Four members of the legendary Tuskagee Airmen were honored this week at the Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Harrison Township, Michigan. They were part of the first squadron of African American pilots, known as the Red Tails. The Detroit Free Press asked them to talk about their experience and how it compared to the account in the George Lucas film “Red Tails.”
The vets were candid. Lt. Col. Alexander Jefferson, 90, tells the paper:
“In combat, I enjoyed myself and I had a good time. It was scary at times, but adventurous. It was exciting.”
When they came home, an officer told the disembarking soldiers that white people would go to the right and, with a racial epithet, that African Americans would go to the left. “We still all hope for that day when we can just say we’re all American,” says Col. Charles McGee, 92.
Video’s after the jump.
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