Red Tails, a Story of the Tuskegee Airmen

While watching TV during college football Bowl Week, I saw the trailer for Red Tails and was instantly excited at the opportunity to see the Tuskegee Airmen story in a major motion picture. During a time of racial segregation throughout the country, as well as within the military, the story of the U.S.A.A.F’s black flier’s, known as the “Tuskegee Airmen”, is one of bravery and equality.

Though the film is fictional, it is inspired by the true story of this country’s first all black aerial combat unit. The unit began at a small black college in Tuskegee, Alabama -Tuskegee Institute- in the 1940’s and overcame prejudice and segregation to become a highly respected fighter group of the second World War. Their courage and skillfulness helped fuel integration within the U.S. military, and, eventually, throughout the United States.

The National Museum of the U.S. Airforce is located right here in our own back yard at Wright Patterson Airforce Base in Dayton. The museum has an extensive Tuskegee Airmen exhibit. View the exhibit here: http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=1356.

There are also four chapters of Tuskegee Airmen, Inc. in Ohio; Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, and Dayton.

Tuskegee Airmen are regularly honored at events throughout Ohio. I’ve had the privilege of meeting members of this historic group through my work as a news videographer and am honored to have heard their stories. Few members of the Tuskegee Airmen group remain living, making movies such as Red Tail vital towards keeping these stories of our country’s history alive and shared for generations.

* PBS video produced the true story documentary made for TV, The Tuskegee Airmen, in 1995.