Noel F. Parrish
Encyclopedia
Noel Francis Parrish was a Brigadier General
in the United States Air Force
who was commander of a group of black airmen known as the Tuskegee Airmen
during World War II
. He was a key factor in the program's success and in their units being assigned to combat duty. Parrish was born and raised in the south-east United States
; and joined the US Army in 1930. He served from 1930 until his retirement in 1964 as a Brigadier General
, and is the namesake for Tuskegee's most prestigious award.
, Kentucky, and spent parts of his youth living in Alabama
and Georgia
. His birthplace is often listed as being in nearby Lexington
, Kentucky. He graduated from Cullman High School
, Cullman
, Alabama in 1924 and Rice Institute
, Houston, Texas in 1928. He quit graduate school after one year and decided to hitchhike
to San Francisco. The lack of work meant hunger, so he chose to join the United States Army
's 11th Cavalry Regiment as a private
on July 30, 1930, serving in Monterey
, California.
After a year in the horse cavalry, Parrish became an aviation cadet in June 1931 and subsequently qualified as an enlisted pilot. He competed flight training in 1932 and was assigned to the 13th Attack Squadron
at Fort Crockett
, near Galveston
, Texas. One year later in September 1933 Parrish joined the Air Corps Technical School at Chanute Field, Illinois; later transferring to the First Air Transport Squadron at Dayton
, Ohio. In July 1935 he rejoined the 13th Attack Squadron as assistant operations officer, then located at Barksdale Field
, Louisiana
. Parrish became a flying instructor at Randolph Field
in April 1938, and by July 1939 he was a supervisor at the Air Corps Flying School in Glenview
, Illinois. Commissioned as a lieutenant in 1939, Parrish attended the Air Command and Staff School at Maxwell Field
, Alabama. As a captain, and still a student at Maxwell, his association with the Tuskegee Airmen
began as in March 1941 when he was assigned as Assistant Director of Training of the Eastern Flying Training Command. Upon graduation in June 1941, he chose to remain at Maxwell, and work with the Tuskegee Institute as a primary flight instructor. On December 5, 1941, two days before the attack on Pearl Harbor
, he was promoted to Director of Training at Tuskegee Army Flying School in Alabama, assuming command of Tuskegee Army Air Field a year later, in December 1942.
organizations and the black press pressure, which aided in the establishment of the Tuskegee
, Alabama base, in 1941. Members of that unit became known as the Tuskegee Airmen
. Pilots as well as commanders, instructors, and maintenance and support staff which comprised the "Tuskegee Experiment." There were approximately 14,000 ground support personnel at Tuskegee Field during the war along with almost 1,000 pilots graduating pilots; of which about 450 saw active combat during WW II.
The Tuskegee Institute was selected by the military for the "Tuskegee Experiment" because of its commitment to aeronautical training. Tuskegee had the facilities, engineering and technical instructors, as well as a climate for year round flying. The first Civilian Pilot Training Program
(CPTP) students completed their instruction in May 1940. The Tuskegee program was then expanded and became the center for African-American aviation during World War II
. As Director of Training and later Tuskegee Field commander, Parrish, an old cavalry sergeant who had been commissioned in 1939 as a CPTP instructor while he was stationed near Chicago
, played a key role in the program's success.
Formation of the black air units was announced by Under Secretary of War
Robert P. Patterson
on January 16, 1941. On March 19, 1941, the 99th Pursuit Squadron
(Pursuit being an early WWII synonym for "Fighter") was established at Chanute Field
in Rantoul
, Illinois and activated three days later on March 22. Over 250 enlisted men formed the first group of black Americans trained at Chanute in aircraft ground support trades. This small number became the core of other black squadrons subsequently formed at Tuskegee and Maxwell Fields in Alabama. Later in 1941, the 99th Pursuit Squadron moved to Maxwell Field and then Tuskegee Field before deploy to combat in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations
in 1943.
Eleanor Roosevelt
, who was interested in the Tuskegee aviation program, took a 40-minute flight around the base in a plane piloted by Charles "Chief" Anderson on April 19, 1941. Anderson was a self-taught black civilian and experienced aviator who learned how to fly before the war. He was hired by the Tuskegee program to be its Chief Flight Instructor. Anderson has been referred to as the 'Ancient Mariner' of black aviation, having flown long before many of the new recruits were of age. The Air Corps at that time, which had never had a single black member, was part of an army that possessed exactly two black Regular line officers at the beginning of the war: Brigadier Generals Benjamin O. Davis, Sr.
and Benjamin O. Davis, Jr.
