Tour guide at the u. S. Capitol. About it formerly a proud paratrooper in the 82nd airborne division. Im from north carolina, so were exceptionally proud of the 82nd and their actions over at fort bragg. We like to tell people we are the most militaryfriendly state in the nation and we work really hard to live up to that. But so without any further ado, mr. Jackson, youre on. Thank you very much. [ applause ] thank you, and good morning. Welcome to the william g. Mcallen theater. And were here to salute american icons, the Tuskegee Airmen. Please allow me to briefly introduce the panel, and then well come back and hear from our panelists and then well ask the field to give questions. I may recite the question a time or two just for clarity. Lets first begin with the person closest to me. With the blue cap. Lieutenant colonel robert friend. Next to him Lieutenant Colonel harold brown. Lieutenant colonel george hardy. Lieutenant colonel alexander jefferson. Lieutenant colonel james h. Harvey iii. And our closer, Lieutenant ColonelHarry Stewart. Lets first begin with Lieutenant Colonel robert friend. He was born in columbia, south carolina. His father thought in world war i. So what well do is colonel friend, sir, well yield the floor to you and then well ask our friends in the audience to give you questions. So lets have a round of applause for our first panelist. [ applause ] mr. Friend. So colonel friend, just give us just some brief history about you and your accounts in the military and then well well, i was always interested in flying. And no chances were offered me. For instance, i had a pilots license in the late 30s because i was a part of a program the United States was doing in defense potential defense of itself. And i was to train people to fly airplanes as they were doing in europe. And so when it was time to go to tuskegee i was more than prepared. And i enjoyed it very much. The one thing that i would like to clarify from my personal standpoint, everybody says tuskegee, the place where they trained the africanamericans. Thats the wrong way i think to look at it. The right way to look at it is that was the place where they trained people who were not white. You could be anything else. And so i went through the program and went through three wars and feel very, very fortunate to be able to be here to speak to you people and to let you know how we felt. Thank you. Thank you. [ applause ] would anyone like to ask a question of colonel friend . If so, please stand. I would like to make note given the bio you that see on the screen and for our audience that may be streaming, if i may, a veteran of 142 combat missions with the Tuskegee Airmen and wingman to the units leader and the first africanamerican general in the air force benjamin o. Davis jr. There are few in the audience that will remember 1940 our burr guests do. Lets return to our next guest. Colonel brown, you would give us a brief history of some of your events in the military please, sir . Certainly. I was born in minnesota. When i was in the sixth grade and i was 11 years old and i woke up and guess what . I was going to become a military fighter pilot. Well, at the mention of that, my mother who looked at me, isnt it strange how your mother can look at you and say he has all this wonderful talent, when i had no talent whatsoever, but they could see things that no one else could see. So i set on that piano stool for the first ten years of my life or so. And then in the sixth grade, 11 years old i decided i was going to become a military pilot. Dont ask me how, why, i dont remember seeing a movie about it. But one night i woke up and i was bit. So from that point on it was model airplanes and every book i can fly. I remember one book in particular, texas, west point of the air. And i bet i read that book so many times i almost had it memorized. So when i was 16 years old i was a soldier and i managed to save up 35. I had my uncle take me out and i went up to a fixed base operator and said, hey, i want to take flying lessons. And they said, sure, that will get you five. Well, i got to five you know what they look like well, i dont know if you do. You dont see j3s often. No more money and no more flying lessons. And of course in 1941 we know the war started. But keep in mind during back in those days after president roosevelt decided to train those guys back in march of 1941, the first class started in july of 1941, they wanted people to have some college experience. But it didnt take long before they had just about wiped out all the other guys of college experience. And they said, hey, well open it for you high school kids. If you can pass the physical, the mental exam, and well take you in. So at 17 years of age, i graduated from high school, june42 i gebebopping down to the recruitment station and said i want to signup. Sat for the exam, scored reasonably high, and i said hey im on my way. And they said no, no, not yet. Everyone else and im the only guy looking like this sitting there and theres about 100 other guys, they were all sworn into the reserve and they were obviously protected from the draft. But my paperwork had to go to washington, d. C. So i sat there sweating after i turned 18. The draft is going to get me before i get my chance to go fly. Of course in december i was selected and i finally wound up in the military, graduating class of 1944. 