Since the Montgomery newspaper ran a story about the historians’ claims, a bomber pilot from World War II told The Associated Press that his B-24 bomber had been shot down while being escorted by the Tuskegee Airmen. The pilot, Warren Ludlum, made it clear he had the greatest respect for the Airmen and liked being escorted by them because they aggressively defended the planes they escorted.
Meanwhile, the president of the Tuskegee Airmen Inc., retired Air Force Lieutenant General Russell Davis, said he would no longer say in speeches that the group never lost a bomber under its escort.
“I’m going to drop [it] until we can get this thing clarified,” Davis said. “We’ve got some homework to do, obviously.”
According to Haulman’s aerial victory report, 72 Tuskegee Airmen shot down 109 enemy aircraft, including the best of the German fighters.
“Rarely did they lose a bomber, and then it was usually to enemy anti-aircraft artillery rather than enemy airplanes,” said Haulman. “The Tuskegee Airmen proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that African-Americans were capable of flying the best of the Allied fighters to victory against the best of the enemy fighters. They earned an indelible place in the history not only of their service, but also in the history of their country and of the world.”
-- By Shilpa Banerji
© Copyright 2005 by DiverseEducation.com
