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Yahoo
08-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
One of the last members of the Tuskegee Airmen died this week
RANTOUL, Ill. (WCIA) — As WCIA continues honoring Black History Month, one of the last members of a historic World War II team has died this week. Lieutenant Colonel Harry T. Stewart Jr. of the Tuskegee Airmen has passed away. The President of the Rantoul Historical Society said he's sad to hear the news of Stewart's death, but that the legacy of these men will live on forever. Stewart died this past Sunday at 100-years-old at his home in Michigan. Christie Clinic Illinois Race Weekend team offering free CPR training Stewart was one of many African Americans who were part of the Tuskegee Airman, which was a group of nearly 1,000 African American men who trained at the Chanute Air Force Base in Rantoul in the 1940s. It was the first all-Black fighter pilot squadron when the U.S. Military segregated units by race. 'They were required to far exceed the normal standards. They were tested and pushed more to try and keep them out than to bring them in,' said Jim Cheek, Rantoul Historical Society President. 'And the fact that they persevered that and they showed that through persistence and hard work, they proved to the public that they were worthy to fly aircraft as well as anyone else.' He said training would last anywhere from six weeks to six months, or sometimes even a whole year. Cheek also said when they finished training, they'd continue to further their education and eventually learned to fly P-47 and P-51 planes. Stewart enlisted at the age of 18 in the Army Air Corps. He completed 43 combat missions and earned three aerial victories in a single day. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
04-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
World War II pilot Harry Stewart Jr., a Tuskegee Airman, has died
(CBS DETROIT) - The Tuskegee Airman National Museum in Detroit has confirmed the death of Lt. Col. Harry T. Stewart Jr., one of the last surviving fighter pilots of that era. Stewart, who lived in Bloomfield Hills, turned 100 years old on July 4, 2024. A birthday party in his honor was held at the museum that day. The Tuskegee Airmen was the name for the first all-African American fighter pilot squadron, a situation that happened during the 1940s when the U.S. military segregated units by race. There were nearly 1,000 serving as pilots, and others in support roles. The museum shares the history and artifacts of that era, while encouraging interest in aviation and aerospace engineering. Stewart enlisted at age 18 in what was then known as the Army Air Corps to qualify as a pilot. He completed 43 combat missions, and earned three aerial victories in a single day. The Tuskegee Airmen who still survived in 2007 were presented with a Congressional Gold Medal "in recognition of their unique military record, which inspired revolutionary reform in the Armed Forces." The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs featured Stewart in its "America 250" vignette series in 2022. Trump's former trade chief on how tariffs affect the economy, why he says the U.S. needs them USAID to merge into State Department with major budget cuts Details on Chinese retaliatory tariffs on U.S. products set to take effect next week