Exercises at a Booker T. Washington
monument located at the Tuskegee Institute commemorated the beginning of black American pre-flight training for military aviation. The first twelve candidates for officer-flier positions were cited by America’s black press as, "the cream of the country’s colored youth." The first classes started at the institute, and flying lessons soon began at the Tuskegee Army Air Field (TAAF) some approximately ten miles away. its having been built, government press releases recounted that the air field was developed and built by Negro contractors both skilled and unskilled. Of the original class 5 students graduated in March 1942.
The PTI3A Stearman was the first type of training plane to be used in teaching the new recruits. The AT6 Texan
, and P-40 Warhawk followed as the aircraft of choice over time. Much of the primary flight training was done at Moton Field at Tuskegee. Tuskegee trained over 1,000 black aviators during the war, about half of whom served overseas.
, Joe Louis
, Ella Fitzgerald
, Ray Robinson
, Louis Armstrong
, and Langston Hughes
were among the many guests. Parrish also desegregated the base to a much larger extent than his predecessors.
Parrish demanded high standards of performance of his men, did not view race as an issue. Parrish felt that what mattered was professionalism and an individual's capacities, techniques, and judgement. Parrish held his black trainees to the same high standards of performance as whites; and those who did not meet those standards were failed out of the program.
. The Pantelleria attack forced the surrender of the ground garrison, due only to the air attack. The surrender to an air attack was the first of its kind. The 332nd, which was a combination of comprising the 100th, the 301st, and the 302nd squadrons, first saw active combat in January 1944. The dive-bombing and strafing missions under Lieutenant Colonel Davis, Jr. were considered to be highly successful. Following a change in its mission to strategic bomber escort, the 99th was added to the 332nd in July 1944.
In May 1942, the 99th Pursuit Squadron was renamed the 99th Fighter Squadron. It earned three Distinguished Unit Citations (DUC) during World War II. The DUCs were for operations at Pantelleria and Tunisia
from May 30 – June 11, 1943, Monastery Hill near Cassino
from May 12–14, 1944, and for successfully fighting off German jet aircraft on March 24, 1945. The mission was the longest bomber escort mission throughout the war. The 332nd also flew missions in Sicily, Anzio
, Normandy, the Rhineland
, the Po Valley
and Rome-Arno and others. Pilots of the 99th once set a record for destroying five enemy aircraft in less than four minutes.
Individual pilots of the 332nd Fighter Group also earned approximately 1000 awards and decorations. Their missions took them to Rome-Arno, Normandy, Rhineland, Romania
, Northern and Southern France, and the American Theater Campaigns. The 332nd first saw combat in February 1944. Throughout various engagements over the course of the war, the 332nd was credited with destroying at least: 112 airborne enemy aircraft, 150 aircraft on the ground, over 600 train cars, over 40 barges/boats, and a German Navy destroyer
. The destruction of the Navy destroyer was the first such accomplishment of its time.
Although never seeing combat, The 477th Bombardment Group was activated in 1943, and was not completely manned until March 1945. The 553rd Fighter Replacement Training Squadron was also activated in 1943. Its mission was to provide replacement pilots for the 332nd. Both units began training at Selfridge Field, Michigan
, but because of an unhealthy racial atmosphere in the local area the 477th was moved to Godman Field
, Kentucky
, then to Freeman Field
, Indiana
, while the 552rd was moved to Walterboro
, South Carolina, where it was eventually inactivated. Its members were transferred to form a squadron of the Air Base Group. From its inception, the 477th was plagued with problems. When activated the unit had no established cadre to break-in new pilots and had no navigators/bombardiers to man crews. Within one year the 477th had 38 squadron or unit moves. In June 1945, the 477th was redesignated as the 477th Composite Group.
s – 1,578 missions – 66 KIA
– 95 Distinguished Flying Crosses
awarded – 450 Pilots sent overseas. Their operational aircraft were, in succession: P-40 Warhawk, P-39 Airacobra, P-47 Thunderbolt, and P-51 Mustang fighter aircraft.
Parrish, stated in his memoirs that he often mediated between the Army officials, whites near Tuskegee who felt that the airmen were uppity, and the aviation trainees themselves. Dr. Frederick D. Patterson
, the third president of Tuskegee Institute, wrote to Parrish on September 14, 1944: "In my opinion, all who have had anything to do with the development and direction of the Tuskegee Army Air Field and the Army flying training program for Negroes in this area have just cause to be proud. . . . The development had to take place in a period of emergency and interracial confusion."
at Maxwell Field and graduated the following June. He then became deputy secretary of the Air Staff at Air Force Headquarters, Washington, D.C. and became a special assistant to the vice chief of staff there in January 1951. In September 1954 he became Air Deputy to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Defense College
, which was then located in Paris, France. On September 1, 1956 he became deputy director, Military Assistance Division, United States European Command
, also in Paris. In May 1958 he returned to Air Force headquarters and became assistant for coordination to deputy chief of staff for Plans and Programs.
