WHEREAS, The first African American fighter pilots in the United States Armed Forces were known as the Tuskegee Airmen; and

WHEREAS, The Tuskegee Airmen, despite widespread racial discrimination in the 1940s which relegated them to second-class citizenship, demonstrated their deep patriotism by stepping forward for military service at a time in history when the United States faced the existential threat of world fascism; and

WHEREAS, The Tuskegee Airmen overcame racism and ingrained prejudice in the United States Army Air Corps to complete flight training at a period when much of the United States military leadership believed African Americans to be incapable of either operating fighter aircraft or of performing well in combat; and

WHEREAS, The Tuskegee Airmen flew over 1,500 missions during World War II and proved beyond doubt that African Americans were not merely competent, but extremely capable of operating in the high-stress environment of aerial combat, contradicting the conclusion of a 1925 Army War College Study that “the Negro . . . is very subject to panic” and “is a rank coward”; and

WHEREAS, The Tuskegee Airmen, once assigned to escort Fifteenth Air Force bombing missions over occupied Europe, developed such a reputation for effective close escort that bomber losses to enemy fighters decreased dramatically, leading individual bomber groups, not knowing the ethnicity of the pilots of the 332nd Fighter Group, also known as the “Red Tails,” to specifically request them as escorts during bombing missions; and

WHEREAS, The pilots of the 332nd Fighter Group were collectively awarded 96 Distinguished Flying Crosses during World War II, and the unit as a whole was awarded three Distinguished Unit Citations, with over 112 aerial victories credited to the 99th Fighter Squadron and the 332nd Fighter Group combined, including three German Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighters, the first jets in combat; and

WHEREAS, The first graduating class of pilots, 2nd Lt. Lemuel Custis, Capt. Benjamin O. Davis Jr., 2nd Lt. Charles DeBow, 2nd Lt. George “Spanky” Roberts, and 2nd Lt. Mac Ross, were awarded their wings on March 7, 1942; and

WHEREAS, This year marks the 81st Anniversary of that first graduating class of five; now, therefore, be it