Die Ehre zu fliegen - Tuskegee Airmen

Tuskegee Airmen is a timeless movie. Lawrence Fishburn plays the role of grudging hero to its maximum potential. The bad guys are racist and ignorant, but they are consistently confronted with the truth of their stupidity. This movie tells the tale, without an overtly biased point of view. There are certainly black men who failed to qualify as pilots during WW2, just as there were white. The racial struggle is brought to light without alienating anyone. The acting is extraordinary, the air fight scenes are power packed and the story is life itself. You must see this film.

THE TUSKEEGEE AIRMEN is a film that I tend to get very emotional about. I can never see the ending without tears of appreciation, joy and intense pride.

It all comes home for me as a self admittedly rednecked White bomber pilot says in the final briefing: "I have a crew whose lives are my responsibility. If it's all the same to you Sir, I want the 332nd to take me to Berlin and back".

That cinematic statement is a long overdue Thank You from America to the pilots of the 332nd Fighter Group, both the living and the dead, for a job well done.

I personally owe the Tuskeegee Airmen a sincere vote of thanks, as does EVERY Black person who has ever had the honor of having flown a military aircraft for the United States. The Tuskeegee Airmen blazed the trail that made it possible for others to follow.

I've met a couple of the original Tuskeegee pilots, and I've heard their stories. The discrimination and bigotry shown in the film was NOTHING compared to the realities that they faced day after day. Even after the war, as decorated fighter pilots, the bigotry they faced on their return to the US was unbelievable.

One old fighter pilot told me of how he had just come ashore from the troopship in full uniform, and was almost immediately arrested by the military police in New York City on a charge of impersonating an officer and wearing unauthorized decorations; the MP just KNEW that there was no such thing as a Black fighter pilot.

Another told me of his postwar attempts to gain employment as an airline pilot as the lines geared up for the bright future that they saw coming. Ex military pilots with half his experience who were White were being snapped up without question... but after much beating around the bush, he was finally told that even as impressive as his credentials were, there was no place for him in the industry. He recalled that the airline representative that told him was so ashamed that he couldn't look him in the eye as he said it.

Lawrence Fishburn's portrayal of Lt. Hannibal Lee is probably typical of the men who were part of this, the SECOND "Tuskeegee Experiment". They were college graduates, the best of the best, who had survived a system deliberately designed to eliminate them from flight training.

Andre Braugher's testimony (as Col. Ben O. Davis Jr.) before the Congressional committee says it all when he asks what he, as a Black soldier, should think of a nation that despises him even as he lays down his life to defend it... a nation that asks him to fight for principles that don't apply to HIM personally.

The film has technical flaws... every film does... but beyond them it tells a story that, by design or negligence, has been ignored by American history for almost a half century.

I was 17 years old when I first saw this movie on HBO. I was enthralled by WWII history already at this point. This movie opened my eyes to a whole other area of history that was missing in the history books of the small 99.5% white town I grew up in. The challenges these hero's faced just to serve their country they so loved while a good percentage of the country loathed them is deserving of a decoration in and of itself. This is mostly what the movie focuses on. However, the record of the men of 332d is second to none; no other unit in WWII could boast that while escorting, they never lost a bomber. John Lithgow also plays a good bit-part in the movie. He is a much better actor than I because I could never play a part where I had to utter such bigoted garbage as he did in this movie. Laurence Fishburne and Andre Braugher deliver stellar performances as Hannibal Lee and the great military leader Benjamin O. Davis. This film is a definite must see for any WWII history fan and a great movie for everyone else. Too bad it was never released in the box office I think it would have faired well.

This movie gives a good look at the first all black squadron of fighter pilots trained in Tuskegee, Alabama. The trials and tribulations of the "Fighting 99th" as they join the 332nd Fighter Group. They gained respect and much deserved recognition by escorting bombers over Germany. The Tuskegee Airmen received over 800 medals for their collective war efforts and never lost a single bomber under their protection. A standard, but memorable WWII flick with its share of 'dog-fights'.

The hard working cast includes: Laurence Fishburne, Cuba Gooding Jr., John Lithgow, Christopher McDonald and Malcolm-Jamal Warner.

NOTE: parts of the movie were filmed in Muskogee, Oklahoma at Davis Field. Local EMTs and firefighters were used as extras.

This is a movie that should be viewed by all Americans interested in seeing a slice of Americana which has for so long been ignored. Most will identify with the raw emotion evoked by the plight of these brave and talented men. Black Americans will be moved to tears as we are reminded of what those trailblazers overcame so that future Black soldiers, airmen and every day citizens could take their rightful place in American society, proud of their past and heritage. We all owe a debt of gratitude to the Tuskegee Airmen. This movie makes it clear why.