Historian urges attendance of Tuskegee Airmen event

Some of the very men who destroyed racial stereotypes as pilots during World War II will arrive in Waynesboro this week, and a local historian says residents shouldn’t miss the rare opportunity to meet them.

The Tuskegee Airmen, according to Keysville resident and Augusta State University history professor Michael Searles, are legendary and proved that African Americans had the intelligence, skill and courage to fly airplanes during WWII.

Several of them will be on hand for the showing of In Their Own Words: The Tuskegee Airmen, a documentary about their struggle and service, at the Burke County High School auditorium. The event will be held at 7 p.m. on Friday.

“The Tuskegee Airmen had to fight discrimination and the enemy,” Searles said. “Their record of heroism, dedication and skill in battle eventually won over those critics who initially tried to have them disbanded. Their performance was an opening wedge against a segregated military and put them front and center in the march for equality and justice in America.”

Searles added that their appearance in Waynesboro should be an occasion for everyone to show support “for these heroes of America’s greatest generation.”

It’s an opportunity that is sure not to be around much longer. The living airmen are now in their 80s and 90s.

One of the airmen scheduled to attend Friday’s event passed away just last week.

Colonel Lee Archer, the only Ace of the historic Tuskegee Airmen, died last Wednesday at age 90.

According to Denton Adkinson, co-owner of Bryton Entertainment which produced the documentary, those who attend Friday’s event will still have a chance to meet several other airmen following the presentation.

“The reason we bring the airmen to these showings is so people can share the emotional experience we had while making the documentary and getting to meet these men,” he said. “They see the finished product and get involved with the ups and downs of the story, and then after the show, they get to meet their new heroes in person.”