Who were the Tuskegee Airmen? Tributes pour in as Charles McGee, one of the last surviving members, dies aged 102

On January 16, one of the last surviving members of the Tuskegee Airmen, Charles McGee, passed away at the age of 102. His demise was announced via a statement from the late centenarian's family. It stated that McGee passed away in his sleep at his Kansas City home on Sunday morning.

The late pilot was involved in 409 aerial combat missions. After 30 years of active duty with the air force, Charles retired in 1973. In 2020, he was honorarily promoted to brigadier general and received a State of the Union recognition by former US President Donald Trump on the same day.

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Condolences rush in for the late World War II pilot Charles McGee

A multitude of tweets shared their tributes to the late airman, with a number of them being from active US government officials.

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What is known about the Tuskegee Airmen?

The Tuskegee Airmen were the 332d Expeditionary Operations Group and the 477th Bombardment Group of the US Army Air Forces during World War II. The group was largely comprised of African-American pilots.

The group was constituted in 1940 and was active for almost eight years. Prior to the formation of the Tuskegee Airmen, no black Americans were accepted into the US Army Air Forces as pilots. According to Tuskegee Airmen Inc, almost 992 pilots graduated from the Tuskegee Airfield courses in Alabama. The group also had around five Haitian natives, one Trinidadian, and one Hispanic or Latino pilot.

They reportedly flew airplanes like the Bell P-39 Airacobra, Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, North American B-25 Mitchell, North American P-51 Mustang, and Republic P-47 Thunderbolt during their active missions from 1940 to 1948.

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Red Tails

In most combat missions, the 332d Fighter Group flew the Republic P-47 Thunderbolts and the North American P-51 Mustang. The group was known as 'Red Tails' as the pilots painted the tails of the airplanes red. Following this, some pilots painted the nose of their planes red as well. The Red Tails flew at least 312 missions within the span of around a year (between 1944 to 1946).

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Recognition

As per the Tuskegee Airmen Inc, the group of squadrons flew over 1500 aerial combat missions in total and were involved in over 15,000 sorties. They reportedly downed almost 261 enemy planes and received more than 850 medals.

In 2007, former US President George W. Bush awarded the Congressional Gold Medal to the entire group. Meanwhile, in 2011 and 2013, the National Aviation Hall of Fame inducted Charles McGee and Charles "Chief" Alfred Anderson, respectively.

According to the book, Soaring to Glory: A Tuskegee Airman's World War II Story and Inspirational Legacy (published in 2019), around 11 pilots of the group (presumably including Charles McGee) who flew combat missions during World War II were still alive.