He eventually became a Brigadier General—retiring from the Air Force on October 1, 1964. His military decorations include the Legion of Merit
and Air Medal
. He earned a PhD from his alma matar, Rice University, and taught college history in Texas. Parrish died on Tuesday, April 7, 1987 of cardiac arrest at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Piney Point
, Maryland. At the service Lieutenant General Davis Jr. said "He may have been the only white person who believed that blacks could learn to fly airplanes."
. He recalled that when people heard of the project to train blacks pilots and mechanics he often heard “weird and worried kind of laughter” from white people and that a visiting British flying ace
stated that it was better to have a “Messerschmitt
on his tail than to try to teach a Negro to fly.”
Historians generally give credit to Colonel Noel Parrish, Commander of Tuskegee Field from 1942 to 1946, for having improved morale by reducing the amount of segregation and overcrowding and improving relations with both blacks and whites in the town of Tuskegee. The record of the Airmen became a major driver for President Harry S Truman's decision, in 1948, to desegregate the U.S. military.
Brigadier General
Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
in the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
who was commander of a group of black airmen known as the Tuskegee Airmen
Tuskegee Airmen
The Tuskegee Airmen is the popular name of a group of African American pilots who fought in World War II. Formally, they were the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group of the U.S. Army Air Corps....
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He was a key factor in the program's success and in their units being assigned to combat duty. Parrish was born and raised in the south-east United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
; and joined the US Army in 1930. He served from 1930 until his retirement in 1964 as a Brigadier General
Brigadier General
Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
, and is the namesake for Tuskegee's most prestigious award.
Early life and career
Parrish was the son of a Southern white minister; born in VersaillesVersailles, Kentucky
As of the census of 2000, there were 7,511 people, 3,160 households, and 2,110 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 3,330 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 88.18% White, 8.67% African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.35%...
, Kentucky, and spent parts of his youth living in Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
and Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
. His birthplace is often listed as being in nearby Lexington
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
, Kentucky. He graduated from Cullman High School
Cullman High School
Cullman High School is the largest public high school in the city of Cullman, Alabama as well as Cullman County, Alabama. The school is classified as a 5A school and belongs to the Cullman City School District....
, Cullman
Cullman, Alabama
Cullman is a city in Cullman County, State of Alabama. Cullman is located along Interstate 65, about north of Birmingham, and about south of Huntsville. According to the U.S...
, Alabama in 1924 and Rice Institute
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...
, Houston, Texas in 1928. He quit graduate school after one year and decided to hitchhike
Hitchhiking
Hitchhiking is a means of transportation that is gained by asking people, usually strangers, for a ride in their automobile or other road vehicle to travel a distance that may either be short or long...
to San Francisco. The lack of work meant hunger, so he chose to join the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
's 11th Cavalry Regiment as a private
Private (rank)
A Private is a soldier of the lowest military rank .In modern military parlance, 'Private' is shortened to 'Pte' in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries and to 'Pvt.' in the United States.Notably both Sir Fitzroy MacLean and Enoch Powell are examples of, rare, rapid career...
on July 30, 1930, serving in Monterey
Monterey, California
The City of Monterey in Monterey County is located on Monterey Bay along the Pacific coast in Central California. Monterey lies at an elevation of 26 feet above sea level. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,810. Monterey is of historical importance because it was the capital of...
, California.
After a year in the horse cavalry, Parrish became an aviation cadet in June 1931 and subsequently qualified as an enlisted pilot. He competed flight training in 1932 and was assigned to the 13th Attack Squadron
13th Bomb Squadron
The 13th Bomb Squadron is an active United States Air Force organization assigned to the 509th Operations Group, stationed at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri...
at Fort Crockett
Fort Crockett
Fort Crockett is a government reservation on Galveston Island overlookingthe Gulf of Mexico originally built as a defense installation to protect the city and harbor of Galveston and to secure the entrance to Galveston Bay,...
, near Galveston
Galveston, Texas
Galveston is a coastal city located on Galveston Island in the U.S. state of Texas. , the city had a total population of 47,743 within an area of...
, Texas. One year later in September 1933 Parrish joined the Air Corps Technical School at Chanute Field, Illinois; later transferring to the First Air Transport Squadron at Dayton
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
, Ohio. In July 1935 he rejoined the 13th Attack Squadron as assistant operations officer, then located at Barksdale Field
Barksdale Air Force Base
Barksdale Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately east-southeast of Bossier City, Louisiana.The host unit at Barksdale is the 2d Bomb Wing , the oldest Bomb Wing in the Air Force. It is assigned to the Air Force Global Strike Command's Eighth Air Force...
