John Holway's Red Tails

Two years ago I won an essay writing contest over World War II, and a trip to France. To prepare for the historical excursion, I was assigned eight books to read over the international conflict. None of the eight books even mentioned an African American by name (or any other minority for that matter). I wanted to select a book that highlight the achievements of minorities during that war. I was strolling down the library aisle when I just happen to stumble on this truly awe-inspiring biography. In his book Red Tails, John Holway tells the incredibly inspirational real-life story of an all African American flying quadrants during World War II. Although White Army commanders tried to keep the Red tails on the ground and the German Airforce tried

to blow them out of the sky, neither agitator was able to keep the Tuskegee Airman from soaring above both racism and the Nazi Luftwaffe.
In order for the Tuskegee airman to take off from the ground, Black Americans had to prove that they could fly as well as white, and sometimes better! It was very difficult in the early years of aviation for African Americans to become pilots in the rigidly segregated United States. However, there were a few daring individuals who fought for the right to fly. After being turned down by the U.S. Air Corp Eugene Jacques Bullard joined the more open-minded French Air Force. Bullard flew valiantly in the First World War, with his pet monkey by his side! “General Charles de Gaulle himself embraced him and presented him with the Legion of Honor, France’s highest decoration (Holway 5). Another pioneer in the air was Bessie Coleman, who fought against both racism and sexism to earn her pilots license. The astounding actions of both of these individuals and countless more emboldened the NAACP and other Black organization to call for a black military pilot’s training school. This led to the creation of the flying program at the Tuskegee Institute in Tuskegee. Alabama. This site was chosen because there was already a Civilian Pilot Training Program at the Institute. The actions of early Black aviators and the advocacy of Black Organization allowed for the chance for African-American airman to fly in the Air Corp.
The Tuskegee airmen faced extreme racism from the United States military; but, instead of hurting them this emboldened the airmen to train diligently and prove themselves. The NAACP had unsuccessfully advocated for the integration of blacks and whites in the military. As Red Tails points out “President Roosevelt’s idea to integrate the navy was to put a Negro band on each ship—he stated ‘the colored race is very musical” (Holway 21). Blacks and Whites were completely separated in the air corps. Not only were African- American pilots commanded by black officers, their planes were prepared and repaired by black mechanics, and the base was staff with all black support personnel. Black pilots were given significantly older airplanes then those given to their white counterparts. At first, the Tuskegee airman were not at all taken seriously by the white commanders of the Air Corps. Quote. However, their reputation was increased with a visit from First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. She joyfully climbed into the cockpit with one of airman and took a short flight. After the flight Mrs. Roosevelt proclaimed “Well you can fly alright!”(Holway 23).

After witnessing the ferocity and cunning of the 332nd Fighter Group the Germans began to fear the “Schwarxe Teufel” or black devils.

By the time the Tuskegee airmen had arrived at their base in Ramitelli, Italy the United State Air Corps needed them. By 1944 the Allied Powers were carpet bombing Germany; While Great Britain bombed under the cover of darkness, the much more precise Americans bombed in board daylight. The gargantuan bombers were colossal sitting ducks for the German Air Force. The Luftwaffe tremendous success in bomber-hunting almost halted the crucial carpet bombing missions. Instead, the plan was saved by a new invention, the P51 Mustang. In Red Tails one former pilot points out the Intricacy of this new plane “There were 21 switches I had to hit before I could turn the engine on – it was a complicated engine. (Holway 163). The strong perseverance of the Tuskegee Airmen meant they adapted to the P51 before many of their white counterparts. This fighter plane had the capacity to fly all the way to the bombing site and back. Numerous regiments of bomber escorts were deployed throughout Europe to protect the fragile bombers. The 332nd Fighter Group was one of the best regarded escorts. This was the first time many Europeans had ever seen Black people outside the context of a racist caricature or human zoo. The majority of Europeans thought that Black were a savage and insubordinate. However, after witnessing the precision and brilliance of the Tuskegee airman, their perception changed. The Germans were humiliated that airmen from this ‘inferior race’ were helping to annihilate there once great Luftwaffe. One of the Tuskegee airmen even shot down a Nazi jet! “Even Thompson didn’t realized that he had just defeated the fastest plane ever built” (Holway

252).
The contribution of these brave men and other African-American warriors and all other minorities during World War II directly led to Executive order 9981 “equality of treatment and opportunity for all people in the armed forces” (Holway 275), which abolished segregation in the military.

Red Tails chronicles both the triumph and heartbreak of Black pilots not only fighting their Nazi enemies, but also racism from their fellow Americans. With this eloquently written biography, I am confident that the inspirational story of these daring pilots will not fall into the abyss of oblivion; instead, it will be remembered as an integral part of American history. This story encouraged me to write a letter to the World War II program that I participate in to add this book into the collection to demonstrate a more cohesive view of the American military experience.