LTC Bertram Wadsworth Wilson
September 20, 1921 – July 9, 2002
Class: 44-E-SE
Graduation date: 5/23/1944
Rank at time of graduation: 2nd Lt.
Service # 0830798
From: Brooklyn, NY
“We were very much aware of the fact that in the States you couldn’t go into a bar and have a drink. … You couldn’t go into the officers’ club. … Yet you still had your wings and your bars like anybody else,” Wilson said in August 2000. “We were very much aware of that, but what was the alternative? Your country is still your country. It’s the only country you have. It’s still not the best. It could be better, and maybe one day it will be better.”
A member of the famed Tuskegee Airmen during World War II, Wilson shot down 4 German planes. He also served in the Air Force during the Korean and Vietnam conflicts. He retired from the military as a Lt. Col. He participated in the Tuskegee reunions and granted many interviews on his experiences. He drowned in his swimming pool just 5 days after the death of his commanding officer Benjamin O. Davis Jr.
For his World War II service, Wilson was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with two oak leaf clusters and the Bronze Star. He was awarded more medals as a combat pilot in Vietnam.
Lt. Bertram Wilson in his fighter
Sources:
Arlington Cemetery
Findagrave.com
