Thunderbolts attend Tuskegee convention

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Melanie Holochwost
  • 56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. --  Twenty-two Luke Airmen, NCOs and officers from a variety of career fields attended the 39th Annual Tuskegee Airman Convention July 28 through 31 in San Antonio.

The detail's mission was to interview and record stories from the Tuskegee Airmen and their spouses, according to Ben Bruce, 56th Fighter Wing ground safety manager.

"As a group, we came back to Luke with 17 historical stories," he said. "The group is now required to pass the stories and information on to members of their squadrons."

Group members were encouraged to seek out Tuskegee Airmen who were in the same or similar career field as them.

"This way they could bond with each other and learn how the job has changed since the 1940s," Mr. Bruce said.

Mr. Bruce said aside from hearing personal stories from the Tuskegee Airmen, the most interesting part of the convention was hearing the Air Force's top uniformed officer speak.

"The red jackets of the Tuskegee Airmen remain as distinctive today as the red tail markings on the aircraft they flew during World War II," said Gen. Norton Schwartz, Air Force chief of staff. "And their legacy -- the influence they've had on Air Force operations, past and present -- leaves an even more indelible mark."

General Schwartz said the legacy of the famed African-American flying unit in the U.S. Army Air Corps lives on in the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing at Joint Base Balad, Iraq.

"This is a unit that is very proud to be a descendant of the 332nd Fighter Group led by Gen. Benjamin Davis Jr.," he said. "Like the Tuskegee Airmen, the men and women of the 332nd today serve with distinction in hostile skies, operating a variety of weapons systems. They have been the mainstay of fulfilling full-spectrum airpower in Operation Iraqi Freedom from day one. By all measures, they represent the legacy you lived."

Mr. Bruce said Luke Airmen attended a series of seminars at the convention.

"The seminars not only taught military members about Tuskegee Airmen history, but provided them with education and training to sharpen communication, leadership and mentorship skills," he added.