Famed Tuskegee airmen visit Western Pennsylvania
MARSHALL TWP, Allegheny County — Three Tuskegee airmen came to the area to attend the 19th annual Western Pennsylvania All Service Academies Ball on Thursday.
The event was at 5:30 p.m. at the Doubletree Hotel Pittsburgh-Cranberry, preceded by a meet-and-greet event where the public could meet and take pictures with the three guests of honor from 1 to 2 p.m.
The airmen — Col. Charles McGee, Lt. Col. George Hardy and Eugene Richardson, pilot class 45a — spoke with those in attendance about their time in and after the U.S. Army Air Force, and the lessons they've learned along the way.
“Tuskegee airmen” refers to a group of African-American military pilots who fought in World War II as the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group. The pilots, as well as the navigators, bombardiers, mechanics and other support personnel, trained at the Tuskegee Army Air Field and were educated at Tuskegee University in Alabama.
They were the first black military pilots in American history, and served during a time when many states were still subject to Jim Crow laws and the U.S. military was still racially segregated.
For Richardson and McGee, the aviation program let them take their enlistment in their own hands.
“I could've waited to be drafted ... but I told a policeman I wanted to be a pilot. I wanted to fly, and he said 'you take a special test and if you pass the test they'll hold you back for a pilot class,'” said Richardson. “It was fantastic. From the time I was a little kid I wanted to fly an airplane and being able to do it ... it was a dream come true.”
He was trained as a fighter pilot flying P-40 and P-47 planes, learning to fly escort missions across Europe.
But after the training, Richardson's time to ship off to war never came.
“I finished school in March of '45,” Richardson said. “When Hitler heard I was coming he surrendered. So I didn't have to go over.”
After the war Richardson became a math and science teacher in Philadelphia, where he started his family and ultimately retired as a middle school principal. His son, Eugene Richardson III, is now a captain with American Airlines.
“You know how you play with your kids on the floor with trucks and trains and stuff? Well, I used to play with him with airplanes,” Richardson said. “He grew up, became a pilot and actually was the captain of a plane that flew us to Paris. So my little boy grew up and flew me across the ocean.”
McGee found his way to the Tuskegee Airmen while in college. Like Richardson, McGee preferred to find his own way into the war before the draft found it for him.
“Well, literally I was avoiding the draft. I had a draft card, but because I was in college the draft board wasn't pulling my number,” he said. “When I heard about the aviation program I signed up for the training. And after the first flight I knew I made the right decision.”
McGee flew missions in Europe and after the war he stayed in the Air Force, flying in the Korean and Vietnam wars.“I loved it,” McGee said. “I'm lucky and fortunate enough to fly for 27 of my 30 years.”He retired from the Armed Forces in 1973 and worked for a while in private businesses before settling down in Maryland.Events like this give him the chance to educate people about the lessons learned in history, he said.“Our young folks need to know where our country's come from and what took place over the years. Some of it we don't want to repeat,” McGee said. “They need to be aware and realize they're the future, and the value lessons that sustained us are good for them.”Even in retirement McGee continues to pass down his lessons to the nation's youth.“For the young folks I always give 'em 4 P's,” he said. “Perceive: find your talents and choose something you'd like to do. Prepare: get a good education read write and speak well plus develop those talents. Perform: always do your best but let excellence be your goal in everything you do. And finally, persevere: don't let adverse circumstances be your excuse for not achieving. We could've bowed our head and gone off and said 'they don't like me and call me names' and not serve our country.”This year's was the 19th annual All Service Academies Ball.Each year members of the military, veterans, families and the community attend the event to support the Cadets and Midshipmen of the U.S. Military Academy, the U.S. Naval Academy, the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and the U.S. Air Force Academy.
