USO Canteen Freeper Style Salutes Tuskegee Airmen .... October 22,2002

FRiends of the USO Canteen FReeper Style and Snow Bunny

[Snow Bunny]

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The USO Canteen FReeper Style
Delivering a Touch of Home

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A Touch of Home

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This is how I think of the USO Canteen 
Freeper Style. It is like a cottage down a road,
a place where a weary veteran can spend the night. 

Since it opened, it is magical how so many
Freepers who post here, feel it too. 
It has been so dear how the Freepers
kept making it a cottage - a home-type of 
place that had a huge living room
for them to visit in and a dance floor, 
a library, etc. 

Many Veterans have written to me, 
saying that the Canteen is like home
to them for the first time since they 
served. 

This is your Canteen -
a respite from our busy 
and sometimes troubling world. 
Make yourself at home.

Snow Bunny

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If you know a Veteran, someone in your family, 
friend of the family, neighbor, who served their  
country, take a brief moment of your day to thank 
them. 

Thank them for the sacrifice they made
for the better good of their country.

We at Free Republic, and the USO Canteen FReeper 
Style, are thankful for every service member 
in our military, who has served our great nation.

So, to the men and women who answered the call,
In both times of war and peace, thank you.

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Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields. 

John McCrae 

During WWII there were many men that were forgotten.
The Tuskegee Airmen made a major contribution. Where
did they come from?

After their superb flight training, there were a select few
that made a major impact in the war through their excellent
piloting skills. These men are known today as the Tuskegee Airmen.

On Jul. 19, 1941, the AAF began a program in Alabama
to train black Americans as military pilots. Primary flight
training was conducted by the Division of Aeronautics of
Tuskegee Institute, the famed school of learning founded by
Booker T. Washington in 1881.

Once a cadet completed primary training at Tuskegee's
Moton Field, he was sent to nearby Tuskegee Army Air Field
for completion of flight training and for transition to combat
type aircraft.

The first classes of Tuskegee airmen were
trained to be fighter pilots for the famous 99th
Fighter Squadron, slated for combat duty in North
Africa. Additional pilots were assigned to the 322d
Fighter Group which flew combat along with the
99th Squadron from bases in Italy.

In Sep. 1943, a twin-engine training program was
begun at Tuskegee to provide bomber pilots. However,
World War II ended before these men were able to
get into combat.

By the end of the war, 992 men had graduated
from pilot training at Tuskegee, 450 of whom were
sent overseas for combat assignment. During the
same period, approximately 150 lost their lives
while in training or on combat flights.

Additional men were trained at Tuskegee for
aircrew and ground crew duties--flight engineers,
gunners, mechanics, armoires, etc. Others were
sent to Texas and New Mexico for training as
navigators and bombardiers.

Marching across the campus at Tuskegee Institute.

Lined up for inspection.

Student pilot being congratulated
upon completion of primary
flying course at Moton Field.

A class of twin-engine pilots
in front in flight caps and single
engine pilots in rear in helmets
and goggles, Dec. 1943.

The Tuskegee Airmen National Historical Museum
is located on historic Fort Wayne in Detroit,Michigan.

Who Were the
Tuskegee Airmen
of World War II?

The Tuskegee Airmen were dedicated,
determined young men who volunteered
to become America's first black military
airmen. They came from every section of
America, with large numbers coming from
New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles,
Chicago, and Detroit. Each one possessed a
strong personal desire to serve the United States
of America proudly and to the best of his ability
as an airman, even while many other Americans
felt that black men lacked intelligence, skill,
courage and patriotism.

Those who possessed the physical and mental
qualifications and were accepted for aviation cadet training
were trained initially to be pilots, and later to
be either pilots, navigators, or bombardiers.
Most were college graduates or undergraduates,
while the remainder demonstrated their academic
qualifications through comprehensive
entrance examinations.

They trained as operations officers,
meteorologists, intelligence officers,
engineering officers, flight surgeons,
etc. Still others were trained to be aircraft
and engine mechanics, armament specialists,
radio repairmen, parachute riggers, control
tower operators, administrators and for every
other type of skill necessary to function as an
air force squadron, or ground support unit.

The black airmen who became single- or
multi-engine pilots were trained at Tuskegee
Army Air Field (TAAF) in Tuskegee Alabama.

Four hundred and fifty of the pilots were
trained at Tuskegee served overseas in
either the 99th Pursuit Squadron (later
the 99th Fighter Squadron) or the 332nd
Fighter Group. The 99th Fighter Squadron
trained in and flew P-40 Warhawks in combat
in North Africa, Sicily and Italy from April 1943
until July 1944 when they were transferred to the
332nd Fighter Group in the 15th Air Force.

