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In this hour-long conversation, Alan talks to retired Lt. Col. William Wheeler, a member of the famed Tuskegee Airmen, America's first black military pilots. The Tuskegee Airmen faced both Axis pilots abroad and racism at home during World War II and earned a reputation as one of the most successful units in the U.S. military. They flew more than 200 missions and 1,000 sorties without losing a single bomber they were escorting to enemy fire, a record unmatched by any other fighter group. Instrumental in President Truman's eventual decision to desegregate the armed forces, they will again be honored later this year with a group Congressional Gold Medal. Alan talks to Lt. Col. Wheeler about his wartime exploits and experiences in this interview with this living piece of history.
2nd Lieutenant Wheeler volunteered to become an Army Air Corps pilot, and was inducted into the service in 1943. In 1944, 2nd Lt. Wheeler was assigned to an air base at Ramitelli, Italy. He flew combat missions to Germany, Austria, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Albania and Greece, escorting allied bombers and strafing enemy troops, vehicles and airfields. In civilian life, William Wheeler pursued a business career with Fairchild Republic and the National Westminster Bank.
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