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
. Parrish became a flying instructor at Randolph Field
Randolph Air Force Base
Randolph Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located east-northeast of San Antonio, Texas. The base is under the jurisdiction of the 902d Mission Support Group, Air Education and Training Command ....
in April 1938, and by July 1939 he was a supervisor at the Air Corps Flying School in Glenview
Glenview, Illinois
There are at least two locations in Illinois called Glenview:*Glenview, Cook County, Illinois, a northern suburb of Chicago*Glenview, St. Clair County, Illinois, an eastern suburb of St. Louis...
, Illinois. Commissioned as a lieutenant in 1939, Parrish attended the Air Command and Staff School at Maxwell Field
Maxwell Air Force Base
Maxwell Air Force Base , officially known as Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, is a United States Air Force installation under the Air Education and Training Command . The installation is located in Montgomery, Alabama, US. It was named in honor of Second Lieutenant William C...
, Alabama. As a captain, and still a student at Maxwell, his association with the Tuskegee Airmen
Tuskegee Airmen
The Tuskegee Airmen is the popular name of a group of African American pilots who fought in World War II. Formally, they were the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group of the U.S. Army Air Corps....
began as in March 1941 when he was assigned as Assistant Director of Training of the Eastern Flying Training Command. Upon graduation in June 1941, he chose to remain at Maxwell, and work with the Tuskegee Institute as a primary flight instructor. On December 5, 1941, two days before the attack on Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
, he was promoted to Director of Training at Tuskegee Army Flying School in Alabama, assuming command of Tuskegee Army Air Field a year later, in December 1942.
Formation of the Tuskegee Experiment
Black Americans were not permitted to fly for the U.S. armed services prior to 1940. The creation of an all black pursuit squadron was brought about by pressure from civil rightsCivil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. In many situations it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change by nonviolent forms of resistance. In some situations it was...
organizations and the black press pressure, which aided in the establishment of the Tuskegee
Tuskegee, Alabama
Tuskegee is a city in Macon County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 11,846 and is designated a Micropolitan Statistical Area. Tuskegee has been an important site in various stages of African American history....
, Alabama base, in 1941. Members of that unit became known as the Tuskegee Airmen
Tuskegee Airmen
The Tuskegee Airmen is the popular name of a group of African American pilots who fought in World War II. Formally, they were the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group of the U.S. Army Air Corps....
. Pilots as well as commanders, instructors, and maintenance and support staff which comprised the "Tuskegee Experiment." There were approximately 14,000 ground support personnel at Tuskegee Field during the war along with almost 1,000 pilots graduating pilots; of which about 450 saw active combat during WW II.
The Tuskegee Institute was selected by the military for the "Tuskegee Experiment" because of its commitment to aeronautical training. Tuskegee had the facilities, engineering and technical instructors, as well as a climate for year round flying. The first Civilian Pilot Training Program
Civilian Pilot Training Program
The Civilian Pilot Training Program was a flight training program sponsored by the United States government with the stated purpose of increasing the number of civilian pilots, though having a clear impact on military preparedness....
(CPTP) students completed their instruction in May 1940. The Tuskegee program was then expanded and became the center for African-American aviation during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. As Director of Training and later Tuskegee Field commander, Parrish, an old cavalry sergeant who had been commissioned in 1939 as a CPTP instructor while he was stationed near Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, played a key role in the program's success.
Formation of the black air units was announced by Under Secretary of War
United States Under Secretary of War
The Under Secretary of War was a position created by an act of 16 December 1940 . At the same time, section 5a of the National Defense Act was amended to allow the United States Secretary of War to assign his responsibilities for procurement to any of his subordinates...
Robert P. Patterson
Robert P. Patterson
Robert Porter Patterson was the United States Under Secretary of War under President Franklin Roosevelt and the United States Secretary of War under President Harry S. Truman from September 27, 1945 to July 18, 1947....
on January 16, 1941. On March 19, 1941, the 99th Pursuit Squadron
99th Flying Training Squadron
The 99th Flying Training Squadron is part of the 12th Flying Training Wing based at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas. It operates T-1 Jayhawk aircraft conducting flight training. The squadron was formed during World War II as the first flying unit for African Americans. Known as the Tuskegee Airmen...
(Pursuit being an early WWII synonym for "Fighter") was established at Chanute Field
Chanute Air Force Base
Chanute Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force base located south of and adjacent to Rantoul, Illinois, about south of Chicago. Its primary mission throughout its existence was Air Force technical training....
in Rantoul
Rantoul, Illinois
Rantoul is a village in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 13,674 at the 2010 census. The present mayor is Neal Williams, who was re-elected in 2009...
