In 1941, a new air base at Tuskegee, Alabama, became the center for the training program of Black air personnel. First with the 99th Fighter Squadron and later with the 332nd Fighter Group, African Americans contributed to the war effort, serving in the Mediterranean combat theater, flying from bases in North Africa and Italy while supporting operations against German forces. Later, the USAAF created the 477th Bombardment Group of African American B-25 Mitchell crews, which did not see combat. These were the Tuskegee Airmen.
William Rice was a recipient of the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian recognition by Congress in 2007 for his service with the Tuskegee Airmen, flying in a P-51 Mustang as a Red Tail Fighter with the 332nd Fighter Group in Europe during World War II.
DOWNLOAD HI-RESLieutenant General LeRoy J. Manor is the chief of staff, Pacific Command, Camp Smith, Hawaii. General Manor is responsible to the commander in chief, Pacific for management of key military staff activities requiring coordinated Air Force, Navy, Army and Marine Corps operations throughout the Pacific Command area. The Pacific Command is the United States’ largest unified command, encompassing some 100 million square miles from the West Coast of the Americas to the East Coast of Africa and from the Arctic to the Antarctic.
General Manor was born in Morrisonville, N.Y., in 1921. He graduated in 1937 from Cadyville High School, Cadyville, N.Y., and then received his Teacher’s Certificate from New York State Normal School in 1940. General Manor entered aviation cadet training in November 1942 and received his pilot wings and commission upon graduation in August 1943.