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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, The Tuskegee Airmen is the popular name of a group | ||||||
3 | of African-American pilots who fought in World War II under the | ||||||
4 | 332nd Fighter Group, 477th Bombardment Group of the U.S. Army | ||||||
5 | Air Corps; the Tuskegee Airmen were dedicated, determined young | ||||||
6 | men who enlisted to become America's first black military | ||||||
7 | airmen; and
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8 | WHEREAS, The Tuskegee Airmen were the first | ||||||
9 | African-American military aviators in the United States Armed | ||||||
10 | Forces; during World War II, African-Americans in many U.S. | ||||||
11 | states were still subject to racist Jim Crow laws; the American | ||||||
12 | military was no exception, as it too was racially segregated, | ||||||
13 | along with much of the federal government; the Tuskegee Airmen | ||||||
14 | were subject to racial discrimination, both within and outside | ||||||
15 | the Army; despite these adversities, they trained and flew with | ||||||
16 | distinction; each of the men possessed a strong personal desire | ||||||
17 | to serve the United States to the best of his ability; and
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18 | WHEREAS, By the spring of 1944, the all-black 332nd Fighter | ||||||
19 | Group had
been sent overseas with the 100th, 301st, and
302nd | ||||||
20 | Fighter Squadrons; these squadrons were moved to mainland | ||||||
21 | Italy, where the 99th
Fighter Squadron, assigned to the group | ||||||
22 | on May 1, 1944, joined them on
June 6, at Rarnitelli Airfield, | ||||||
23 | near Termoli, on the Adriatic coast; from Rarnitelli, the 332nd |
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1 | Fighter Group escorted the Fifteenth Air
Force to heavy | ||||||
2 | strategic bombing raids into Czechoslovakia, Austria,
Hungary, | ||||||
3 | Poland, and Germany; flying escort for heavy bombers, the
332nd | ||||||
4 | earned an impressive combat record; the Allies called
these | ||||||
5 | airmen "Red Tails" or "Red-Tail Angels" because of the
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6 | distinctive crimson paint predominately applied on the tail
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7 | section of the unit's aircraft; these assignments marked the
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8 | first aerial combat missions ever carried out by | ||||||
9 | African-American pilots; and
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10 | WHEREAS, Of the 996 total pilots trained in Tuskegee from | ||||||
11 | 1941
to 1946, approximately 445 were deployed overseas and 150
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12 | airmen lost their lives in accidents or combat; the blood cost
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13 | included 66 pilots killed in action or accidents and
32 taken | ||||||
14 | into captivity as prisoners of war; the
Tuskegee Airmen were | ||||||
15 | credited by higher commands with the
following | ||||||
16 | accomplishments: | ||||||
17 | 15,533 combat sorties and 1,578 missions; | ||||||
18 | 112 German aircraft destroyed in the
air and another | ||||||
19 | 150 on the ground; | ||||||
20 | 950 railcars, trucks, and other motor
vehicles | ||||||
21 | destroyed; | ||||||
22 | One destroyer sunk by P-47 machine gun fire; | ||||||
23 | A nearly perfect record of not losing U.S. bombers; and
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24 | WHEREAS, Awards and decorations awarded to the
Tuskegee |
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1 | Airmen for valor and performance
included: | ||||||
2 | 3 Distinguished Unit Citations (99th Pursuit Squadron: | ||||||
3 | May 30-June 11, 1943 for the capture
of Pantelleria, Italy; | ||||||
4 | 99th Fighter Squadron: May 12-14, 1944 for successful air
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5 | strikes against Monte Cassino, Italy; and
332nd Fighter | ||||||
6 | Group: March 24, 1945 for the longest bomber
escort mission | ||||||
7 | of World War II); | ||||||
8 | At least one Silver Star; | ||||||
9 | An estimated 150 Distinguished Flying
Crosses; | ||||||
10 | 14 Bronze Stars; | ||||||
11 | 744 Air Medals; | ||||||
12 | 8 Purple Hearts; and
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13 | WHEREAS, After the end of World War II, black airmen | ||||||
14 | returned to the United States and once again faced racism and | ||||||
15 | hatred, despite their outstanding service record; and
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16 | WHEREAS, These brave men deserve to be recognized by the | ||||||
17 | State of Illinois for their service to their country during | ||||||
18 | wartime; and
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19 | WHEREAS, The City of Rockford will honor the | ||||||
20 | accomplishments of the Tuskegee Airmen and the Montford Point | ||||||
21 | Marines during a celebration on February 24-26, 2012; the | ||||||
22 | celebration will include a VIP screening of the film "Red | ||||||
23 | Tails" on February 24, a presentation about the Tuskegee Airmen |
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1 | on February 25, and presentation about the Montford Point | ||||||
2 | Marines on February 26; therefore, be it
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3 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
4 | NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
5 | we honor the Tuskegee Airman for their bravery and patriotism | ||||||
6 | and thank them for the services they have rendered to our | ||||||
7 | nation; and be it further
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8 | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | ||||||
9 | presented to the City of Rockford and the Chicago "DODO" | ||||||
10 | Chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen, Incorporated.
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