Lee A. Archer Jr. Chapter, Tuskegee Airmen Inc,

09/14/2026

(09/14)
Greetings!! On this date, the following Tuskegee Airmen events occurred:

There were no significant or documented events this date.

(The above information was taken from the current "Tuskegee Airmen Chronology," written by Daniel L. Haulman, PhD, Chief, Organization History Division, Air Force Historical Research Agency)

09/13/2026

https://www.facebook.com/cafredtailsquadron/posts/pfbid02rJX2tVtb2MetxBdMg7nXwzM1hKLcN9izDwsDpJCaQgQzkHwWs2ja3Gsc8vHaU7c3l

Our September newsletter is hot off the press and we can't wait to share our latest Tuskegee Airmen and WASP profiles, updates on our 2026 tour, and all the other great things we've got going on!

To read visit: https://adobe.ly/4ra0vbZ

09/13/2026

Greetings!! On this date, the following Tuskegee Airmen events occurred:

There were no significant or documented events this date.

(The above information was taken from the current "Tuskegee Airmen Chronology," written by Daniel L. Haulman, PhD, Chief, Organization History Division, Air Force Historical Research Agency)

Aubrey Matthews

09/13/2026

Greetings!! On this date, the following Tuskegee Airmen events occurred:

12 September 1942: Lt. Faythe A. McGinnis crashed on a routine flight and became the first casualty of the 99th Fighter Squadron. (99th Fighter Squadron history, Mar 1941-17 Oct 1943)

12 September 1944: The 332nd Fighter Group es**rted B-17 bombers of the 5th Bombardment Wing on a mission to an unspecified target. The group mission report states “10 Me 109s attacked rear of bomber formation from below…1 B-17 was left burning. 6 chutes seen to open” (332nd Fighter Group mission report number 77). The 301st and 463nd Bombardment Groups of the 5th Bombardment Wing each reported a bomber lost (Fifteenth Air Force daily mission folder for 12 September 1944). Missing Air Crew Reports do not confirm these bombers were lost to enemy aircraft. Members of the 332nd Fighter Group claimed to have damaged 4 enemy aircraft during the mission.

12 September 1982: The Smithsonian Institution opened a new exhibit, “Black Wings: the American Black in Aviation,” in Washington, DC. The exhibit focused attention on the Tuskegee Airmen and other black aviation pioneers, and set the stage for other exhibits and research.

(The above information was taken from the current "Tuskegee Airmen Chronology," written by Daniel L. Haulman, PhD, Chief, Organization History Division, Air Force Historical Research Agency)

Aubrey Matthews

09/13/2026

Greetings!! On this date, the following Tuskegee Airmen events occurred:

11 September 1943: Advance elements of the 99th Fighter Squadron landed on a beach at Battapaglia in Italy, under enemy fire. For several days, enemy forces strafed the advance echelon by day and bombed it by night, after it retreated to a site near Paestum, Italy, where the 33rd Fighter Group was based. The main body of the 99th Fighter Squadron remained in Sicily. (99th Fighter Squadron history, Mar 1941-17 Oct 1943)

11 September 1945: Forty-one students graduated from primary flight training at Moton Field, in class 46-A. Eighty-three had begun the class on 28 June. (History of 2164th AAFBU at Moton Field, AFHRA call number 234.821, Sep-Nov 1945).

(The above information was taken from the current "Tuskegee Airmen Chronology," written by Daniel L. Haulman, PhD, Chief, Organization History Division, Air Force Historical Research Agency)

Aubrey Matthews

09/13/2026

https://www.facebook.com/cafredtailsquadron/posts/pfbid0r3EJmM8JV61fvvGsnqqU2gpU6fFZpaJp6PSYqS1ZdqVGYfQJsryLhKVj5eKm2K3ul

in 1944, in Ramitelli, Italy, Lieutenant Jack Daniels Holsclaw was presented the Distinguished Flying Cross by General Benjamin Oliver Davis, Sr., who was the first Black general officer in the United States Army.

