| 1 | 1 | | 89R3294 BPG-D |
|---|
| 2 | 2 | | By: West S.C.R. No. 17 |
|---|
| 3 | 3 | | |
|---|
| 4 | 4 | | |
|---|
| 5 | 5 | | |
|---|
| 6 | 6 | | |
|---|
| 7 | 7 | | CONCURRENT RESOLUTION |
|---|
| 8 | 8 | | WHEREAS, One of the most celebrated military units in our |
|---|
| 9 | 9 | | nation's history, the Tuskegee Airmen played a crucial role in the |
|---|
| 10 | 10 | | Allied victory in World War II and in the advancement of civil |
|---|
| 11 | 11 | | rights in the United States; and |
|---|
| 12 | 12 | | WHEREAS, Although Black pilots served with French forces |
|---|
| 13 | 13 | | during World War I, African Americans were excluded from the |
|---|
| 14 | 14 | | U.S. Army Air Corps, even as the nation began preparing for another |
|---|
| 15 | 15 | | global conflict in the late 1930s and early 1940s; the NAACP, |
|---|
| 16 | 16 | | churches, and newspapers urged an end to this discrimination, and |
|---|
| 17 | 17 | | President Franklin D. Roosevelt promised to meet their request |
|---|
| 18 | 18 | | during his 1940 campaign; following his victory, he overruled his |
|---|
| 19 | 19 | | top generals to order the creation of a separate flight training |
|---|
| 20 | 20 | | program for Black aviators in 1941; and |
|---|
| 21 | 21 | | WHEREAS, The 99th Pursuit Squadron, later renamed the 99th |
|---|
| 22 | 22 | | Fighter Squadron, was activated as the first Black flying unit in |
|---|
| 23 | 23 | | March of that year; its base was established at Tuskegee Institute |
|---|
| 24 | 24 | | in Alabama, one of the nation's foremost African American colleges, |
|---|
| 25 | 25 | | which already housed a successful civilian pilot training program |
|---|
| 26 | 26 | | and owned a small private airfield; many military leaders of the |
|---|
| 27 | 27 | | time considered Black soldiers inferior and expected the initiative |
|---|
| 28 | 28 | | to fail, but the staff at Tuskegee Army Air Field immediately began |
|---|
| 29 | 29 | | their efforts to prepare accomplished aviators; Colonel Noel F. |
|---|
| 30 | 30 | | Parrish, the airfield's commander, mandated the same rigorous |
|---|
| 31 | 31 | | training that was provided at other bases, and the determined |
|---|
| 32 | 32 | | individuals who made up ranks of the Tuskegee Airmen eagerly took up |
|---|
| 33 | 33 | | the challenge of becoming military pilots; and |
|---|
| 34 | 34 | | WHEREAS, Led by West Point alumnus and future four-star |
|---|
| 35 | 35 | | general Benjamin O. Davis Jr., a member of Tuskegee's first |
|---|
| 36 | 36 | | graduating class, the pilots of the 99th Fighter Squadron initially |
|---|
| 37 | 37 | | proved themselves in battles over North Africa and Italy; the unit |
|---|
| 38 | 38 | | later joined three other Black squadrons, the 100th, 301st, and |
|---|
| 39 | 39 | | 302nd, to form the 332nd Fighter Group; from bases in Italy, they |
|---|
| 40 | 40 | | destroyed numerous enemy aircraft and targets on the ground and at |
|---|
| 41 | 41 | | sea; on escort missions for the 15th Air Force, which had been |
|---|
| 42 | 42 | | losing a dozen bombers a day, the Tuskegee Airmen achieved a |
|---|
| 43 | 43 | | dramatic turnaround, losing just five bombers on 205 missions; |
|---|
| 44 | 44 | | their success in protecting Allied aircraft earned them the |
|---|
| 45 | 45 | | nickname the Red-Tailed Angels, in reference to the crimson color |
|---|
| 46 | 46 | | scheme of their planes; and |
|---|
| 47 | 47 | | WHEREAS, Between 1942 and 1946, nearly 1,000 Army Air Corps |
|---|
| 48 | 48 | | pilots, 20 bomber pilots, and 16,000 ground personnel graduated |
|---|
| 49 | 49 | | from Tuskegee; the airmen flew over 15,000 missions and earned more |
|---|
| 50 | 50 | | than 150 Distinguished Flying Crosses, among myriad other |
|---|
| 51 | 51 | | decorations; their record of excellence contributed to President |
|---|
| 52 | 52 | | Harry Truman's decision to end segregation in the military with an |
|---|
| 53 | 53 | | executive order in 1948; moreover, many former Tuskegee Airmen |
|---|
| 54 | 54 | | became leaders in the Air Force, their communities, and the Civil |
|---|
| 55 | 55 | | Rights Movement in the decades that followed; and |
|---|
| 56 | 56 | | WHEREAS, Through their courage, skill, and patriotic |
|---|
| 57 | 57 | | service, the Tuskegee Airmen valiantly answered their nation's call |
|---|
| 58 | 58 | | to duty in World War II, contributing immeasurably to the |
|---|
| 59 | 59 | | integration of the military and American society as a whole, and |
|---|
| 60 | 60 | | their achievements are indeed deserving of special recognition; |
|---|
| 61 | 61 | | now, therefore, be it |
|---|
| 62 | 62 | | RESOLVED, That the 89th Legislature of the State of Texas |
|---|
| 63 | 63 | | hereby designate the fourth Thursday of March as Tuskegee Airmen |
|---|
| 64 | 64 | | Commemoration Day; and, be it further |
|---|
| 65 | 65 | | RESOLVED, That, in accordance with the provisions of |
|---|
| 66 | 66 | | Section 391.004(d), Government Code, this designation remain in |
|---|
| 67 | 67 | | effect until the 10th anniversary of the date this resolution is |
|---|
| 68 | 68 | | finally passed by the legislature. |
|---|