for black students in rural Alabama.

Credit: © African American History Month

The training program began in 1941. One of the first men to earn the wings of an Army Air Corps pilot was Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., who later became the first black general in the U.S. Air Force. Davis commanded the 99th Pursuit Squadron, the nation’s first all-black squadron, which trained at Tuskegee. The 99th operated in northern Africa. Davis later commanded the 332nd Fighter Group, which also trained at Tuskegee. The 332nd became known for its success escorting bombers on missions over Europe.