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Released: 03/27/2024 01:03 PMSPONSOR: Rep. Dorsey Walker & Sen. BrownReps. Harris, Chukwuocha, Bolden, Cooke, K. Johnson,
Lambert, Minor-Brown, S. Moore, Neal, Parker Selby,
Phillips, Wilson-Anton, Carson, Bush; Sens. Lockman,
Pinkney, Buckson, Gay, Hansen, Hocker, Hoffner,
Huxtable, Lawson, Mantzavinos, S. McBride, Paradee,
Pettyjohn, Poore, Richardson, Sokola, Sturgeon,
Townsend, Walsh, Wilson
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
152nd GENERAL ASSEMBLY
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 110
RECOGNIZING THE 4TH THURSDAY IN MARCH AS NATIONAL TUSKEGEE AIRMEN COMMEMORATION
DAY.
1 WHEREAS, the Tuskegee Airmen were a group of Black pilots, aircrew, ground crew, and support personnel of the
2 U.S. Army Air Corps who fought in World War II. As the first African American flying units in the U.S. military, their many
3 successes paved the way for the desegregation of the U.S. military, which started in 1948 when President Harry S. Truman
4 signed Executive Order 9981; and
5 WHEREAS, the history of the Tuskegee Airmen dates back to World War I, when African American men attempted
6 to serve in U.S. air units but were denied entry; and
7 WHEREAS, Mr. Andre Swygert of Wilmington, Delaware, one of the most knowledgeable people in our state on
8 the history of the Tuskegee Airmen, and himself the son of a member of the airmen, has thus far in the course of his research
9 been able to identify 13 Delawareans who served in one or another of the units that were a part of the Tuskegee Airmen; and
10 he believes that further research will reveal more Delawareans who were a part of the airmen; and
11 WHEREAS,
12
13
14
15
th
Bomb Group; Artishia Stephens, Special Order Clerk; Henry Smith, Armorer; Maxwell
16
th
BS, 477
th
17
th
BS, 477
th
Bomb Group; Saralie Draper, Squadron A, 118
th
AAFBU; George A. Laws,
18
th
Mat’l Squadron; and James H. Money, 66
th
AAFFTD Medical Detachment; and Page 2 of 3
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Released: 03/27/2024 01:03 PM19 WHEREAS, Mr. Swygert has noted that “the database of all participants in the ‘Tuskegee Experience’ consists of
20 approximately 14,000 names” and that “further research may uncover additional personnel from Delaware;” and
21 WHEREAS, another important note is that many of these men and women-those from Delaware and elsewhere-
22 went on to have very distinguished careers in many fields in civilian life after the war; and
23 WHEREAS, by 1939, only 25 African Americans were licensed pilots in the United States. This stark inequity
24 finally forced Congress to act. On June 27, 1939, Congress passed the Civilian Pilot Training Act, which prohibited exclusion
25 based on race from federally funded pilot training programs; and
26 WHEREAS, six Black colleges participated in the program: Howard University, Delaware State College, Hampton
27 University, North Carolina A&T, Tuskegee Institute, and West Virginia State College. These necessary advancements in
28 Black aviation laid the groundwork for the extraordinary achievements of African American Aviators in World War II; and
29 WHEREAS, the illustrious service record of the Tuskegee Airmen began on March 19, 1941, when the United States
30 Army Air Corps officially constituted the 99
th
Pursuit Squadron as the first all-Black combat squadron in the United States
31 Armed Forces. The squadron was trained at the newly constructed Tuskegee Army Air Field in Tuskegee, Alabama, a few
32 miles away from the Tuskegee Institute; and
33 WHEREAS, by June 1943, the renamed 99
th
Fighter Squadron was flying combat missions over Sicily and the
34 Mediterranean, supporting Allied bombers, naval formations, and other offensives. The Tuskegee Airmen scored several
35 aerial victories against German FW-190s, BF-109s, and ME-262s, eventually earning three Distinguished Unit Citations in
36 combat missions over the Mediterranean and Central Europe; and
37 WHEREAS, by World War II’s end, three other all-Black Fighter Squadrons were activated, all under the 332
nd
38 Fighter Group, as well as the 477
th
Bombardment Group flying B-25 medium bombers. Despite their successes, the Tuskegee
39 Airmen endured extreme adversity, including notably prejudiced and unsuccessful attempts to disband the 332
nd
Fighter
40 Group. The Tuskegee Airmen flew over 15,000 combat sorties in World War II and received 744 air medals, including 96
41 Distinguished Flying Crosses, 14 Bronze Stars, and 8 Purple Hearts; and
42 WHEREAS, as World War II ended, the Tuskegee Airmen in the 477
th
Bombardment Group staged a nonviolent
43 demonstration to desegregate the officer’s club at Freeman Field, Indiana. Their demonstration for racial equity, staged
44 between April 5-6, 1945, would prove to be a catalyst for the eventual desegregation of the U.S. Armed Forces. After the
45 war, the Tuskegee Airmen won one last aerial victory in 1949 when they won the first ever U.S. Air Force Aerial Gunnery
46 Competition (propeller), now known as “Top Gun,” beating the best pilots in the U.S. Air Force. By July of 1949, the 332
nd
47 Fighter Group, the 477
th
Bombardment Group, and all other all-Black Aviation units of the U.S. Air Force were deactivated
48 as the U.S. military finally moved toward full racial integration; and Page 3 of 3
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Released: 03/27/2024 01:03 PM49 WHEREAS, The Tuskegee Airmen achieved unparalleled success, not just for their martial excellence but for their
50 grit and determination as a trailblazing unit that would prove segregation a failed and unjust policy.
51 NOW, THEREFORE:
52 BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the 152
nd
General Assembly of the State of Delaware, the
53 Senate concurring therein, that the General Assembly hereby supports Congressional efforts to proclaim the fourth Thursday
54 in March as National Tuskegee Airmen Commemoration Day.
SYNOPSIS
This Concurrent Resolution supports Congressional efforts to proclaim the fourth Thursday in March a National
Tuskegee Airmen Commemoration Day.