Join us in urging your representatives and senators to support senate and house bills S.392 and H.R. 1259 in honor of the Tuskegee Airmen, the first blacks to fly in the military. This bill grants the President power to award Tuskegee Airmen with the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor. It is a well-deserved expression from our nation of appreciation for their courage and service. These veterans overcame racism to serve their country and the award is long overdue. The Tuskegee Airmen broke barriers to defend our nation against Nazi Germany as they battled racist treatment by their own country. Yet these men of valor fought in spite of the racial injustices because of their sense of duty to our great country. The 1000 black pilots who graduated from Tuskegee inspired revolutionary reform in the armed forces, paving the way for integration of the United States armed services. Of those pilots, 450 served in combat, 66 died in combat, while another 33 were shot down and captured as prisoners of war. The Tuskegee Airmen were credited with destroying 261 aircraft, damaging 148 aircraft, flying 15,553 combat sorties and 1,578 missions over Italy and North Africa. They destroyed or damaged over 950 units of ground transportation and escorted more than 200 bombing missions.

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