Ryan Miller, a high school sophomore in Powell, Ohio, recently contacted the CAF Red Tail Squadron with a special invitation. Miller had been hard at work on a presentation for his English and history interdisciplinary class and was excited to share it with one of our P-51C Mustang pilots.
He was tasked with a project looking at the realities of history vs. Hollywood, and to pick a movie that has historical significance and compare the history of the movie to Hollywood’s version of events. The movie of choice? Red Tails.
Miller’s special request was to have one of the Squadron’s P-51C pilots attend his final presentation, as a gesture of honor to the Tuskegee Airmen and their legacy.
With all of his hard work, Miller learned a lot about the Tuskegee Airmen. “I believe the Airmen were some of the bravest young men in the United States military,” he said. “They were thought of as inferior and suffered racism both on and off the battlefield. In the end they created a legacy for themselves, known as one of the most elite fighter pilot groups in U.S. history.”
CAF Red Tail Squadron pilot Doug Rozendaal was quick to heed the call.
“I am happy to learn about your presentation, because I am sure that your have learned that, while the Red Tails movie did a great job of raising the awareness of the Tuskegee Airmen, its story has little congruence with history,” Rozendaal shared with the young learner. “I also applaud your teachers for their effort to cause young people such as yourself to dig deeper into history and learn that everything they see from Hollywood is not necessarily accurate. Further, much of our history is being glossed over in schools today and learning the lessons of the past is so much easier than trying to learn them over again from experience.”
Although Rozendaal was not able to attend, pilot Paul Stojkov was able to make the trip. “We’re happy to report that Ryan Miller got an A on his ‘Red Tails’ history project!” said Stojkov. “His teachers were very encouraging and were impressed that our CAF Red Tail team offered so much support including a personal visit.”
Rozendaal reminds us, “The Airmen took an experiment that was designed to prove they could not do the job, and turned it into an opportunity that allowed them to achieve their wildest dreams, and changed the world in the process. They proved that anyone can ‘Rise Above’ adversity with hard work, discipline and focus. That is a great lesson for all young people.”
Thank you Ryan for sharing the inspiring history and legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen with your classmates!
RISE ABOVE!
The CAF Red Tail Squadron is a volunteer-driven organization dedicated to educating audiences across the country about the history and legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen, America’s first black military pilots and their support personnel. Learn more at www.redtail.org.
