Tuskegee Airmen

The Tuskegee Airmen were the first African American military pilots to serve in the United States Air Force. The Tuskegee Airmen were also the first African Americans to serve in combat overseas. Nearly one thousand men became pilots in the Tuskegee Airmen program. The Tuskegee Airmen were very successful. They won many awards. Their success and hard work also helped bring about the integration of the armed services after the end of World War II. Although the Tuskegee Airmen were very successful, they still faced racism and discrimination in the military and when they returned home after the war.

World War II broke out in Europe in the late 1930s. President Franklin D. Roosevelt realized that the United States might...