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Army leadership believed that Black recruits were inferior and lacked the ability to fly advanced military aircraft in combat, a sentiment expressed most notably in a 1925 Army War College report.2 When President Franklin D. Roosevelt ran for a third term for president in 1940, he promised to train Black pilots in the Army Air Corps, and he fulfilled his promise.3 In March 1941, the War Department activated the first African American flying unit, the 99th Pursuit Squadron (later the 99th Fighter Squadron) at Chanute Field, Illinois, under a white commander.4 The Army had already announced that the unit's pilots would be trained at Tuskegee. Just as the conflict opened possibilities for Black pilots, World War II also marked a change in opportunities for Black leadership within the military; in fact, because of the Tuskegee Airmen, Black officers came to command not only groups and squadrons, but also bases. Training Black military pilots would vastly increase the number of Black officers, since pilots were typically officers, receiving their commissions as they graduated from advanced flight training. The Tuskegee Institute was already training African American pilots in the Civilian Pilot Training Program, and it had a reputation as one of the most famous and prestigious of Black institutions of higher learning. [...]because Alabama and Tuskegee were strictly segregated, the segregated nature of the training program would fit the climate with little danger of resistance; certainly, Tuskegee was not close to an urban area like Chicago or Detroit that leaders felt to be racially volatile.5 The African American flight training, like that for white pilots elsewhere, was divided into three phases: primary, basic, and advanced.

Lt. Col. [Noel F. Parrish] took command of Tuskegee Army Air Field in 1941 and oversaw the training of airmen for Black fighter and bomber squadrons. He held that post throughout World War II. Parrish did much to make the Tuskegee program a success. He provided enlightened leadership and promoted high morale among the cadets at a time when the armed forces remained segregated. As base commander, Parrish made sure the program was fair and evenhanded, which enhanced morale among the cadets.

Chesley Burnett \"Sully\" Sullenberger III, is an American retired airline captain who also works as an aviation safety consultant. He was hailed as a national hero in the United States when he successfully executed an emergency water landing of US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River off Manhattan, New York City, on January 15, 2009 after the aircraft was disabled by striking a flock of Canada geese during its initial climb out of LaGuardia Airport. All of the 155 passengers and crew aboard the aircraft survived. Amelia Mary Earhart was an American aviation pioneer and author. Earhart was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She set many other records, wrote best-selling books about her flying experiences and was instrumental in the formation of The Ninety-Nines, an organization for female pilots. During an attempt to make a circumnavigational flight of the globe in 1937 in a Purdue-funded Lockheed Model 10 Electra, Earhart disappeared over the central Pacific Ocean near Howland Island.

Noel F. Parrish - A career Army Air Corps pilot, Noel F. Parrish took a keen interest in promoting African-American involvement in military aviation. In the late 1930s, he befriended Cornelius Coffey and admired the flying program of his Challengers Air Pilots' Association in Chicago. Parrish took command of Tuskegee Army Air Field in 1941 and oversaw the training of airmen for Black fighter and bomber squadrons. He held that post throughout World War II. Parrish did much to make the Tuskegee program a success. He provided enlightened leadership and promoted high morale among the cadets at a time when the armed forces remained segregated. As base commander, Parrish made sure the program was fair and evenhanded, which enhanced morale among the cadets.

Benjamin Oliver Davis Jr. - An American United States Air Force general and commander of the World War II Tuskegee Airmen. He was the first African-American general officer in the United States Air Force. On December 9, 1998, he was advanced to four-star general by President Bill Clinton. During World War II, Davis was commander of the 99th and the 332nd fighter groups, which escorted bombers on air combat missions over Europe. Davis himself flew sixty missions in P-39, Curtiss P-40, P-47 and P-51 Mustang fighters. Davis followed in his father's footsteps in breaking racial barriers, as Benjamin 0. Davis Sr. was the first African-American general in the United States Army.

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