Gropman, who has flown in more than 600 combat missions, says it is important to find out where Ludlum’s bomber got hit and who was escorting him at the time.
Meanwhile, the president of Tuskegee Airmen Inc., retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Russell Davis, says he will 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,” he says. “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,” says 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