19 years old, the hottest thing that ever said good morning to an airplane. But that was also a joke. Do you know why they send young guys off to fight wars, how the old general kind of sit there and select all you young guys off to fight the war, you know why they do that . You guys are invincible, arent you . You guys will live forever. Nothing bad will ever happen to you. But guess what, one day you, too, will also sweat it out. But i can go on and keep yakking and yakking and i dont want to take up too much time, so does anyone have any questions . Now, come on, you guys rotc, youve got 10,000 questions so give me one. One question. The gentleman to the left. What is it . From west point. Given that you lacked talent, what talent did you wish you had when you were shot down over Enemy Territory . Well, i wish i had a pair of wings to fly to be honest with you. But unfortunately that was not the case. But let me tell you just a little bit about that. One of the biggest hazards of flying missions were if you were ever hit you were always briefed to get out of the target area and rightly so. There were a bunch of people down there, but shrapnel and stuff flying all over the place. So all of a sudden you get hit, youre in your chute, can you imagine what those guys are thinking about after you just wiped out some guys brother, the other guys wife, and here you come floating down in a parachute. Those are some very angry people, and rightly so. And to follow that up just a little bit, two more minutes is all ill take, i was shot down on my 30th mission im just giving you a rough time down here. I was shot down on my 30th mission and one of the unfortunate things, i did not get out of the target area. I was picked up almost immediately, brought back to a Little Village and i was met by 35 of the most angriest people. Now here i was 20 years old, looking like this, no business being up in germany and i got a mob of 35 or so people looking at me, and they wanted a piece of me. Fortunately there was a good person in the crowd, a constable that came up with his rifle and prevented them from taking my life. But for a very short while those first 35 minutes or so i was frightened to death. There wasnt a doubt in my mind i was going to die. I couldnt run, i couldnt hide, i couldnt do anything. As a matter of fact, i think i was talking to myself for a while. What are you doing to do . I dont know what im going to do. Well, think of something, harold. That was the most frightening thing that ever happened to me because i was looking death straight in the eye. And at 20 years old, i had a whole lot of living to do. But from that point on pow camp, that was actually a safe haven really. And ill just cut it off there. I could go on and tell you 10,000 stories, but i think you get the picture. Thanks, sir. Thank you. For those who did not hear the exchange when he said he was shot down on his 30th mission, colonel james said welcome to the club. Our next panelist is Lieutenant Colonel george hardy from philadelphia, pennsylvania. I dont know if hes a fan of the Philadelphia Eagles or not. Yeah, i was born and raised in philadelphia and graduated from high school in 1942. I turned 17 that same month so i had to wait a year to get into the service. But in march of 43 i took the exam. And in july of 43 went to flying school in december, and graduated september 44. After additional training i ended up going overseas, 19 years old, i had my rolls royce, but i came back after the war and i got out in 46 and went to nyu for a year and recalled 48. 48 is when racial integration started, at least the air force informed september 1947, seven months later the air force said they were going to integrate racially and truman signed the executive order in july. I went back in school, became a maintenance officer in electronics. Well in 94 i graduated. Racial integration had taken place in the air force, and i was assigned to the 19th bomb group on qualm. B29 outfit. When the grand war started we flew over korea. The First Mission on the 30th of june 1950 we were in the war. But there were still racial problems in those days. In may of 1950 i got a new Squadron Commander who wouldnt speak to me except in the line of duty because he didnt believe in racial integration. And when we went up to okinawa and started flying at the last minute he pulled me off the airplane and replaced me. He didnt want me flying in his outfit. That was the first b49 shot down over north korea. One crew was in it, and i didnt go down with them. But anyway, i survived that period and ended up flying i got a new Squadron Commander after that. A new commander put me back on flying status so i ended up flying 450 missions of b29s over korea. Came back to the United States. And i say i grew up in the service because from limestone i went to the institute of technology for two years and got a b. S. In electrical engineering. From there i went to japan, maintenance supervisor, Army ElectronicMaintenance Squadron third bomb wing. From there i went to new york, ended up as major squadron, Army Electronics Maintenance Squadron, and my Wing Commander was that same officer who pulled me off the airplane in okinawa. I was with him for three years up there. And it was the best three years of my career under him the second time. I loved working for him the second time. I love to see people change and