NOVEMBER 7 - 13, 1984 THE CITIZEN PAGE I E
.
USKEGEEAIRMEN �UPPORTED a 'E ANOTHE
o e eel.
The ''1' egee Airmen," the
flr t B cJcs trained to fly by the
U.S. Army Ai Corps during
orld If II, made history
comb t flier in Europe and
many hay ince gamed pro
minence s both career mili
tary men nd as civilians.
Archer told the audience that
"our entire group at Tu egee
excelled - even our finures
ere spectacular."
The luncheon chairman and
master of ceremonies was Stan
ley S. Scott, Vice President
and Director of Corporate Af
fairs for Philip orris Incor
porated. oting the luncheon
theme, "A Salute To The Blac
Pilots of Major Airline ," Scott ugly blot in the history of Black World War II fliers. for
id, oday we pay tribute to aviation." The Edge Group, their pioneering efforts.
all the Black men and women he said, had "been respon ible "They were before their
ho have ever raised their eye for some real gains in this time," orwood said, "it was
to the sky and said, "I too will area." not a timely idea in the 1940s
fly.'" Founded in 1969 to facili- ·for Blacks to be pilot :'
Scott reminded the luncheon t te the ntry of minorities There are at pre nt orne
guest, including· 30 current into po tions in both the public 140 Black commercial pilots
Blac pilot fi om 14 airlines, and private sectors, Edge is flying today with major Arneri-
of the obering realitie of an acronym for much of· the can airlines. The. Organization
r cial stereotypes of the time. organization's activities - em- of Black Airline Pilots conducts
He told of a Tu egee flyer, ployment, dissemination of in- . ummer training programs in
captain, who ob rved an � formation, group development, Tu egee, AL., to instruct
enlisted man asking a white economic awarene nd olving youth in the basic of flying and
officer if it a "legal" for a problems. Its current President in the development of ac demic
Black to be captain. is William H. Blackly Jr., Cor- requirements required to be-
The keynote spe er, Robert porate manager, Employee Re- come a pilot.
L. Crandall, Pre 'dent and Chief lations, Phibro-Salomon, Inc. During World ar II, the first
Operating Officer, American Air- Crandall was presented with class of 13 Blac aviation
line , told the group that there the Edges' "Ruth Allen King cadets began training at Tuske-
.would "be more opportunities Award," named for the 0 gani- gee in July, 1941. Before the
in the airline indu try in the zation's founder, and Archer training at Tu egee was ended
future because we need to u received the Edges' Special in 1945, 992 American BIac s
the potential of our orker Award." had "earned their wings."
to the maximum." Captain William orwood, a In all the Tu kegee Airmen
He said that Blac had no pilot of United Airlines and flew 15,553 sorties and com-
alway been welcomed as flyers President of the Organization of pleted 1,578· mi ions. Flying
and that "r cial prejudice is an Black Airline Pilots, prai ed the as the 332nd Fighter _ g!O�P,
------------------------ ....
YORK -' e had high
hope for one another" Lee
rcher Jr., Vice President of the
General Foods Corporation, id
recently bout . life as a "Tus
egee Airm n" more than 40
years ago.
ddr ing the 12th Annual
Luncheon of The Edge Group
Inc., at the e Yor Hilton
Hotel, Ar er
• P ed on 0 her forward
"ilia. e might all cceed
n rgued or
a becau we . all
ryone in the group
SALurE TO BLACK PILOTS - Four of the princip in the reeeat Ed Group', 12th Annual lun
cheon th t honored Black pilot . h major aid' were, from left, Williain H. Bl ely Jr., President
of Ed ; Robert L. Crandall, Praident and thief Operatin Ofracer, American Airlin ; Lee Arc
Jr., Vice 'dent of GenenI Foods Corp.; and Stanley S. Scott, Vice President d Director of Cor
porate Aft· , Philip Morris Inc. Crandall aDd Archer m:eivecl award, from Eda, organization
th t orks to in opportunities for minorities in the public and private sectors of the us,
economy. Archer, a faghter pilot during orId W .0, told how the funed ee Airmen hid p-
ported one other during difficult ti .
they destroyed 111 enemy air
craft in the air .and damaged
another 25. On the ground they
destroyed 150 enemy airplanes
and dam ged another 123.
Sixty -six of the Amrican
flier the German called
"Schwartze Vogelrnenschen" or
Black Birdmen were killed in
combat and another 32 were
taken prisoner. The group's
150 decorations included Dis
tinguished Flying Crosses,
Legions of Merit, Silver Star t
Purple Heart , the French Croix
De Guerre and the Yugosla
vian Red Star.
Some of the Blacks veterans
of Tu egee include: Charles
'Chuck" illiams Vice Pre'
dent Schenley 0.; Percy Sut
ton, Chairman, inner citi
Broadcasting Corp.; George L
Brown, Vice Pre ident, Grum
man Aero pace Corp. and for
mer lieutenant Governor 0
Colorado; Jean Esquerre, Cor
porate Director, Grumm
Aerospace Corp. and Charl
Dryden, current President
Atlanta Ch pter, Tru egee Air
man.
Som other are: Claren
Finley, Group Vice President.
Burlington Indu tries; Hannib
Cox, Jr., an age r rban
fair, Eastern Airlines; Elwo
Driver, Retired Vice Chairman,
ational Transportation Safe
Board; Lucius Theus, Reti
Major General, USAF an
Director Civic Affair�, Allied
Corp.; Charles t{;ee, Pre ident,
ational Tuskegee Airman, Inc.;
Dr. Roscoe Brown, President.
Bronx Community College an
the first man in history to shoo
down jet-powered fighter air-
craft; retired Lieut. Gen. Be
jamin O. Davis Jr. and the lat
Maj. Gen. Daniel "Chapple"
Jame .
I., ••
al k.r c.
traininl'
Marine Pvt. CHARLES
WALKER, son of Robert
orma J. Walker of Route 3, .
South Haven, MI, has complet
recruit training at arine Co
Recruit Depot San Diego.
A 1984 graduate of Cov
High School, Covert, Mich., .
joined the arine Corps
ay 1984.
Summ r
r
port
arine Lance Cpl. PERVUS
SU ERS, son of Charles
Edna M. Banks of Route 3,
South Haven, MI., has report
for duty at arine Corps He
copter Air Station, Tu tin, C .
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