The 99th Squadron distinguished itself by
being awarded two Presidential Unit Citations
(June-July 1943 and May 1944) for outstanding
tactical air support and aerial combat in the 12th
Air Force in Italy, before joining the 332nd
Fighter Group.

Berlin escort

The 332nd Fighter Group was awarded
the Presidential Unit Citation for its
longest bomber escort mission to Berlin,
Germany, March 24, 1945. It destroyed
three German ME-262 Jet fighters and
damaged five additional jet fighters
without losing any of the bombers
or any of its own fighter aircraft to
enemy fighters.

This is a picture of Captain Armour G.. McDaniels
who was shot down while escorting bombers to Belin
in March, 1945. He is surrounded (L to R) by Sergeant
Richard Adams, McDaniels, Lt. James McFatridge and
Ulysses Taylor. USAF, Maxwell AFB Archives.

The 332nd Fighter Group had also
distinguished itself in June 1944
when two of its pilots flying P-47
Thunderbolts discovered a German
destroyer in the harbor of Trieste, Italy.
One of the pilots, Lieutenant Gynne Pierson
of the 302nd Fighter Squadron, using only the
aircraft's 50-caliber machine guns, strafed the
destroyer, causing it to explode and sink. This
was another unprecedented aerial gunnery
feat of World War II.

The tenacious bomber escort cover
provided by the 332nd "Red Tail"
fighters often discouraged enemy
A fighter pilots from attacking bombers
escorted by the 332nd Fighter Group.
This resulted in fewer enemy fighter
challenges with resultant fewer enemy
aircraft destroyed or damaged by the
Group, as compared with other 15th Air
Force fighter escort groups. The successful
escort record resulted in frequent expressions
of appreciation from the 15th Air Force bomber
units and crews.

[Soaring Feather]

Thank you Sam for sending me these pictures and text.
The top graphic is soooo beautiful!


Heros

God Bless America the land I love!

[SAMWolf]

B-45C Bump

At the end of 1944, the U. S. Army issued a design competition for a jet-powered bomber. This urgent requirement given to aircraft manufacturers was precipitated by the discovery of secret documents and actual German jet aircraft captured during World War II. The first two American jet bombers produced were the North American B-45 Tornado and the Convair XB-46. The B-45 filled a critical gap in the U. S. defense posture. The Air Force took initial delivery of the B-45C in May 1949. While a few of the aircraft were deployed overseas in late 1950, B-45 units reached initial operational capability (IOC) in 1951. As an Air Force bomber, it saw limited service with the Tactical Air Command during the 1950s.

The Air Force accepted a total of 142 B-45s in various configurations, 51 aircraft fewer than originally ordered. The B-45 program included 3 experimental XB-45s aircraft (one of which was completed as a preproduction example), 96 production B-45As (some of which were designated as B-45A-5s reflecting in-production improvements), 10 B-45Cs , and 33 RB-45Cs. The aircraft were produced by North American Aviation, Incorporated, of Inglewood, California, with most of the aircraft being built in a former Douglas facility at Long Beach, California.

The B-45 served well as a reconnaissance aircraft during the Korean war. The reconnaissance models were designated RB-45Cs and assigned to the Strategic Air Command. The Tornado performed classified, deep penetration photographic intelligence missions over many cold war communist countries. The reconnaissance version of the B-45 became the forerunner of the U-2 and SR-71 surveillance aircraft.

[SAMWolf]

Good Morning Bentfeather.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Morning tom, and voices, and kitty katz! We had a few of your voices flying on the hopticopter with us last night, but I'm sorry, we didn't let any of them drive. I hope they aren't whining this morning.

[tomkow6]

I hope they aren't whining this morning.

Well, no wonder I feel like this today:

[Kathy in Alaska]

My favorite pilot and co-pilot, Aeronaut and Otto, flying their flight of protection over the troops Canteen. Thanks guys, it sure is appreciated.

[Aeronaut]

Good morning Kathy.

[SevenofNine]

Good morning Canteen members

Well report off World Tribune is reporting that Syria between 1994 to 1999 funded Saddam nuke program is that interesting NOTTT
Maybe we should go after Syria NEXT or have Israelis do the job

OHHHH IDFFFFF


Also another report off Reuters is reporting that IDF did make arrest overnight with good possiblity of arresting bomb maker of suicide bombing that hit that Israeli bus yesterday

SWEETTTTTT

Here wacky story off Jerserlum Post site mother of suicide bomber who did the bus job is very proud of her baby boy her son told his Mommy MOMMY I going kill Jews for YOU

NICE KID EH

[Kathy in Alaska]

Thank you so much for today's profile of the Tuskegee Airmen. I am enjoying what I am learning about them. Great topic.