whatnot. But i would stay with him forever but the institute of technology let me know theres a new program they wanted to put into effect. They wanted to do it right away and they didnt have time to as advertise for it and they went back to prior graduates and my name came up. Went there for 16 months and ended up with a masters in systems engineering. Reliability was a new field they came out and i ended up with a masters in that. So i grew up in the service. From there i got a job from the air force base and i made Lieutenant Colonel up there. And for 3 1 2 years i was chief of engineering and programming, 3 1 2 years i was chief of engineering and Program Manager for that. The first switches cut over in june of 1969. But id been up in for 5 1 2 years. And they prepared a new gun ship, 119k. They made a gun ship out of it. It was a two car airplane that carried 42 paratroopers that let them out two at a time. But they made a gun ship out of it in vietnam. And they looked for pilots that had flown that airplane. I had hundreds of hours in a 119 and i was called to active duty as a pilot and ended up going to vietnam in 1970. As a Lieutenant Colonel all the airplanes were at Foreign Operating locations. You go to thailand. I trained with a crew, but when i went overseas they took the crew away from me. I ended up flying 70 combat missions in korea. I came back and retired in 1971. Anyway i say i grew up and was educated in the service. Someone was looking out over me. I never had to bail out of an airplane, and so as i say i was in someones good graces and i thank god for that. Anyway, thats just the sum total of my career. But the thing is when i retired because of my degrees i retired on a friday, and on monday they made me a job offer and i worked for them for 18 years. And i had the best of everything as far as service and im grateful for that. If we have questions for colonel harding, will someone stand . Well bring a microphone to you. Okay, all the way up. Just a second. Yes, maam . Good day, gentlemen. Im the assistant director and Veterans Affair at florida a m university. In your age now, how do you stay so sharp and so witty. What is that question again . How do you stay so touche, indeed. How do you stay so sharp and witty. I think thats for the entire panel. Im 93. I know how hard it is to get around and do things like that. Age catches up with everyone, and its catching up with us, too. Slowly but surely. Yeah, right. Any other questions . I have one for colonel harding. I mean if we could be reflective for a moment from world war ii to korea to the cuban missile crisis to vietnam, your experiences leading up to vietnam, how did they help you, sir . Well, the thing is when i looked back to this thing with vietnam i was able to adapt to everything. But the thing is when i look at the totality of my career in world war ii they would never have anyone of african ancestry over a caucasian, but then at the end of my career in vietnam i was a commander, and all of my pilots were white. So it shows that evolution, how things went in the service. And i still meet with those guys there, still have reunions some of them. But i was 45 then, theyre all at least 20 years younger than me, but i get along with them very well. Thank you. Yes. Absolutely. Please. Welldone. Well done. Our fourth panelest is Lieutenant Commander alexander jefferson. His grabbed grandfather is one of the Founding Fathers at moorehouse university. His favorite place to vacation is in hawaii, so hopefully hell tell us what he likes to do in hawaii. So colonel jefferson lets yield the floor to you, sir. Tell us a bit of history of yourself and armed forces. Someone asked why the hell did you go to the army . I remember 1941 world war ii was kicking out. I graduated from Clark College in june 42. The draft was so the first thing i did was went down to the Federal Building and joined. I thought they were going to send me to tuskegee, put me on a list. Took me almost nine months before they called me. Remember now im a graduate, im a Clark College graduate, and im in the last class going to tuskegee of college blacks or College Graduates because the army, navy, marines were grabbing black men with college degrees. The classes after me went through three months of College Training detachment. I graduated in january 44. From tuskegee as a second lieutenant, we were sent to air force base, flied a p39 because the three sections of the three squadrons were the 301, the 302, and the 99th. These three squadrons of blacks were flying p39s up and down the shores outside of italy. And my class, we were supposed to be replacements for them. And we were trained in p39s at the air forts base until Something Like the march of 44, we had a two star general come drop everything youre doing and get your behind into post theater. We were there, black and white officers mixing trying to find out what the hells going on. Snob nobody knows. What the hell is going on. All of a sudden someone said attention, and we hopped to down the aisle stood the two star general. Were looking at each other saying what the hells going on, i dont know. He rambled on and on and on for about four, five, ten minutes and these are the words i remember. Quote, gentlemen, this is my airfield. As long as im in command therell be no socialization between white and colored officers. Holy jumping crap. Weve