, Illinois and activated three days later on March 22. Over 250 enlisted men formed the first group of black Americans trained at Chanute in aircraft ground support trades. This small number became the core of other black squadrons subsequently formed at Tuskegee and Maxwell Fields in Alabama. Later in 1941, the 99th Pursuit Squadron moved to Maxwell Field and then Tuskegee Field before deploy to combat in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations
Mediterranean Theater of Operations
The Mediterranean Theater of Operations, United States Army was originally called North African Theater of Operations and is an American term for the conflict that took place between the Allies and Axis Powers in North Africa and Italy during World War II...
in 1943.
Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor Roosevelt
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She supported the New Deal policies of her husband, distant cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and became an advocate for civil rights. After her husband's death in 1945, Roosevelt continued to be an international...
, who was interested in the Tuskegee aviation program, took a 40-minute flight around the base in a plane piloted by Charles "Chief" Anderson on April 19, 1941. Anderson was a self-taught black civilian and experienced aviator who learned how to fly before the war. He was hired by the Tuskegee program to be its Chief Flight Instructor. Anderson has been referred to as the 'Ancient Mariner' of black aviation, having flown long before many of the new recruits were of age. The Air Corps at that time, which had never had a single black member, was part of an army that possessed exactly two black Regular line officers at the beginning of the war: Brigadier Generals Benjamin O. Davis, Sr.
Benjamin O. Davis, Sr.
Brigadier General Benjamin Oliver Davis, Sr. was an American general and the father of Benjamin O. Davis Jr. He was the first African-American general officer in the United States Army....
and Benjamin O. Davis, Jr.
Benjamin O. Davis, Jr.
Benjamin Oliver Davis Jr. was an American born United States Air Force general and commander of the World War II Tuskegee Airmen....
Exercises at a Booker T. Washington
Booker T. Washington
Booker Taliaferro Washington was an American educator, author, orator, and political leader. He was the dominant figure in the African-American community in the United States from 1890 to 1915...
monument located at the Tuskegee Institute commemorated the beginning of black American pre-flight training for military aviation. The first twelve candidates for officer-flier positions were cited by America’s black press as, "the cream of the country’s colored youth." The first classes started at the institute, and flying lessons soon began at the Tuskegee Army Air Field (TAAF) some approximately ten miles away. its having been built, government press releases recounted that the air field was developed and built by Negro contractors both skilled and unskilled. Of the original class 5 students graduated in March 1942.
The PTI3A Stearman was the first type of training plane to be used in teaching the new recruits. The AT6 Texan
North American T-6 Texan
The North American Aviation T-6 Texan was a single-engine advanced trainer aircraft used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces, United States Navy, Royal Air Force and other air forces of the British Commonwealth during World War II and into the 1950s...
, and P-40 Warhawk followed as the aircraft of choice over time. Much of the primary flight training was done at Moton Field at Tuskegee. Tuskegee trained over 1,000 black aviators during the war, about half of whom served overseas.
Initial problems
Local white residents of the area objected almost immediately. They complained about black MPs challenging white people and patrolling the town while brandishing their military weapons. The first commanding officer, Major James Ellison, was supportive of his MPs; however, he was soon relieved of his command. A segregationist colonel replaced Ellison, and enforced the segregation both on and off the base. This prompted black newspapers to protest his assignment. The colonel was transferred with a promotion, and Noel Parrish then took command as 'director of training'. The lack of assignments according to background and training led to an excess of non-aviation black officers without a mission. This became disparaging to morale, as the facility became overcrowded. As there was little in the line of recreation, Parrish began to arrange for celebrities to visit and perform at the base. Lena HorneLena Horne
Lena Mary Calhoun Horne was an American singer, actress, civil rights activist and dancer.Horne joined the chorus of the Cotton Club at the age of sixteen and became a nightclub performer before moving to Hollywood, where she had small parts in numerous movies, and more substantial parts in the...
, Joe Louis
Joe Louis
Joseph Louis Barrow , better known as Joe Louis, was the world heavyweight boxing champion from 1937 to 1949. He is considered to be one of the greatest heavyweights of all time...
, Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
, Ray Robinson
Ray Robinson
Rayford Harold Robinson was an Australian cricketer who played in one Test in 1936....
, Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
, and Langston Hughes
Langston Hughes
James Mercer Langston Hughes was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist. He was one of the earliest innovators of the then-new literary art form jazz poetry. Hughes is best known for his work during the Harlem Renaissance...
were among the many guests. Parrish also desegregated the base to a much larger extent than his predecessors.