[Jen]

Hello Georgia neighbor! Nice to meet you and welcome to the Canteen. Jen

[Jen]

Special Dedication
To our Military Members and Veterans
for Protecting and Defending our Country
and Especially for Tuskeegee Airmen!

"Hero" by Mariah Carey

MIDI version

MP3 version


And then a hero comes along with the strength to carry on
And you cast your fears aside and you know you can survive
When you feel like hope is gone, look inside you and be strong
And you'll finally see the truth - that a hero lies in you!

[Jen]

I'm posting and running. Got lots to do today. Hope to see y'all later tonight.

[Soaring Feather]

Oh this is wonderful reading Sam, thanks so much!

[Aeronaut]

Bill Clinton campaigned in Baltimore for Democratic candidate Kathleen Kennedy Townsend Saturday. The appearance was fraught with danger. The Maryland sniper could have been killed if he had tried to get between Bill Clinton and a microphone.

[Kathy in Alaska]

LOL! This is too true.

[SAMWolf]

"Nuclear catastrophe was hanging by a thread ... and we weren't counting days or hours, but minutes."
-Soviet General and Army Chief of Operations, Anatoly Gribkov

The Cuban Missile Crisis was the closest the world ever came to nuclear war. The United States armed forces were at their highest state of readiness ever and Soviet field commanders in Cuba were prepared to use battlefield nuclear weapons to defend the island if it was invaded. Luckily, thanks to the bravery of two men, President John F. Kennedy and Premier Nikita Khrushchev, war was averted.

In 1962, the Soviet Union was desperately behind the United States in the arms race. Soviet missiles were only powerful enough to be launched against Europe but U.S. missiles were capable of striking the entire Soviet Union. In late April 1962, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev conceived the idea of placing intermediate-range missiles in Cuba. A deployment in Cuba would double the Soviet strategic arsenal and provide a real deterrent to a potential U.S. attack against the Soviet Union.

Meanwhile, Fidel Castro was looking for a way to defend his island nation from an attack by the U.S. Ever since the failed Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961, Castro felt a second attack was inevitable. Consequently, he approved of Khrushchev's plan to place missiles on the island. In the summer of 1962 the Soviet Union worked quickly and secretly to build its missile installations in Cuba.

For the United States, the crisis began on October 15, 1962 whenreconnaissance photographs revealed Soviet missiles under construction in Cuba. Early the next day, President John Kennedy was informed of the missile installations. Kennedy immediately organized the EX-COMM, a group of his twelve most important advisors to handle the crisis. After seven days of guarded and intense debate within the upper echelons of government, Kennedy concluded to impose a naval quarantine around Cuba. He wished to prevent the arrival of more Soviet offensive weapons on the island. On October 22, Kennedy announced the discovery of the missile installations to the public and his decision to quarantine the island. He also proclaimed that any nuclear missile launched from Cuba would be regarded as an attack on the United States by the Soviet Union and demanded that the Soviets remove all of their offensive weapons from Cuba.

During the public phase of the Crisis, tensions began to build on both sides. Kennedy eventually ordered low-level reconnaissance missions once every two hours. On the 25th Kennedy pulled the quarantine line back and raised military readiness to DEFCON 2. Then on the 26th EX-COMM heard from Khrushchev in an impassioned letter. He proposed removing Soviet missiles and personnel if the U.S. would guarantee not to invade Cuba. October 27 was the worst day of the crisis. A U-2 was shot down over Cuba and EX-COMM received a second letter from Khrushchev demanding the removal of U.S. missiles in Turkey in exchange for Soviet missiles in Cuba. Attorney General Robert Kennedy suggested ignoring the second letter and contacted Soviet Ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin to tell him of the U.S. agreement with the first.

Tensions finally began to ease on October 28 when Khrushchev announced that he would dismantle the installations and return the missiles to the Soviet Union, expressing his trust that the United States would not invade Cuba. Further negotiations were held to implement the October 28 agreement, including a United States demand that Soviet light bombers be removed from Cuba, and specifying the exact form and conditions of United States assurances not to invade Cuba

[HiJinx]

In addition to recon overflights of the island, one intel agency had personnel monitoring shipping traffic. One of the reasons a naval 'blockade' was formed is because we knew specifically of certain E. European vessels carrying missiles and warheads.

This is something I learned when studying E. European history in Germany under a Romanian emigre. (The ship wan't theirs!)

[SAMWolf]

The Good Old Days. Back when Intelligence Agencies were allowed to do their jobs.

[Kathy in Alaska]

"NO Bombers were ever lost to Enemy Aircraft while being escorted"

Nice to see you. Thanks for sharing this about the Tuskegee Airmen. What a record they had!

[tomkow6]

What do you get when you cross a blonde and a lawyer?







I don't know..........there are some things even a blonde won't do.