Willie Rogers, a member of the pioneering Tuskegee Airmen outfit that segregated the U.S. military during World War II, died Saturday, BayNews9 reported. He was 101.
Rogers, who was born March 4, 1915, had lived in St. Petersburg, Florida, with his family since 1949. He was drafted into the army in 1942 and was part of the 100th Air Engineer Squad. Rogers was not a pilot; he was a master sergeant who worked on the ground in logistics and administration.
The Tuskegee Airmen saw action escorting bombers over Germany, Italy and North Africa during World War II.
In 2007, President George W. Bush awarded Rogers and other members of the Airmen with the Congressional Gold Medal. A movie depicting the group, "The Tuskegee Airmen," was released in 2005 and starred Laurence Fishburne, Cuba Gooding Jr. and Malcolm-Jamal Warner.
According to its website, "Tuskegee Airmen" refers to those men who were involved in the Tuskegee Experience, which was the Army Air Corps' program to train African-Americans to fly and maintain combat aircraft.
In 1948, President Harry Truman ended segregation in the armed forces.
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