Charles Mcgee Tuskegee

Born on December 7, 1919 in Cleveland, Ohio, Charles McGee changed aviation in more ways than one. McGee graduated from Chicago’s Dusable High School in 1938 and pursued a higher education by attending the University of Illinois in 1939. It was there that he joined ROTC. When war was declared on Pearl Harbor, McGee applied for a pilot’s slot in an experimental squadron and passed the exams. According to the National Aviation Hall of Fame, on October 19, 1942, he received his orders and made his way to Tuskegee Army Air Field in Alabama to begin training with his fellow African Americans. One memory he claims to remember very well was his trip down to the south to get to Tuskegee. He said when he crossed into the state he had to get up on the

He began his patrolling in a P-39Q, which was too slow and a low altitude aircraft. This was one of the biggest frustrations for McGee and several other pilots. “… we flew at 10,000 to 15,000 feet, and by the time we reached even that altitude to intercept intruders, they were usually back in Germany. It was frustrating.” Even though the military had been ordered to integrate, there were still many obstacles that revolved around the color of ones skin. The men were integrated, but the African Americans still had to battle with getting aircrafts that were outdated, inefficient, and had many mechanical errors that proved to be a challenge to fix. They were forced work in an environment that could be better for all if they simply had adequate equipment. This proved to be one of the main challenges McGee had to face until the opportunity to fly with the Red Tails presented itself. This is remarkable when considering that prior to becoming a pilot in WWII, McGee claimed to have never even seen or heard a plane, and he wasn’t the only one. Many of the men that became the best pilots throughout the war were the ones that had no knowledge of flying prior to being shipped to Tuskegee to begin