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Tuskegee Airmen Convention attendees celebrate with awards gala

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Danielle Johnson & Airman 1st Class Bekah Phy
  • 305th Air Mobility Wing public affairs
PHILADELPHIA --  Airmen, families and friends gathered to celebrate the Gen. Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., Awards Gala during the 37th Annual Tuskegee Airmen Convention July 19 here.

Dr. Guion Bluford, Jr., Aerospace Technology Group founder and president, pilot, engineer, scientist and NASA astronaut, was the keynote speaker for the ceremony.

"Your example of courage, your pursuit of excellence, your legacy and determination, your duty to country despite prejudice and bigotry have inspired me as well as thousands of other African-Americans to pursue careers in aviation," the retired colonel said. "... Today, there are several hundred black pilots flying commercial airplanes around the world. Other black pilots fly the hottest planes in the Air Force ... and there are black Navy and Marine pilots flying ... supporting our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. All of this was made possible because of the efforts of the Tuskegee Airmen."

Following Dr. Bluford's speech, the 2008-2009 Tuskegee Airmen, Inc., Regional and National awards were presented to thank sponsors and contributors of the Tuskegee Airmen Convention.

The convention theme is "Our Future, our Youth". Throughout the convention, an emphasis was placed on teaching the nation's youth to persevere despite obstacles they may face.

"It's important that you continue to remind people of the accomplishments of the Tuskegee Airmen," Dr. Bluford said. "It's also important that you encourage young people to follow in the footsteps of these World War II heroes and their predecessors."

Dr. Guion Bluford, Jr., was a NASA mission specialist and payload commander astronaut on four space shuttle missions. He was selected in the first class of space shuttle astronauts in 1978 and was the first African-American to fly in space in 1983 aboard Space Shuttle Challenger.

Gen. Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., was the first African-American general in the U.S. Air Force. In July 1948, President Harry Truman signed an executive order ordering the racial integration of the Armed Forces. Then-Colonel Davis helped draft the Air Force plan for implementing the order. The Air Force was the first of the services to integrate fully.

Tuskegee Airmen, Inc., is the national organization that works to honor the accomplishments and perpetuate the history of the legendary young African-American men who enlisted during World War II to become America's first black military airmen, ground crew and mechanics.

The Tuskegee Airmen were young men who enlisted at a time when there were many people who thought that black men lacked intelligence, skill, courage and patriotism. They came from every section of the country, with large numbers coming from New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit, and Washington, D.C.

The surviving Documented Original Tuskegee Airmen were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in March 2007, the most distinguished award bestowed by Congress. The convention offers a chance to meet these American heroes.

TAI has 51 chapters worldwide. For more information, visit www.tuskegeeairmen.org.