been trying to get into the officers club, and he said hell no. That was thursday. Saturday morning theyve put us on a train and three days later we ended up in south carolina. We were the first class to be shipped over to join the 332nd fighter group. I went into the 301st Fighter Squadron, and i flew 18 and 1 1 2 missions. My 18th mission im escorting the p 17 b 24s from italy to france. The 19th mission was a strafing mission, first time we came in and strafe, and id been in the 301st. Out of the 16 airplanes four, red, white, yellow, blue. I think, i cant remember anyway im blue, were over here. Were strafing too long, Southern France, radar stations. We did not know that the invasion of Southern France came off on august 15th. Our job was to knock off the radar stations, which controlled the guns firing out to sea. Well, we went in, first flight, second flight, third flight, fourth flight. And out of the fourth flight, whos the last guy to go across the target . Me. You look up ahead and you see all of this stuff coming back at you. I went right across the top of the target and something said boom, i said whats the hell is going on . Fire came up out of the floor. So i had to bail out. And here we are doing we were doing about 400 miles an hour because wed pushed everything to the wall. So i said to myself remember now out of ten months nine months of training not one minute on how to bail out. So you rise to the occasion. Pull back on a stick, get some goddamn altitude, and as you go up you reach down on the left side, theres a little wheel that you rotate for nose down. As you turn the stick loose, your nose goes down. Pull that sucker up anyway, and as you get up i dont know how the hell i got up, all i know it got pretty warm and i had to get out. So as youre going up, you reach out and pull the knob and the goddamn canopy goes off, you get up so high i dont know how high but i got kind of warm so i said its time to go and turned the stick loose. And when you do, what happens to the nose, boom, abruptly. And as the tail dropped you had straps here with a big buckle, and you hit that buckle so the goddamn straps come loose. Boom, i come out. I remember the damn tail going by with all that fire. And somebody said, when you bail out you go a, b, c. But hell, i looked down and the goddamn trees were so close. You reach up and pull that sucker real fast, and boom im in the trees. And all of a sudden im sitting trying to get out and i hear this voice. I said oh, shit. Real list tick realistically, german guard and he looked up and im in the trees and hes helping me get out, and he looks up and sees a little gold bar and he salutes me, and all i can do, return the salute. I was introduced to the german i became a p. O. W. 12th of august 1944. By the time when harold came in. During the war there were 32 men out of the 332nd fighting group that were p. O. W. S. 32 of us. And im not going to go through the men that died. But we spent the rest of the war at three. I became a schoolteacher, city of detroit, three, five years. Lo and behold, i quit. Take care, i quit, thats it. Thank you. Thank you, colonel jefferson. [ applause ] before our audience asks a question, 30 years you taught, was it in english . What subject did you teach . Elementary science. Yes, of course. Do we have anything from our friends on the floor . Would you be so kind to stand and wait for the microphone for you . Priceless. My question for the whole entire panel is how did you overcome racism and discrimination, and what lessons would you share about that . What the hell did you say . Repeat the question. By the youre talking to guys up here, every one of us has bad hearing. Think about our ages. My question was how did you overcome Racial Discrimination while you were serving in the service . How did we do it . How did you overcome Racial Discrimination over your years of follow. And if i could follow subsequent to that. Everybody is stupid except you and me. [ applause ] i would like to make a comment on that. Sometimes im not so sure about you. Id like to make a comment about that. After racial integration took place in 49, all of us were shipped out to other outfits. And individually a lot of people ran into problems. That you never thought you would run into discrimination problems and the hurt that follows and the career wise but it was a fact of life. Because there were many people, whites who didnt agree with racial integration and if you ran or served or served with someone like that, you may have paid a price. But gradually the service has worked. And i think that we came out on top. Still going on today. Okay, lets bring our fifth panelist in. Lieutenant colonel james h. Harvey iii from montclair, and so i like your boots. What brought you into the military, sir . Okay. In january of 1943 i tried to enlist in the army air corp. They told me they werent taking enlistments at that time. That was the height of the war and i got the picture. They didnt want me. So they drafted me in the army in april of 1943. Got to train in nannic oat, pennsylvania and heading to maryland. Got to washington, d. C. And we had an hour layover. Got off the train. Went to a restaurant. Got something to eat, went back to get on the train and they said, no way. Youre in that car back there. Welcome to the south. They put me in the car where negroes rode. It was the last