News Release: Feb. 26, 2005

Tuskegee Airmen to be Honored Feb. 24 with Convocation Featuring Original Airman Bill Wheeler

TUSKEGEE UNIVERSITY, AL − (February 16, 2005) − On Thursday, Feb. 24, Tuskegee University will honor America’s first Black fighter pilots – the legendary Tuskegee Airmen – during the annual Tuskegee Airmen Convocation.

The event recognizes the Tuskegee Airmen's exemplary combat performance during World War II, including the destruction of 260 enemy aircraft, not losing a single bomber to enemy fire in more than 200 combat missions, a record unmatched by any other fighter group, earning more than 850 medals and persuading then-U.S. President Harry S. Truman in 1948 to issue Executive Order 9981, desegregating the U.S. Military. From 1940 to 1946, some 1,000 Black pilots were trained at Tuskegee.

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