The Tuskegee Airmen, whose story of courage and resilience is currently being brought to life on the New Victory stage in Fly
, were the first African American military aviators in U.S. history. The airmen faced tremendous prejudice and skepticism from their own government—our nation and military were still segregated at the time, and the War Department of the United States had in 1925 decreed
that black men were mentally incapable of operating aircraft. Overcoming these prejudices and proving their determination and worth as pilots and military men—as citizens—became part of the cause of the war for them. They fought for what they called Double Victory—victory over America's enemies abroad, and victory over American segregation at home.
Between 1942 and 1946, 992 pilots trained at Moton Field at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. The airfield and training facilities are now a National Historic Site, and Phoebe and Genevieve, two young New Vic correspondents ages 10 and 11, recently visited it during a family vacation. They took plenty of photos and wrote up an account of their trip for us. Take a look!
Hi! This is Phoebe and Genevieve, and we just visited the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site. It was really cool!
We saw two trainers—planes that were used to train the pilots. The seat in the back was for the flight instructor.
We got to try on the uniforms the pilots wore. They were a little big.
We visited a room in which the pilots studied aircraft silhouettes and caught up on wartime news.
We tried to fold parachutes, which is way harder than it sounds.
We saw a map that indicated what parts of the country the airmen hailed from.
We also saw a red-tailed plane that was flown in battle!
These amazing pilots changed our country and are still remembered and honored today.
Big thanks to Phoebe and Genevieve for sharing all they saw and learned! If long car rides aren't your thing, visit the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site's website
for videos, exhibits and more—a virtual journey through African American military history.
||Catch the uplifting story of Fly at the New Vic through Sunday, March 27. To learn more about the history of the Tuskegee Airmen, check out our Family Activity for Fly. And if you're planning on attending the 3pm performance this Sunday, March 20, remember to stay afterwards for the Talk-Back!