car. That is my introduction to segregation. Let me back up now. I was born, i have to be born, i was born in montclair, new jersey, in july of 1923. New jersey, went to pennsylvania in 1936, went to wilkesbarre, pennsylvania and my dad was working there at the hazard wire rope works. Then we moved to a new town called new angola station near mountain top, pennsylvania, which is near willk bury and hazington, pennsylvania. I went to a school a tworoom schoolhouse in the seventh and eighth grades. And then when i went to high school we had to take a bus and that was at mountain top, pennsylvania. Now when we moved out there, we were the only family of color out there. So i did not run into any segregation whatsoever. I was treated just like any other person. So segregation never entered my mind. No problems. Went to high school at mountain top, pennsylvania. We did not the only sports we had was basketball and a tumbling team. I was the anchor man on the tumbling team and captain of the basketball team. And in my senior year and another young lady of color come in. So now there are two of us in the school in my senior year. My senior year i was class president and valedictorian. I did not know anything about segregation. Like i say, until i got into the military. Now my senior year i was in my front yard out in the country, we lived in the country. No city at all. Had a house away from the house, if you know what i mean. And i was standing in my yard and i saw this flight of p40s fly over in formation. And i said to myself, i would like to do that one day. So, i go to fort meade, maryland, get my uniform, my shots and i checked in. Then is he sent me to jefferson barracks, new jersey, for 30 days of basic training. Finished my basic training and based on my scores and my written test that i had taken at fort meade, maryland, they put me in the army air corp, engineer, driving bulldozers, graders, carryalls. The mission was to go into the pacific, go into the jungle, build an airfield for aircraft. We would go out and practice every day. And i said, no, this isnt for me. So i applied for cadet training. There were ten of us that applied that went to take the exam. Nine whites and myself. Two of us passed. And from there i went to key field in biloxi, mississippi, for 30 more days of basic training. I finished that. Off to tuskegee i went. Now, i was a perfectionist when i was growing up. Everything had to be perfect. When i got married, that had to change. [ laughter ] so washing out or failing never entered my mind because i knew i could do anything they wanted me to do and that took me through flying. And like i said, i had no problems at all in flying school. I remember one day i was practicing a lazy eight, that is a maneuver, it is an eight on a 45 degree angle between 2,001,000 feet. You could take any altitude you want. But ours was between 2,001,000 feet. A and i was out practicing and when i came to the top, i was appreciating 2,000 feet mighty fast so i found myself upside down. Now the altimeter said 2,000 feet. But i still had to practice because the instructor didnt want any of that kind of stuff. Anything we did at tuskegee had to be perfect. So we learned to fly the aircraft. Now the white pilots, i think all they had to do was demonstrate they could get the aircraft off the ground and back on safely. Our program, fine training program, was designed for our failure. They knew that there wont be anyone graduating to man the 99th Fighter Squadron. They knew that without a doubt. But we proved them otherwise. I graduated from flying school in october 16th of 1944. And from there went to pardon me, walter borough, south carolina, for combat training. I finished combat training in april of 1945, had my bags packed, wb one hour of catching a train to go to norfolk to catch a ship to go over and join the group over in europe. We got a message saying to hold us. So i, like i said, an hour before i was ready to go. We got this message saying to hold us. So i didnt go. That was in april of 45. Hitler gave up the following month, the may of 45. So i would have been on the high seas. In may of 1949 we had the first ever top gun weapons, Harry Stewart and captain temple and myself remembers. Then the following month of june they started full integration of the military. They declared they were going to integrate the military in 48 but nothing really happened until they broke our group up in june of 48. And they scattered us all over the world. Eddie drummond, in the 99th, he and i had an assignment to japan. So we before we left our records had been forwarded to japan. So the Group Commander knew who was coming. So i should say the Wing Commander. So the Wing Commander called all of the pilots in the base theater, this is before we got there and said we have these two negro pilots coming in and theyll be assigned to one of the squadrons. Well the pilots told us this themselves. They said, no way are we going to fly with them. No way. So anyway, Eddie Drummond and i reported into the Wing Commander, sitting in his office talking. And he said, what do you want us to call you. This is a military organization. What do you want us to call you . And i said, well, im a First Lieutenant and Eddie Drummond is lieutenant, how about lieutenant harvey and drummond. He said we have three Fighter Squadrons, two p51 and the jet, which one do