Parrish demanded high standards of performance of his men, did not view race as an issue. Parrish felt that what mattered was professionalism and an individual's capacities, techniques, and judgement. Parrish held his black trainees to the same high standards of performance as whites; and those who did not meet those standards were failed out of the program.
Active air units
The 99th Pursuit Squadron and the 332nd Fighter Group were the only black air units that saw active combat during WWII. The 99th flew its first combat mission in June 1943, and later participated in the battle of PantelleriaPantelleria
Pantelleria , the ancient Cossyra, is an Italian island in the Strait of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea, southwest of Sicily and just east of the Tunisian coast. Administratively Pantelleria is a comune belonging to the Sicilian province of Trapani...
. The Pantelleria attack forced the surrender of the ground garrison, due only to the air attack. The surrender to an air attack was the first of its kind. The 332nd, which was a combination of comprising the 100th, the 301st, and the 302nd squadrons, first saw active combat in January 1944. The dive-bombing and strafing missions under Lieutenant Colonel Davis, Jr. were considered to be highly successful. Following a change in its mission to strategic bomber escort, the 99th was added to the 332nd in July 1944.
In May 1942, the 99th Pursuit Squadron was renamed the 99th Fighter Squadron. It earned three Distinguished Unit Citations (DUC) during World War II. The DUCs were for operations at Pantelleria and Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
from May 30 – June 11, 1943, Monastery Hill near Cassino
Battle of Monte Cassino
The Battle of Monte Cassino was a costly series of four battles during World War II, fought by the Allies against Germans and Italians with the intention of breaking through the Winter Line and seizing Rome.In the beginning of 1944, the western half of the Winter Line was being anchored by Germans...
from May 12–14, 1944, and for successfully fighting off German jet aircraft on March 24, 1945. The mission was the longest bomber escort mission throughout the war. The 332nd also flew missions in Sicily, Anzio
Anzio
Anzio is a city and comune on the coast of the Lazio region of Italy, about south of Rome.Well known for its seaside harbour setting, it is a fishing port and a departure point for ferries and hydroplanes to the Pontine Islands of Ponza, Palmarola and Ventotene...
, Normandy, the Rhineland
Rhineland
Historically, the Rhinelands refers to a loosely-defined region embracing the land on either bank of the River Rhine in central Europe....
, the Po Valley
Po Valley
The Po Valley, Po Plain, Plain of the Po, or Padan Plain is a major geographical feature of Italy. It extends approximately in an east-west direction, with an area of 46,000 km² including its Venetic extension not actually related to the Po River basin; it runs from the Western Alps to the...
and Rome-Arno and others. Pilots of the 99th once set a record for destroying five enemy aircraft in less than four minutes.
Individual pilots of the 332nd Fighter Group also earned approximately 1000 awards and decorations. Their missions took them to Rome-Arno, Normandy, Rhineland, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, Northern and Southern France, and the American Theater Campaigns. The 332nd first saw combat in February 1944. Throughout various engagements over the course of the war, the 332nd was credited with destroying at least: 112 airborne enemy aircraft, 150 aircraft on the ground, over 600 train cars, over 40 barges/boats, and a German Navy destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
. The destruction of the Navy destroyer was the first such accomplishment of its time.
Although never seeing combat, The 477th Bombardment Group was activated in 1943, and was not completely manned until March 1945. The 553rd Fighter Replacement Training Squadron was also activated in 1943. Its mission was to provide replacement pilots for the 332nd. Both units began training at Selfridge Field, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, but because of an unhealthy racial atmosphere in the local area the 477th was moved to Godman Field
Godman Army Airfield
Godman Army Airfield is a military airport located on the Fort Knox United States Army post in Hardin County, Kentucky, United States. It has four runways and is used entirely by the United States Army Aviation Branch.-History:...
, Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, then to Freeman Field
Freeman Army Airfield
Freeman Army Airfield is an inactive United States Army Air Force base. It is located south-southwest of Seymour, Indiana.The base was established in 1942 as a pilot training airfield. It was also the first military helicopter pilot training airfield...
, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, while the 552rd was moved to Walterboro
Walterboro, South Carolina
Walterboro is a city in Colleton County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 5,153 at the 2000 census . It is the county seat of Colleton County.-History:...
, South Carolina, where it was eventually inactivated. Its members were transferred to form a squadron of the Air Base Group. From its inception, the 477th was plagued with problems. When activated the unit had no established cadre to break-in new pilots and had no navigators/bombardiers to man crews. Within one year the 477th had 38 squadron or unit moves. In June 1945, the 477th was redesignated as the 477th Composite Group.