Also receiving the Distinguished Flying Cross that day were Col. Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., son of the General and Commander of the 332nd Fighter Group, Capt. Joseph Elsberry, and Lt. Clarence Lester.

Col. Benjamin Davis, Jr. graduated in the first Tuskegee Army Air Field flight training class. He would go on to be the first Black general in the United States Air Force.

Can you imagine the excitement felt by all of the that day?

09/11/2026

Greetings!! On this date, the following Tuskegee Airmen event occurred:

10 September 1944: Lt. Gen. Ira C. Eaker, commander of the Mediterranean Allied Air Force; Maj. Gen. Nathan F. Twining, commander of the Fifteenth Air Force; Brig. Gen. Dean C. Strother, commander of the XV Fighter Command; and Brig. Gen. Benjamin O. Davis, Sr., Inspector General’s Department, attended an impressive awards ceremony for members of the 332nd Fighter Group at Ramitelli Airfield in Italy. At that ceremony, General Davis presented the Distinguished Flying Cross to his son, Colonel Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., commander of the group, for an es**rt mission he led on 9 June 1944. (332nd Fighter Group history, Oct 1942-1947; 332nd Fighter Group history, September 1944). The elder Davis was the first black general in the U.S. Army, and Captain Joseph D. Elsberry, Lieutenant Jack D. Holsclaw, and Lieutenant Clarence D. “Lucky” Lester were also awarded Distinguished Flying Crosses in the same ceremony that day. Elsberry was recognized for shooting down three enemy aircraft on 12 July 1944 on a mission over France; Lester was honored for shooting down three enemy aircraft on 18 July 1944 on an es**rt mission to Memmingen; Holsclaw was honored for shooting down two enemy aircraft on the 18 July 1944 mission to Memmingen. (Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. Benjamin O. Davis, Jr, American Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1991).

(The above information was taken from the current "Tuskegee Airmen Chronology," written by Daniel L. Haulman, PhD, Chief, Organization History Division, Air Force Historical Research Agency)

Aubrey Matthews

09/11/2026

Greetings!! On this date, the following Tuskegee Airmen events occurred:

There were no significant events this date

(The above information was taken from the current "Tuskegee Airmen Chronology," written by Daniel L. Haulman, PhD, Chief, Organization History Division, Air Force Historical Research Agency)

Aubrey Matthews

09/11/2026

Greetings!! On this date, the following Tuskegee Airmen events occurred:

8 September 1944: The 332nd Fighter Group claimed to have destroyed 36 enemy airplanes on the ground at two airfields during a strafing mission to Yugoslavia. P-51 pilot Lt. James A. Calhoun crashed and was killed in the target area. (332nd Fighter Group narrative mission report 76; Missing Air Crew Report 8261; American Battle Monuments Commission). 2nd Lt. Alphonso Simmons, who went Missing in Action on 9 August 1944, returned after having evaded enemy forces in Yugoslavia for a month. (Escape, Evasion, and Repatriation Reports, 332nd Fighter Group). Maj. George S. Roberts of the 332nd Fighter Group and 1st Lt. Heber C. Houston of the 99th Fighter Squadron each earned a Distinguished Flying Cross for his heroic actions on this date. (Fifteenth Air Force General Order 137 dated 8 Jan 1945; Fifteenth Air Force General Order 3484 dated 29 May 1945).

8 September 1944: Thirty-two new black military pilots graduated from advanced pilot training at Tuskegee Army Air Field. Twenty-three of them belonged to class 44H-SE, for single-engine pilots destined to fly fighters, and nine of them belonged to class 44H-TE, for twin-engine pilots destined to fly medium bombers.

8 September 1945: Thirty-nine new black military pilots graduated from advanced pilot training at Tuskegee Army Air Field. Twenty of them belonged to class SE-45-F for single engine pilots, and nineteen of them belonged to class TE-45-F for twin engine pilots. Class 45F was the largest class of pilots to graduate at Tuskegee Army Air Field.

(The above information was taken from the current "Tuskegee Airmen Chronology," written by Daniel L. Haulman, PhD, Chief, Organization History Division, Air Force Historical Research Agency)

Aubrey Matthews