you want to go to . That is a nobrainer. I said the f80. So they put us both in the f80 squadron. They did not have a t33 which is an f80 jet trainer. They didnt have one. But they had a couple of at6s for instrument training for the f80. In the backseat you pull this hood up and you cant see out. All you have are your instruments. So Eddie Drummond and i both had two flights in the backseat of an at6. What they would do, i get in the backseat, the pilot up front gets instructions for takeoff and ive got the hood up before we taxi out and the hood up in place and all i could see are my instruments. The pilot up front lined up on the runway, he said you got it. So i throttle forward, take off, pull up the gear, flap, control, all of that good stuff and i fly around doing maneuvers he wants me to do. Then it is time to land. I call Ground Control and they vectored me in for a landing and i touched down and the pilot up front took over. I had two flights like that. What does that have to do with flying the f80. Nothing. I finally figured out why they had us do that. They wanted to see if we could fly. We proved we could. I knew that. They had doubts. But we showed them, yes, we could fly just like anybody else. That was a massage a pan. And i came back to the states, went to victorville well korea started when i was in japan. We immediately started flying missions. The next day after the invasion and i flew 126 missions in the f80 and then rotated back to japan. I start the flying in the day after the invasion started and i had 126 missions by december, by Christmas Day in december, december 25th. In the meantime, the Wing Commander had been asking air force command for a cutoff in the number of missions that the pilots flew. And nothing would come down. Finally it came down 100 missions. So i did not have to fly any more. Rotated back to japan. That was in december of 50 and came back to the states in april of 51. I went to George Air Force base in victorville, california. And there i was a assistant Operations Officer, instrument Instructor Pilot and test pilot. I did not have any problems during my whole career in the military as far as being a minority. None whatsoever. Even the guys that were in the squadron in japan, the ones that said they were not going to fly with us, they found out that we were good. We were very good. We were better than they were. The reason were so good as a group is because of our training. Everything they did, the instructor did, was trying to wash us out. It just made us better pilots. Like i said, everything had to be perfect. We were good. We were the best. We proved it overseas that they were the best and then we came back to the states. We had the weapons in 49 and we won that. We proved we were the best there. So i like to use the word best. I dont know if you know that. What year did you retire, sir . I retired in madison, wisconsin, in may of 1949. Before i retired i had a family to support so before i retired i started looking for a job. United, i interviewed with united airlines, they didnt want me. Because of my color. Mmhmm. Because they didnt want any passengers getting on the airplane and see a dark face in the cockpit. And in madison, wisconsin was the home office for oscar meyer so i interviewed with oscar meyer, got a job as a salesman. However i was supposed to be at the plant for three months learning the operations from slaughter through finished product, all of the products. And i was there a month and they needed a salesman in northern new jersey so i went there as a salesman. Was there for three years. Went to detroit as a assistant sales manager. District manager, rather. And i was there for 18 months and then to philadelphia, to the plant in philadelphia as an assistant sales manager. I was there for three years. Then i got a promotion to denver. And as a Center Manager and i was there a Center Manager from 73 until february of 1980, retired from oscar meyer in february of 1980. Colonel harvey if i may, i would like to yield to the floor. Do we have any questions for colonel harvey in. I see some. Yes, maam, just give it just a second. You have to relay like jefferson. Really . Dont you love the detail of 1944, 1945. He know good morning, my name is im from texas a m university. What was it like coming back to areas in the country where there was still segregation . Can i repeat the question. What was it like in the areas where there was segregation, what was it like to live . Sir, what was it like to live in segregation . When you came back home. She asked what it was it like to live in an area where there was segregation when you came home and was there segregation. It didnt bother me at all. They had their problem. I ignore the their problem. But i didnt let it bother me. Maybe that is wrong. Nothing in life bothers me. I just go with the flow. Okay, lets get to our final panelist, hes our closer for this day. It is Lieutenant ColonelHarry Stewart from newport news, virginia, either he was going to build a ship or fly a plane so he chose to fly a plane. Colonel stewart. I see youre working at your watch and how much time do i have. Well yield to whatever you like, sir. Thank you. I wont take more than a half hour, all right. [ laughter ] any way, im going to preempt some of the questions that might be asked of me, maybe two questions, all right. And that question would have