Tuskegee Airmen: The Men Who Changed a Nation

When, in 1955, Captain Charles Francis published his important book, he did not think that one day his book would be made into a movie. Neither did he know the impact that it was to have had in telling, for the first time, the story of those Negro officers and enlisted men, who brought about the effective integration of the combat forces of the United States. Today’s total army concept has gone a long way from 1948 when President Truman issued Executive Order 9981, requiring equality of treatment and opportunity in the Armed Forces. This all started when would-be black pilots were called to train and to serve in segregated army support units of World War II.Thanks to the Tuskegee Airmen, who generated the Civil Rights Movement for equality, the United States of America can now boast of individuals like Admiral Samuel L. Gravely, Secretary of the Army Clifford Alexander, Astronauts Buford, McNair, Gregory and Bolden, and General Colin L. Powell, not to mention, Senator Obama.The crowning glory to this attainment can be seen in the many important positions held by Black American men and women in every Service and every Branch. And the Tuskegee Airmen, in no small measure, have made it all possible.