Essay On Red Tails

Red Tails

During WWII African american soldiers were subjected to racism and segregation. They were seen as mentally inferior and cowards in the face of danger. Political pressure and civil rights groups, resulted in the formation of the Tuskegee Airmen. A small group of African americans became pilot cadets under special conditions. During WWII African americans fought battles on two fronts against Germans and against racism at home.

Red Tails is a movie based on the Tuskegee Airmen, an all-black World War 2 unit. After the Air Force finds themselves losing more heavy bombers than they would like to admit. They give the Tuskegee Airmen a chance to join them in escorting the heavy bombers. At the time they didnt expect them to do anything and just cower away from war. Their first mission escorting the bombers is successful and they score a victory over the germans. Impressed by their victory The Red Tails are tasked with escorting bombers

to attack Berlin for the first time. On the way to the payload they are attacked by new German Fighter jets. Despite being outclassed and slower they still manage to shoot down several jets and escort the damaged bombers back to allied airspace. The Airmen are then awarded the Presidential unit citation in honor of their achievements.
The Tuskegee Airmen were the first unit of African American fighter pilots(“Red Tails - Wikipedia”).

The USA desperately needed more pilots so they started recruiting black pilots. In the movie they were tasked with escorting heavy bombers to their payload. It was believed that the Tuskegee Airmen never lost a single Bomber due to enemy fire. However, an airforce claim shows that at least 25 bombers were lost due to enemy fire.(“Tuskegee Airmen | HistoryNet”) The film was exaggerated at some points but it captures what the pilots had to face accurately. The army and the whole country did not expect much from the pilots but they stuck with the bombers and only lost about half the average number of bombers compared to other fighter units. As a result, by the end of the war bomber crews were specifically requesting the red tails as their escorts. Although, They were successful in the sky they still experienced racism. One hundred sixty pilots were arrested with three pilots being court martialed for walking into an officers

club.
The success of the Tuskegee Airmen proved to the American public that African Americans, when given the opportunity could become effective military leaders and pilots. They paved the way for desegregation of the military with President Harry S Truman’s executive order 9981 in 1948.(“Tuskegee Airmen | HistoryNet”) They set the stage for civil rights to end discrimination during the civil rights movement of the 1950s to 1960s. Red Tails portrays the events of the Tuskegee Airmen in a fictional way. The movie left an impression to viewers that they were unstoppable ace pilots with zero losses. The movie did capture the struggle African Americans had to face during WWII with the racism and discrimination. Overall the movie was exciting and inspirational but the story was a bit bumpy. They treated the war like it was some kind of game instead a life or death situation. The Tuskegee Airmen deserve a Better Tribute than this movie.