to do with what were the greatest things that happened to me while i was in the service there. Well, id say the second greatest thing was 75 years ago plus or minus a few months i met these guys here. And it was quite an event for me. And it has been a lasting love affair for the past 75 years. Out of the combat pilots there are 13 of us left. And we still try to keep in contact with one another. But right on the stage you see the remainder of the portion of that 13. But anyway, getting back to the question, what were the greatest things that happened to me in the service. And that was one of them. That was the second greatest thing. Id like to say is that the these gentlemen, colonel friend over there on the end who was the first panelist, he was born in columbia, south carolina, but he was raised many the borough of manhattan, new york and you introduced me as being born in newport news, virginia and i was raised in the borough of queens in new york there. So we were over a distance apart over the eastern river. I didnt know him before i went into the service. He was Operations Officer in the 301st Fighter Squadron and when i went over there he had already gotten about 100 missions under his belt. He was serving his second tour. But anyway, the war ended in may of 1945. And we, all of us, got on the boat together and we came back from italy, landed in Staten Island and bob friend, colonel friend over there, he went home with his family in manhattan there and i took the subway and i went home to my family in queens. I guess i was home for about two days and i got a call from colonel friend and he says, harry, he said, id like you to come on over and meet my family in manhattan here. So i went over and met his family and little did i know that this would end up to be a 68 year marriage to his sister. [ applause ] i called him i call him cupid because he did the same thing with his another of his sisters there. Brought one of the Tuskegee Airmen home and introduced them and they were married. So i question that i got from somebody when i mentioned this story before, he said, well how many times did cupid do this again. And cupid answered, none. And they said why . And he said i ran out of sisters. But that was the greatest things that happened to me while i was in the service there. Wait, wait, wait. No, there is one other thing. You shot down three airplanes in one mission. You didnt mention that. On one mission. Three airplanes. It is up there. I want to make sure they heard that. Okay. For those that might be streaming, they cant see the distinguished flying cross. We have a question or two before we have so lets start to the gentleman in black all the way up in that direction. And then ill come back to the middle. Just one or two questions. There is a microphone coming to you sir,. My name is ray samon and im an artist. Have you ever looked at yourself as a Civil Rights Movement yet to come . In all reality, as history proceeded, you guys were the trail blazers. I was talking to colonel friend and jefferson yesterday and almost laid the path for ruby bridges rosa parks and dr. Martin luther king jr. What i find interesting is the march 24th, 1945 missions to the tank factory, it was 20 years and one day which was march 25th when dr. Martin luther king walked across the bridge to vote. So have you ever look ted at yourself as a civil right movement yet to come. You didnt protest or march. What you guys did was did and became some of the best pilots in the country. Well, i have been asked that question a number of times. And while we were going through training and i think that the other panelists will attest to this, is that i dont think we dreamed at that time that we were making an impact no. On the future of what was happening as far as racial integration was concerned and that type of thing. They thought we were doing our job as citizens of the United States and performing as soldiers in the military. It wasnt until maybe 19 late 1970s and even more recent when two films came out and one was called Tuskegee Airmen which had worldwide distribution by hbo and the second was the red tails which was a lucas film that was put out by george lucas. Anyway, they got worldwide distribution and around that time all sorts of inquiries started coming in as far as wed like to hear from you guys and what you did and give us a run down on the history of the organization that you were in and that type of thing. So to answer the question again is that, no, i dont think we realized how much impact we were going to make on integration while we were in the service there. But it just became readily apparent after we came out of the service and we got more notoriety. I think someone had to do it, right. Seriously, i was satisfying something inside of me. I wanted to fly. I flew. Caught all kinds of hell. But lets face it, that is what was going on as a black person in this country. And i came out after the war, put all my stuff together, red tail captured, red tail free. I wrote this book and it was highly accepted. But it was something on the inside of me that made me learn to fly. And teaching school, i felt that somewhere young black men needed to learn how to fight the system. The system is vicious. And unless you know how to cope with the vicious system, you got nothing. And when i taught school well to tell you something. We had things called Safety Patrols. Where a little kid had a white belt and had the responsibility is patrolling or covering that corner. Well, in order to be a safety you had to be a nerd. Thats number one. And to a black teenager or a black kid telling him at that time to be a nerd was a nono. Aust risation. You had to be on time. Colonel davis demanded us to be on time. When colonel davis said be in my office at 0900, you dont show up at 9 00. What time do you show up . 