As a child, ROTC pilot-in-training Dan Kulp awoke to the buzzing of crop dusters crisscrossing the fields near his San Luis Valley farm.
He’s wanted to fly ever since.
So when former Tuskegee pilot Fitzroy Newsum described first spotting a plane as a 10-year-old, and how its path through the heavens spurred his boundary-breaking life, Kulp felt at ease with his fixation.
“For him to become a pilot and to succeed through the racism and hardships, I give that much more credit to him,” said Kulp, 22, standing in uniform. “It’s inspiring.”
Nearly two weeks after they received the Congressional Gold Medal, Newsum and three other Tuskegee pilots spoke at Metropolitan State College of Denver on Wednesday.
The airmen, trained in Tuskegee, Ala., during World War II, were the first group of African-American pilots in the U.S. military. They endured discrimination and racism to destroy 261 enemy aircraft and fly nearly 1,600 missions escorting bombers on runs.
Five airmen now live in Denver and attended the speech wearing matching maroon suits much like their planes’ famous painted red tails.
Their words focused on the struggle to succeed in a society working against them.
“This was an experiment that was designed to fail,” said Col. James Harvey, 83.
Some pilots were intentionally “washed out” by officers to match the military’s average graduation rates, he said.
About 200 prospective pilots and history buffs attended Wednesday’s event, organized by the school’s Black Student Alliance and History Club.
Jesse Hall, 15, said he hopes to pilot a commercial jet one day.
“It’s amazing how they were the first, and how much it has changed since then,” Hall said. “It gave me another reason to keep pursuing my goals.”
That is what motivates the former airmen, they said.
“It’s always gratifying to encourage young minorities to engage in aerospace,” Harvey said, “to get involved in a passion.”
Harvey, who was born and reared in Denver, launched the Mile High Flight Program with his son, Eric, a pilot for United Airlines. The program, about a decade old, takes interested youths to airline hangars and Air Force bases. A few even get into the skies.
Closing out his speech, Newsum told the audience he thanks God for every day he has to reach out to youths.
“I think to myself, did I do a good job?” he said. “Yes, I did, but I still have more work to do.”
Staff writer Sean McDonald can be reached at 303-954-1661 or email@example.com.