Tuskegee Airman trainee packs base conference center

  • Published
  • By SSgt. Katie Kiley
  • 439th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
WESTOVER AIR RESERVE BASE, Mass. --  It was standing-room only Sept. 11 when former Tuskegee Airman pilot trainee Charles Cross spoke at the Westover Conference Center about his experiences as an African American in the military during World War II.

Mr. Cross, 88, said he still finds time both to fly and instruct young aviators.

Mr. Cross, of Springfield, Mass., entered the Army in 1941. Then -Pvt. Cross was accepted into the Tuskegee Airman flying program. He spent many months at Tuskegee Army Airfield, Ala., as a cadet. He did not graduate from the program and was transferred to Richmond, Va., as a translator for German prisoners.

In 1945, Pfc. Cross was transferred to Westover until 1946, when he was discharged from the military. Mr. Cross used the GI Bill to obtain his private pilot's license, according to his biography, where he utilized his flying skills in the Civil Air Patrol for many years.

When he first came through the gates at Westover Field in 1945, Mr. Cross said he was disappointed to find that racial segregation was a problem in the north as it was in the south. Faces in the audience registered looks of surprise when Mr. Cross revealed that Westover used to house blacks and whites separately.

Mr. Cross said he did not let racism stand in his way, telling the crowd with clear, steady words, "I believe that any individual, despite any formal training, can become his own educator if he sets his mind to it."

Involved in the Army Air Corps program to train African Americans to fly and maintain combat aircraft, the Tuskegee Airmen were an elite group of African-American pilots in the 1940s. Known pioneers in equality and integration of the Armed Forces, their group included pilots, navigators, bombardiers, maintenance and support staff, instructors, and all the personnel who kept the planes in the air.

By the end of the war, 992 men graduated from Negro Air Corps pilot training at Tuskegee; 450 were sent overseas for combat assignment. About 150 lost their lives while in training or on combat flights. These Airmen destroyed or damaged more than 409 German airplanes and 950 ground units. They ran more than 200 bomber escort missions.

Mr. Cross said he doesn't just tell a story about how the Tuskegee Airmen were trailblazers for African Americans. He delivered a more transcendent message about choosing to rise above adversity and how those actions can continue to inspire for generations.

Before exiting, he firmly said, "This country belongs to each and every individual here -- and it's right that he demand his share."