Combat records
The Tuskegee Airmen compiled the following combat record: – 261 aircraft destroyed – 148 aircraft damaged – 15,533 sortieSortie
Sortie is a term for deployment or dispatch of one military unit, be it an aircraft, ship, or troops from a strongpoint. The sortie, whether by one or more aircraft or vessels, usually has a specific mission....
s – 1,578 missions – 66 KIA
Killed in action
Killed in action is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their own forces at the hands of hostile forces. The United States Department of Defense, for example, says that those declared KIA need not have fired their weapons but have been killed due to...
– 95 Distinguished Flying Crosses
Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)
The Distinguished Flying Cross is a medal awarded to any officer or enlisted member of the United States armed forces who distinguishes himself or herself in support of operations by "heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in an aerial flight, subsequent to November 11, 1918." The...
awarded – 450 Pilots sent overseas. Their operational aircraft were, in succession: P-40 Warhawk, P-39 Airacobra, P-47 Thunderbolt, and P-51 Mustang fighter aircraft.
Tuskegee experiment results
The "Tuskegee Experiment" was a tremendous success, in which Parrish played a significant role, and proved that blacks could perform well in both leadership and combat roles. Parrish felt people should be judged by their capability, not their color. He would return from Washington DC depressed because of the massive resistance to the Tuskegee program. For decades later at Tuskegee Airmen reunions, when Parrish's name was called everyone applauded with a standing ovation. The experience of the AAF during World War II necessitated that the military review its policies on the utilization of black servicemembers. Confrontation, discussion, and coordination with both black and white groups led AAF leaders to the conclusion that active commitment, leadership, and equal opportunity produced a more cost-effective, viable military force. In 1948, President Harry Truman signed an Executive Order on equality of treatment and opportunity in the military, due in no small part to the successes of the Tuskegee Airmen. Parrish was commander of Tuskegee Field from 1942–1946 and historians generally give him credit for improving morale, living conditions, relations between blacks and whites, and relations with local citizens.Parrish, stated in his memoirs that he often mediated between the Army officials, whites near Tuskegee who felt that the airmen were uppity, and the aviation trainees themselves. Dr. Frederick D. Patterson
Frederick D. Patterson
Frederick Douglass Patterson , born in Washington D.C. and orphaned at the age of two. Patterson would later become president of what is now Tuskegee University and founder of the United Negro College Fund . In 1987, President Ronald Reagan awarded Dr...
, the third president of Tuskegee Institute, wrote to Parrish on September 14, 1944: "In my opinion, all who have had anything to do with the development and direction of the Tuskegee Army Air Field and the Army flying training program for Negroes in this area have just cause to be proud. . . . The development had to take place in a period of emergency and interracial confusion."
After Tuskegee
Parrish stayed in command of the Tuskegee Airmen through the end of World War II in 1945 until August 20, 1946 when he was assigned to the Air University at Maxwell. In August 1947 he entered the Air War CollegeAir War College
The Air War College is a part of the United States Air Force's Air University, headquartered at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama. Air University's higher headquarters is Air Education and Training Command headquartered at Randolph Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas. The Air War...
at Maxwell Field and graduated the following June. He then became deputy secretary of the Air Staff at Air Force Headquarters, Washington, D.C. and became a special assistant to the vice chief of staff there in January 1951. In September 1954 he became Air Deputy to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Defense College
NATO Defense College
NATO Defense College is an international military college for North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries located in Rome, Italy.-History:...
, which was then located in Paris, France. On September 1, 1956 he became deputy director, Military Assistance Division, United States European Command
United States European Command
The United States European Command is one of ten Unified Combatant Commands of the United States military, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. Its area of focus covers and 51 countries and territories, including Europe, Russia, Iceland, Greenland, and Israel...
, also in Paris. In May 1958 he returned to Air Force headquarters and became assistant for coordination to deputy chief of staff for Plans and Programs.
He eventually became a Brigadier General—retiring from the Air Force on October 1, 1964. His military decorations include the Legion of Merit
Legion of Merit
The Legion of Merit is a military decoration of the United States armed forces that is awarded for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements...
and Air Medal
Air Medal
The Air Medal is a military decoration of the United States. The award was created in 1942, and is awarded for meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight.-Criteria:...
. He earned a PhD from his alma matar, Rice University, and taught college history in Texas. Parrish died on Tuesday, April 7, 1987 of cardiac arrest at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Piney Point
Piney Point, Maryland
Piney Point is an unincorporated community in St. Mary's County, Maryland, United States. It is known for the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, a popular seafood restaurant, beautiful houses along the beach, a lighthouse, and a "Museum." The Piney Point post office also...
