Lee Rayford
Capt Lee Rayford April 1, 1918 – April 29, 1967 Class: Class 42-E-SE Graduation Date: May 20, 1942 Unit: 332nd Fighter Group, 99th Fighter Squadron
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Take a closer look at the lives and accomplishments of some of the famed Tuskegee Airmen. New profiles are added regularly and will grow as the staff and volunteer of the CAF Red Tail Squadron continue their tireless efforts to research and share the remarkable stories of these important American figures.
*NOTE: The term “Tuskegee Airmen” is not an official USAF definition, but was invented by Charles Francis when he wrote his 1955 book with that title, the USAF does not define the term, and does not determine who is or is not a Tuskegee Airman.
Tuskegee Airmen Incorporated (TAI) defines a Tuskegee Airman as anyone involved in the Tuskegee Airmen experience, who belonged to their units or who were assigned to the installations where their units were assigned, whether those personnel were black or white, male or female. By the TAI definition, the nurses at Tuskegee Army Air Field would be both Tuskegee nurses and Tuskegee Airmen who happened to be nurses.
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Wallace P. Reed
Cpt Wallace Patillo Reed November 22, 1919 – November 12, 1999 Tuskegee AAF base weather officer Wallace was born on November 22, 1919, in Portsmouth,
Ronald W. Reeves
2nd Lt Ronald W. Reeves December 29, 1924 – March 24, 1945 Class: 44-G-SE Graduation Date: August 4, 1944 Unit: 332nd Fighter Group, 100th Fighter
Maury M. Reid, Jr.
Class 44-G-SE 8/4/1944 Flt. Officer T64640 New York, NY May 17, 1925 – July 4, 2006 Maury M. Reid, Jr. was born May 17, 1925,
Price D. Rice
Price D. Rice October 22, 1916 – February 21, 1999 Class: 42-I-SE Graduation date: 10/9/1942 Rank at time of graduation: 2nd Lt. Unit: 99th Fighter
William Elwood Rice
William Elwood Rice December 4, 1923 – November 27, 2022 Class: 44-G-SE Graduation Date: 8/4/1944 Unit: Flight Officer with the 332nd Fighter Group Service #
Virgil J. Richardson
Virgil J. Richardson Class: 43-F-SE Graduation Date: 6/30/1943 Unit: 332 Squadron Rank: 2nd Lt. Service # 08071 07 Virgil Richardson has blazed his own unique
Everett Richardson
Lt. Everett Emerson Richardson April 27th, 1917 – DOD Unit: 477th Bombardment Group Service # 0-713053 From: Philadelphia, PA Lt. Everett Emerson Richardson was a
Eugene Richardson
2nd Lt. Eugene J. Richardson, Jr Class: 45-A-SE Graduation Date: 3/11/1945 Service # 0841261 Dr. Eugene J. Richardson, Jr was born in Cleveland, Ohio September
Emory L. Robbins, Jr.
2d Lt Emory Leo Robbins, Jr. October 14, 1918 – July 27, 1944 Class: 43-J-SE Graduation Date: November 13, 1943 Unit: 332nd Fighter Group, 302nd
Leon C. Roberts
Capt Leon C. “Derailer” Roberts June 29, 1921- July 11, 1944 Class: 42-G-SE Graduation Date: August 5, 1942 Unit: 332nd Fighter Group, 99th Fighter Squadron
George S. Roberts
2nd Lt. George S. “Spanky” Roberts September 24, 1918-March 8, 1984 Class: 42-C-SE Graduation: 3/6/1942 Unit: 99th Pursuit Squadron (later known as the Fighter Squadron)
Lawrence Edward Roberts Sr.
Lawrence Edward Roberts Sr. December 9, 1922 – October 12, 2004 Units: 477th Medium Bombardment Group, 332d Fighter Wing Lawrence Edward Roberts Sr. was born
Isadore Robinson
Isadore M. “Ike” Robinson December 29, 1921 ~ January 21, 2016 For many of the Tuskegee Airmen their time in the U.S. Army Air Corps was only
Robert C. Robinson, Jr.
