Text: HR00017 Text: HR00019 Text: HR00000 - HR00099 Text: HR Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
PAG LIN
1 1 HOUSE RESOLUTION NO.
1 2 BY FORD, MILLER, and BERRY
1 3 A Resolution recognizing the significant achievements
1 4 of the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II and the
1 5 involvement of Iowans in those achievements and
1 6 expressing appreciation on behalf of the citizens
1 7 of this state.
1 8 WHEREAS, even with the World War I record of
1 9 accomplishment by the graduate black U.S. Army
1 10 officers of Fort Des Moines' 17th Provisional Training
1 11 Regiment, racist beliefs persisted within the
1 12 military, as shown by an Army War College study in
1 13 1925 that concluded that "blacks lacked intelligence
1 14 and were cowardly under combat conditions"; and
1 15 WHEREAS, in spite of the prevalence of racism in
1 16 this country at the time, the first training facility
1 17 for black combat pilots was implemented at Moton
1 18 Field, Tuskegee, Alabama, from 1941-1945; and
1 19 WHEREAS, of the 992 graduate airmen who became the
1 20 99th Fighter Squadron, 332nd Fighter Group, and 477th
1 21 Composite (Bomber) Group, 450 saw combat during World
1 22 War II, including 200 escort missions without losing a
1 23 bomber to enemy fighter planes; however, 66 airmen
1 24 lost their lives in combat or accidents; and
1 25 WHEREAS, Iowa had 12 graduate airmen, including
1 26 several of the most notable and a number of others who
1 27 trained but were "washed out", often for unjust
1 28 reasons; and
1 29 WHEREAS, Iowa's initial connection to the airmen
1 30 was the design of Moton Field at Tuskegee by prominent
2 1 black engineer, Archie Alexander, who was a native of
2 2 Ottumwa and a graduate of the University of Iowa; and
2 3 WHEREAS, the War Department's civilian pilot
2 4 training program refused to admit black pilots until
2 5 licensed pilot and Howard University student Yancy
2 6 Williams filed suit forcing the Army Air Corps
2 7 Department to admit blacks to the pilot training
2 8 program, and in spite of its location in the racially
2 9 segregated deep south, Tuskegee Institute was selected
2 10 as the site for the training at Moton Field; and
2 11 WHEREAS, in April 1943, when the 99th Fighter
2 12 Squadron deployed to North Africa where allied troops
2 13 were battling German and Italian forces in the desert
2 14 and assumed the Red Tail as their unit color
2 15 designation, Iowans Maurice Esters, Joseph Gomer, and
2 16 Luther Smith were part of the first deployment and the
2 17 "Red Tail Angels" quickly earned a reputation for
2 18 ferocity in air combat; and
2 19 WHEREAS, between 1943 and 1945, the Tuskegee Airmen
2 20 flew 15,533 sorties over North Africa, Italy,
2 21 Yugoslavia, and Germany, and in addition to the 200
2 22 flawless bomber escort missions, the airmen destroyed
2 23 or damaged 409 enemy aircraft and ground targets and
2 24 sank a German destroyer, and the six Iowans who
2 25 experienced combat flew over 400 combat missions and
2 26 won numerous decorations; and
2 27 WHEREAS, although a half-century has passed, little
2 28 recognition has been made of the Tuskegee Airmen's
2 29 perseverance and sacrifice through an incredibly
2 30 difficult period in American history, and of how these
3 1 individuals have continued to contribute to the growth
3 2 of the nation in careers as physicians, engineers,
3 3 educators, and a variety of other distinguished
3 4 professions; NOW THEREFORE,
3 5 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
3 6 That the House of Representatives recognizes the
3 7 extraordinary achievements of the Iowans who served as
3 8 Tuskegee Airmen, as representative of all who served
3 9 as Tuskegee Airmen, and expresses the grateful
3 10 appreciation of the citizens of this state for that
3 11 service; and
3 12 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Chief Clerk of the
3 13 House of Representatives shall provide an official
3 14 copy of this resolution to the Iowans who brought
3 15 distinction to themselves and to this state by serving
3 16 as Tuskegee Airmen.
3 17 LSB 2629HH 80
3 18 jp/sh/8
Text: HR00017 Text: HR00019 Text: HR00000 - HR00099 Text: HR Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
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