, Maryland. At the service Lieutenant General Davis Jr. said "He may have been the only white person who believed that blacks could learn to fly airplanes."
Family and personal life
Parrish was married twice, the second time to Florence Tucker Parrish-St.John, and had three stepsons. He wrote magazine articles under a pen name and was interested in music and painting. Prior to being assigned to Tuskegee, he had no particular involvement nor concern with black Americans. When he was a youth, he hiked three miles to see where a black man had been lynchedLynching
Lynching is an extrajudicial execution carried out by a mob, often by hanging, but also by burning at the stake or shooting, in order to punish an alleged transgressor, or to intimidate, control, or otherwise manipulate a population of people. It is related to other means of social control that...
. He recalled that when people heard of the project to train blacks pilots and mechanics he often heard “weird and worried kind of laughter” from white people and that a visiting British flying ace
Flying ace
A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down several enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The actual number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an "ace" has varied, but is usually considered to be five or more...
stated that it was better to have a “Messerschmitt
Messerschmitt Bf 109
The Messerschmitt Bf 109, often called Me 109, was a German World War II fighter aircraft designed by Willy Messerschmitt and Robert Lusser during the early to mid 1930s...
on his tail than to try to teach a Negro to fly.”
Legacy
According to a 2001 presentation which won top prize at a National History Day competition, 18-year-old Topeka High School student said that the Tuskegee Airmen, America's first black military pilots, helped lay the groundwork for the civil rights movement. The most prestigious award of the association of Tuskegee Airmen (Tuskegee Airmen, Inc.) and which is presented at their annual convention, was named 'the Brigadier General Noel F. Parrish Award'. For many years it was presented in person by his widow, Florence. She received the General Daniel James Jr. Distinguished Service/Achievement/Leadership Award at the 2010 convention.Historians generally give credit to Colonel Noel Parrish, Commander of Tuskegee Field from 1942 to 1946, for having improved morale by reducing the amount of segregation and overcrowding and improving relations with both blacks and whites in the town of Tuskegee. The record of the Airmen became a major driver for President Harry S Truman's decision, in 1948, to desegregate the U.S. military.
See also
- 92nd Infantry Division
- 93rd Infantry Division
- 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion "Triple Nickle"
- 761st Tank Battalion
- Aerial warfareAerial warfareAerial warfare is the use of military aircraft and other flying machines in warfare, including military airlift of cargo to further the national interests as was demonstrated in the Berlin Airlift...
- Bessie ColemanBessie ColemanElizabeth “Bessie” Coleman was an American civil aviator. She was the first female pilot of African American descent and the first person of African American descent to hold an international pilot license.-Early life:...
- Executive Order 9981Executive Order 9981Executive Order 9981 is an executive order issued on July 26, 1948 by U.S. President Harry S. Truman. It expanded on Executive Order 8802 by establishing equality of treatment and opportunity in the Armed Services for people of all races, religions, or national origins."In 1947, Randolph, along...
- List of African American Medal of Honor recipients
- Military history of African AmericansMilitary history of African AmericansThe military history of African Americans spans from the arrival of the first black slaves during the colonial history of the United States to the present day...
- Red Ball ExpressRed Ball ExpressThe Red Ball Express was an enormous truck convoy system created by Allied forces to supply their forward-area combat units moving through Europe following the breakout from the D-Day beaches in Normandy. The term "Red Ball" was a railroad phrase referring to express shipping...
- Strategic bombing during World War IIStrategic bombing during World War IIStrategic bombing during World War II is a term which refers to all aerial bombardment of a strategic nature between 1939 and 1945 involving any nations engaged in World War II...
- The Port Chicago 50
Further reading
- Oral history transcript-tape not available,
- Oral history transcript-tape not available,
External links
- Images of Tukegee airmen, photos, paintings etc.
- "Red-Tail Angels": The Story of the Tuskegee Airmen of World War II
- Photo and biography of pilot Robert M. Glass
- Freedom Flyers: The Tuskegee Airmen of World War II
- The Tuskegee Airmen (1995)
- The Tuskegee Airmen (documentary film) Public Broadcasting Service.
- Funeral Program for Tuskegee Airman Cassius Harris, African American Funeral Programs from the East Central Georgia Regional Library
- The Red Tail Project
- African Americans in the U.S. Army
- National Museum of the United States Air Force: Eugene Jacques Bullard
- "Tuskegee Airmen: Brett Gadsden Interviews J. Todd Moye", Southern Spaces September 30, 2010.
- Interview with historian Todd Moye regarding the Tuskegee Airmen on "New Books in History"
- Contemporary newsreel about "Negro Pilots" – YouTube