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Saturday, January 10, 2009
Airmen honored at inauguration
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Tuskegee Airmen have been invited to the Jan. 20 inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama.
The invitation came from Dianne Feinstein, the California Democrat who chairs the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies.
It’s considered a way to pay homage to the black elite U.S. fighter pilots who flew in World War II for a segregated military. These men, along with their ground crews, helped pave the way for the Illinois Democrat to become the country’s first black president.
It’s unclear how many of the remaining 300 or so fighter pilots will attend the Jan. 20 event. The International Herald Tribune has reported that most of the veterans are frail, in their 80s and 90s.
Moreover, the logistics of the inauguration, coupled with the weather, accommodations and expected huge crowds, will put attendance out of reach for some pilots.
But the airmen who live in metro Atlanta — 13 belong to the Atlanta chapter of Tuskegee Airmen — have also been invited to a local event that takes place two days after the inaugural event. It, too, is meant to honor their bravery, just like those tickets to the swearing-in bash in D.C.
On Jan. 22, the Gwinnett Veterans Memorial Museum is to host a ceremony that recognizes the airmen for what they did, what they went through, the symbolism of which came full circle for this country on Election Day.
The ceremony is being held in memory of the late Lt. Col. Charles Walter Dryden, a Tuskegee fighter pilot who lived in Atlanta. He died in June 2008. Dryden’s wife and son are expected to attend the ceremony, along with four area Tuskegee Airmen — Earl Martin, Hiram Little Sr., Thomas Bristow Sr. and Donald Summerlin.
While there, they can browse a display on the history they made, conceived by museum volunteer Bob Hill. Way back in July, he gave me a heads-up that an exhibit was in the works. Little did we know the museum’s nod to the Tuskegee experience would be so resonant, so symbolically apropos in light of Election Day 2008.
“No, I never rode in the back of the bus or walked in a [civil rights] march, but I have come to the feeling that what is happening now in this country [with the Obama victory] is saving it from absolute ruin in the way of racial strife,” Hill said. “To the Tuskegee Airmen, this is a way of saying it was tough, but you did it. This is important — the election of Obama notwithstanding — to say ‘thanks. It was tough what you did.’ “
At the ceremony, Norcross’s Robert Sample, a former paratrooper and military history buff, will speak briefly on what the Tuskegee Airmen have meant to his life, both in and outside his military career. Then, a few minutes of the film, “The Tuskegee Airmen,” will be shown.
“This is tremendous,” said Travon Dennis, who handles publicity for the Tuskegee Atlanta chapter. “It falls right along with the educational initiatives chapters across the country are promoting to tell the story of these giants.”
The museum’s quarters are small — they might hold 100 or so people. Hall hopes he doesn’t get an overflow crowd on Jan. 22, and emphasizes that the Tuskegee exhibit will be on display through Black History Month.
“We’ll keep the display up as long as the public shows an interest,” he said. “We should have done this this same time last year. If we had, I would have been able to meet Lt. Col. Dryden.”
The Gwinnett Veterans Memorial Museum is located in downtown Lawrenceville, 185 Crogan St., on first floor of the Historic Courthouse. Online: vetmemorialmuseum.tripod.com. For more information, contact Bob Hill at 770-401-9455.
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