2d Lt Robert C. Robinson, Jr. 14 Jan 1923 – 25 Mar 1945 Class 44-G-SE Graduation Date: August 4, 1944 Unit: 332nd Fighter Group, 100th
William Rogers
William “Willie” Rogers April 12, 1915 – November 18, 2016 Born in Apalachicola on the gulf shores of Florida in 1915, Rogers said humbly in
Cornelius G. Rogers
1st Lt Cornelius George Rogers February 27, 1921- June 12, 1944 Class: 43-G-SE Graduation Date: July 28, 1943 Unit: 332nd Fighter Group, 301st Fighter Squadron
Willie Rogers
Born in Apalachicola on the gulf shores of Florida in 1915, Rogers said humbly in a television interview that he was raised with the motto,
Roger Romine
1st Lt Roger Romine July 30, 1920 – November 16, 1944 Class: 43-H-SE Graduation Date: August 30, 1943 Unit: 332nd Fighter Group, 301st Fighter Squadron
Sherman Twitchell Rose
Flight Instructor September 25, 1919 – August 20, 2008 Virtual Museum mural Sherman Rose was born in Missouri and graduated from Washington High School in
Mac Ross
Capt Mac Ross June 7, 1912 – July 10, 1944 Class 42-C-SE Graduation Date: March 6, 1942 Unit: 332nd Fighter Group, 99th Fighter Squadron Service
Washington DuBois Ross
1LT Washington DuBois Ross Fighter Pilot 332nd Fighter Group – 15th AF Class 43-I-SE “I was 12-years old and the pilots would barnstorm, and one
John G. Roundtree, Sr.
1920 – 2004 Thank you to John G. Roundtree, II, for submitting this information in honor of his father. If lives are pebbles tossed in
Claude Alexander Rowe, Jr
Claude Alexander Rowe, Jr July 7, 1921 – September 20, 2018 Class 46-C-TE Captain Claude A. Rowe, Jr., was the only member of the group
Judge Richard B. Rutledge
The legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen by no means ends with their successful combat missions in WWII. Not only did their experience shape the civil
Dr. Fenton Sands
Defying expectations is a hallmark of the Tuskegee Airmen. It may seem unusual that a kid from the urban metropolis of New York City would
Harvey F. Sanford
Harvey F. Sanford 1926-2016 Unit: 385th Army Air Force Base Unit Harvey was born on Hammond Street in Boston’s South End in 1926 to Oswald
James Sheppard
In recent months we explored the importance of the Tuskegee Airmen support personnel in our blog, and even took a closer look at women in
Earl Sherard
Earl Sylvester Sherard, Jr. February 15, 1924 – July 1, 1983 Class: 43 J-SE Graduation Date: 11/3/1943 Unit: Service # 0814837 Earl Sherard was born in Columbus, Ohio
James Shipley
James Lloyd Shipley June 28, 1923 – July 21 2022 SO 338 20 Dec 43 Selfridge Unit: Mechanic with the 332nd fighter group He was proud
David Showell
David Anthony Showell October 14, 1921-December 23, 1955 Unit: 617th Bombardment Squadron of the 477th Bombardment Group David Showell, one of seven children, was born on October
Wilmeth Sidat-Singh
Lt. Wilmeth Sidat-Singh March 13, 1918 – May 9, 1943 Class 42-C-SE Graduation Date: March 25, 1943 Unit: 332nd Fighter Group, 100th Fighter Squadron Service
Rudolf Silas
July 11, 1946 – March 2021 Rudolf Silas was born in Lehigh, Oklahoma and joined the Army Air Corps on July 11, 1946. After basic
Alphonso Simmons
1st Lt Alphonso Simmons March 25, 1919 – March 3, 1945 Class: 43-I-SE Graduation Date: October 1, 1943 Unit: 332nd Fighter Group, 100th Fighter Squadron
Eugene D. Smith
Red Tail / Angel Combat Pilot “I guess I’ve never been accepted by anybody. My birth certificate makes me too black for white people; and
Captain Graham Smith and brother Flight Officer Reginald Vinson Smith
Captain Graham Smith Born: 4/19/1919 Ahoskie, North Carolina Died: 4/30/1951 North Korea Class: 42-F-SE Awards: Air Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters, the Purple Heart,
Luther Smith
Character. What we do with what we’ve been given. What we do in the face of adversity. What we do when times are good, and
Quentin P. Smith
Quentin P. Smith 1919 – January 15, 2013 Class: 45-A-TE Graduation Date: 3/11/1945 Unit: 477th Bombardier Group Service # 0841274 They flew 1,578 missions
Luther H. Smith
Captain Luther Henry Smith September 27, 1920 – December 9, 2009 Class: 43-E-SE Unit: 302nd Fighter Squadron Character. What we do with what we’ve been
Calvin J. Spann
Calvin J. Spann November 28, 1924 – September 6, 2015 Class: 44-G-SE Graduation Date: 8/4/1944 Service # T64642 Calvin J. Spann was an original Tuskegee