At the Sixth Annual Tuskegee Airmen Convocation held Feb. 23 at Tuskegee University, 63 surviving airmen received honorary degrees from the Alabama university.
Between 1940 and 1946 approximately 1,000 African-American pilots trained at Tuskegee in segregated units. They earned more than 850 medals during the war, destroyed 260 enemy aircraft — and didn’t lose a single bomber to enemy fire in more than 200 combat missions.
The Red Tail Project was founded to remember the feats of the Tuskegee Airmen, as well as encourage youth to follow their dreams. The organization is in the midst of raising $2 million to fund an education project, as well as the costs of rebuilding the P-51C “Tuskegee Airmen,” which was severely damaged in an accident in May 2004.