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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
1
An act relating to Tuskegee Airmen Commemoration Day; 2
amending s. 683.01, F.S.; designating Tuskegee Airmen 3
Commemoration Day, which occurs on the fourth Thursday 4
in March, as a legal holiday; providing an effective 5
date. 6
7
WHEREAS, before World War II, African Americans had very 8
limited roles in the defense of the United States and none in 9
military aviation, and when the nation was drawn into the war, 10
African Americans aspired to more meaningful jobs in the 11
military, including flying and maintaining aircraft, and 12
WHEREAS, as the rapid expansion of aircraft production 13
during the war created a greater need for military pilots, 14
public outcry from civil rights grou ps and black professional 15
organizations exhorted the United States War Department to begin 16
training black pilots in the Army Air Corps, and 17
WHEREAS, the United States War Department's Civilian Pilot 18
Training Program (CPTP) authorized colleges and universi ties to 19
train students in order to increase the number of civilian 20
pilots and thereby increase the nation's military preparedness, 21
and 22
WHEREAS, Alabama's Tuskegee Institute was one of six black 23
colleges and universities chosen to participate in the CPTP, was 24
later selected to offer advanced training, and was the primary 25
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
flight training facility for the student pilots who would become 26
the famed Tuskegee Airmen, and 27
WHEREAS, the 99th Fighter Pursuit Squadron, the first black 28
flying squadron, trained at Dale Mabry Field near Tallahassee to 29
prepare for combat overseas, and the Eglin Field ranges in 30
Okaloosa County were used by the first class of advanced 31
training cadets, as well as pilots in the advanced training 32
stage, for gunnery and combat tactics, and 33
WHEREAS, the outstanding performance of the Tuskegee Airmen 34
was unprecedented in military aviation history, and 35
WHEREAS, the month of March is significant to the Tuskegee 36
Airmen, as it is the month in which the first cadets received 37
their wings; the first ma intenance crew began training at 38
Chanute Field, Illinois; the first Pursuit Squadron, the 99th, 39
was activated; Eleanor Roosevelt visited Kennedy Field and flew 40
with Chief Alfred Anderson, an African American Instructor 41
Pilot; and President George W. Bush p resented the Tuskegee 42
Airmen with the Congressional Gold Medal, and 43
WHEREAS, General Daniel "Chappie" James, Jr., born in 44
Pensacola, became the first African American to achieve the rank 45
of four-star general in the Armed Forces; Second Lieutenant 46
Charles P. Bailey, Sr., born in Punta Gorda, was the first 47
aviator from Florida to become a Tuskegee Airman pilot of the 48
99th Fighter Pursuit Squadron; and Lieutenant Alvin J. Downing, 49
born in Jacksonville, was a Special Service Officer and renowned 50
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
musician and educator in the Army Air Forces Band and in the St. 51
Petersburg and Clearwater areas, and 52
WHEREAS, Second Lieutenant Alphonso Simmons of the 100th 53
Fighter Squadron from Jacksonville became a casualty of war on 54
March 3, 1945; and the first Tuskegee Airman av iator from 55
Florida to earn his wings and the first Floridian Tuskegee 56
Airman of the 301st Fighter Squadron, First Lieutenant James 57
Polkinghorne, Jr., of Pensacola was a casualty lost on a combat 58
mission over Italy on May 5, 1944, and 59
WHEREAS, Lieutenant C olonel George E. Hardy, residing in 60
Sarasota County, is a famed "Red Tail" P -51 pilot of the 332nd 61
Fighter Group; Lieutenant Daniel K. Keel, Jr., residing in Lake 62
County, is one of only five triple -rated airmen, serving as 63
pilot, bombardier, and navigator; and Callie Odom Gentry, 64
residing in Pasco County, is a female Tuskegee Airman who was a 65
stenographer during the war, and 66
WHEREAS, Tuskegee Airman Chief Master Sergeant Richard R. 67
Hall, Jr., formerly of Winter Park, was an aircraft mechanic in 68
the 99th Fighter Pursuit Squadron, served 30 years in the 69
military, and was one of the first African American Chief Master 70
Sergeants; Lieutenant Colonel Robert C. Hughes, formerly of 71
Brevard County, was a Caucasian flight instructor; and 72
Lieutenant Raymond Cassagnol, formerly of Seminole County, was 73
one of five Haitian-born pilots, NOW, THEREFORE, 74
75
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 76
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Section 1. Paragraphs (h) through (u) of subsection (1) of 78
section 683.01, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as paragraphs 79
(i) through (v), respectively, and new paragraph (h) is added to 80
that subsection, to read: 81
683.01 Legal holidays. — 82
(1) The legal holidays, which are also public holidays, 83
are the following: 84
(h) Tuskegee Airmen Commemoration Day, the fourth Thursday 85
in March. 86
Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024. 87