Posted on 07/07/2015 8:25:56 PM PDT by Brad from Tennessee
On Feb. 13, the Miami-Dade Aviation Department honored “not only members of the Greatest Generation” but “the Greatest Generation Plus.”
Three South Florida Tuskegee Airmen of the 26 surviving members of the first all-black military flying unit that was formed in 1941 were honored that day at Miami International Airport.
And now there are 25.
Two days before Independence Day, on July 2, Lt. Col. Eldridge Williams died at his Kendall area home near The Falls at age 97. His companion of 17 years, Rosa White, was by his side.
“He made great choices in life,” White said. “This was a man who entered this world under adverse circumstances and encountered numerous others, nevertheless made decisions and choices that resulted in a level of success for himself and a record of providing assistance to others.”
Indeed, after serving during World War II — after Congress passed an act in 1941 to compel the U.S. Army Air Corps to train blacks at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama — Williams once again served his country during the 1948 Berlin Airlift and again in the Korean War. . .
(Excerpt) Read more at miamiherald.com ...
Couldn’t hold out 3 more years?
Rest in Peace, good man...
Yet another hero of the greatest generation gone. May he rest in peace.
There are 25 more still alive. Chances are some of them will make it.
WOW! I thought most were long gone.
Not certain but I think that this was the man I met up at the Oshkosh Air Exhibition about six years ago. He was shaking hands with people next to a P-51C razorback painted in Red Tail colors. Both he and the airplane were impressive.
RIP, Lt. Col. Eldridge Williams....and thank you for your brave service.
RIP.
Ya bud, he was part of what was right about this nation once upon a time. God rest his soul!
RIP, Lt. Col., and thanks.
As I understand it, the Tuskegee airmen as a unit will live on. They made a decision to admit new members, consequently there are many of them (I’m friends with one) but alas, the number of original members is dwindling. I’ll have to ask my buddy if he wants to get together after work tomorrow and raise a glass to the lost airman.
These guys had incredible fortitude.
R.I.P.
Thank you for posting this about the last of the Tuskegee Pilots
The article notes that there are only 26 surviving memebers, but the Tuskegee Airmen Inc. says there is no way to know how many are still living.
The note below is from thier website. It is not dated but was written after March 2015.
How many Tuskegee Airmen are currently living?
Currently there is no way to definitively answer your question of how many members of the historical Tuskegee Experience are living since our organization can only track members that have joined Tuskegee Airmen, Inc. (TAI).
Many of the members of the Tuskegee Experience that separated from the military once their service commitment was completed returned to civilian life to become private citizens. For that reason, we’ll never know exactly how many are living, nor will we know exactly where they live or what they are currently doing.
At best, we can only try to address our current reported membership submitted by the individual chapters, and I would like to add that number changes almost daily as we continue to receive news of original Tuskegee Airmen joining the Lonely Eagles Chapter more frequently.
At our last Western Region Conference, your question was discussed because it is frequently asked by the media when they are covering events sponsored by various chapters of TAI. I was informed that based on the current roster, and even then it was tentative, we have approximately 209 original Tuskegee Airmen that are documented members of our chapters across the United States. Again, don’t quote me because I have seen news of at least 2 members joining the Lonely Eagles since our conference which occurred late March 2015. Others may have followed that I am not aware of.
So as to your original question; “How many are known to be alive today?” There is no factual way of answering that question.
Respectfully submitted,
Ron E. Lacey
Western Region Public Relations Officer
Tuskegee Airmen Inc.
Thanks.
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