8 45. Youre damn right. As a Safety Patrol you had to be on that corner at least 10 minutes ahead of time. All of a sudden youre teaching a 12yearold to be on time. When you come into the School Building you take off your hat. Teaching young men how to cope with the system. Women teachers come to the door and a 12 or 13yearold opens the door. What do you teach him . Manners. Slowly but surely. These are the kinds of things in the back of my mind. And learning how to fly, that satisfied oh, hell, they said that is a joke i cant tell. Colonel jefferson, for the audience that has questions, you could address the panel after the presentation. Good enough. We have Something Special coming so thank you for your time. Remind us of something about timeliness to be early. It is to be on time to be on time is to be late. May i say something. Yes, sir. I think its very important for us, the cadets to appreciate the fact that you dont have to be a pilot in order to be in the air force. The air force has an awful wide range of activities that people are getting involved in. You can do both. Be readying yourself as a pilot, but at the same time selecting for your career something else. Instance, i was in tech intelligence and in tech intelligence i was responsible for those kind of things that you cant anticipate. I went through lots and lots of schooling. Lots of schooling. At least ten years of schooling. And youd be happy with that. That is a real life. Real life. And if you can get into flying, it is a life line, that is fine. I liked flying. Got into flying. And had a good time. But i also recognized that the air force needs people other than pilots. These are the people, the ones who are responsible for pilots like those crew chiefs that we had, they, too, had to understand they have the same appreciation for dedication to a subject. When i came down and got in that airplane, he used to walk over to me and say, where are we going today . We. And i came back he said, where is the plane. Colonel friend and i recognized a lot of things that happened. That wouldnt be the final word. The guys are talking here. Like for instance, young man down there who said told you all how he would be allowed, i watched him do it. I was right behind him. Okay. Please remain seated. We have a presentation by mr. Roberts. First of all, thank you very much for really one of highlights not only of our day but i suspect the highlights of our lives in meeting, listening to not just american heroes, they are world heroes. They have stood up, taken responsibility for themselves and for others so on behalf of a former air force guy who was not a pilot, i want to express my appreciation for your leadership, for the example that you have set for your bravery and for your dedication. Thank you very much. [ applause ] with that, ladies and gentlemen, please be seated. Id like to now introduce again mr. Jim roberts, president and founder of the American Veterans certainty for a special presentation. Thank you, craig. Doing a great job. And thank you, gentlemen. It is a real honor to have the Tuskegee Airmen with us. I knew would you be inspirational and you were. But i didnt know that you would be that damn entertaining. But it is a great session. Thank you so much for being with us. I urge you if you havent taken the opportunity to visit the retunda and see the founding documents on display there. See you soon after lunch. Have a good lunch. [ concluded ] youre watching a special edition of American History tv. Tonight beginning at 8 00 eastern programs on kent state university, 50 years after the antiwar protests. On may 4th, 1970, demonstrations against the vietnam war led to a deadly confrontation between students and the Ohio National guard. Four students were killed and nine wounded. Watch American History tv now and over the weekend on cspan 3. Next on American History tv, senior archivist Randy Thompson showcases the Resources Available to the public at the National Archives branch in riverside, california. Items include records and artifacts dating back to 1775. The friends of the North Hollywood library hosted this event. Were glad year hour with us today to learn maybe for the first time about the National Archives, a unique and little known Public Institution that is also known as our nations records keepers. Our guests today are professional archivists for the United States. Theyve driven all the way out here from riverside to be with you and us in order to inform and inspire us to investigate and utilize our nations archives that among their holdings are documents going back to 1775. And lastly, weve been handing out raffle tickets because after the q a well give away what the friends of the library love to give away more than anything else and that is some books to some lucky winners. So please join me at this time in welcoming from the National Archives at riverside, Randy Thompson and james huntoon. [