John Bradshaw - The Tuskegee Airmen
This is "It Is Written". I'm John Bradshaw. Thanks for joining me. It was a very different age, yet society was still colored by the attitudes of another era altogether. Slavery had ended almost 80 years before. The Emancipation Proclamation was signed in 1863. The Fourteenth Amendment was ratified in 1868. But deeply ingrained attitudes often take some time to work out. Change would come, but not without the hard work, the drive, the heroism of agents of change: men and women who would press and work and sacrifice and endure the hardships that pioneers are so frequently called upon to endure. There are Bible stories about people who fought to change the status quo. And they only ever succeeded after going through the most trying circumstances. At a time that Israel should have advanced, its feckless king, although handpicked by God, had all but abandoned hope. Faced by a literal giant, Goliath of Gath, Israel lacked the courage to either engage or reverse.
Into that milieu stepped a teenager with a faith that was simple enough to believe that God was able. Goliath was defeated, and a shepherd boy went on to become Israel's most illustrious king. Confronted by seemingly impregnable defenses and fearsome enemies, when others had none, Joshua and Caleb had faith that God could and would. And ultimately, 400 years of slavery and 40 years of wilderness wandering concluded with Israel taking the Promised Land. Daniel's three friends would not join the crowd and refused to bow before a golden image. That courageous act of faith still inspires faith today. There were many who stood up boldly on America's Plain of Dura.
While so many were bowing down before the golden image of bigotry, individuals such as Booker T. Washington, W. E. B. Du Bois, and others made progress in the fight to throw off the shackles of racism. And the long night of Jim Crow and intolerance began to slowly give way to the hope of a bright new day. But those were early days, and prominent figures such as Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and others were still some way off. Ever since the Civil War, Americans of all backgrounds have been afforded the privilege of fighting for their country. However, African Americans had not been permitted to serve in what would become the United States Air Force. When the U.S. joined World War II in 1941, its official doctrine was that African Americans were incapable of flying aircraft. A study conducted by the military concluded that blacks did not have the necessary intelligence, ability, coordination, or bravery to fly. I spoke with Frank Toland; he's the lead park ranger at the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site.
Frank Toland: There had been an effort for many years by, um, black aviation groups in Chicago and in Los Angeles to get more opportunities for African American pilots especially within the military. The prevailing views of the time were that African Americans did not have the, the ability to do this job. But 1940 was an election year. President Roosevelt was running for a third time. He needed African American votes from the African Americans who had newly moved to the North during the Great Migration. So, he came out, and he promised that if he got reelected, he would start training for African American pilots within the military and open up other opportunities within the military for African Americans as well. He did get reelected, and 1941, President Roosevelt announced the start of the Tuskegee Airmen program, and that it was going to be located here in Tuskegee.
John Bradshaw: How did the Tuskegee Airmen, as you see it, impact not only the military but also society?
Frank Toland: For one thing, I think because of the success of the Tuskegee Airmen in 1948, President Truman signed an executive order to start the desegregation of the military. Also, many of the, not just Tuskegee Airmen, but World War II veterans overall, when they came back from what they had experienced, after World War II came back determined to fight for civil rights here at home. During this whole period during the '40s, there was something known as the double-V campaign. Yes, we'll fight for the country, but at the same time, in addition to fighting against fascism overseas, we're going to be fighting against racism and discrimination here at home.
And from that did grow the eventual civil rights movement. Despite all that they suffered and all that they went through, they were still willing to fight for this country and to try to make things better for the generations to follow. Um, and you can see that in various ways, including some of what, what some of the Tuskegee Airmen were able to accomplish after the war. Some of them became involved in the civil rights movement. Uh, some of them stayed in the military and rose to a high rank. Uh, some of them went into private industry or into education. Um, but no matter what they went into they still had the discipline that they learned as Tuskegee Airmen that was able to cause them to be successful in later life.
John Bradshaw: The Tuskegee Airmen took their rigorous flight training here at Moton Field. When First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt visited this area in March of 1941, she went to Kennedy Field some miles south of here. She asked to be taken to where the Tuskegee Airmen were staying, and there she met a man named Charles Anderson. Now, Anderson before World War II had bought himself a plane and taught himself how to take off and land. He became the chief flight instructor here at Tuskegee. When Mrs. Roosevelt remarked that she had always heard that a black man couldn't fly a plane, Anderson offered to take her up for a ride. Much to everybody's surprise, she accepted. And when they got back down on the ground, she turned to Anderson and she said, "Well, you sure can fly".
The story of the first lady and the black pilot gave the Tuskegee program some much needed go-forward. In fact, Mrs. Roosevelt used her influence to raise the money needed to develop Moton Field. That same month, the war department created the 99th Pursuit Squadron, the first flying unit made up of black pilots. The program was underway by June of 1941, and by the time the United States entered World War II, hundreds were in training. But if those would-be pilots thought that they would be afforded the respect due to officers in the military, they were mistaken. They weren't permitted to access the officers' club, whites only.
By the spring of 1942, despite all the obstacles, the first Tuskegee Airmen completed training, becoming the nation's first African American military pilots. Before the war's end, almost 1,000 African American men were trained as pilots. Of the pilots who graduated from Tuskegee during the war, almost 500 served overseas, where they flew more than 15,000 sorties and destroyed more than 200 enemy aircraft. Sixty-six gave their lives, with another 32 being shot down and spending time in prisoner-of-war camps. I had the good fortune of sitting down recently with one of the few remaining Tuskegee Airmen. After graduating on September 8, 1945, Jerry Hodges was assigned to the 617th Bomb Squadron of the 477th Bomber Group.
John Bradshaw: Thanks for joining me on "It Is Written". The Tuskegee Airmen were stationed in North Africa and Italy during their time in combat. They were frequently used as escorts for bombers on bombing missions. In fact, compared to other squadrons assigned to escort duty, the Tuskegee Airmen had one of the lowest loss records. Because of their excellence, the Red Tails were frequently requested when escorts were needed. Jerry Hodges is a Tuskegee airman. I sat down with him recently, and he shared some of his experience with me. Tell me how you came to get involved in, in flying at a time where...African Americans weren't flying?
Jerry Hodges: Okay, I was a freshman in college at that time. And I knew I was going to be drafted. At this college, every young man that was drafted went to the navy. And in the navy, my only job available was a cook, a steward, or something like that, at that time. My mother called me one day, and she said, "You know, they've opened a flying training program for us, for our boys down at Tuskegee. Why, why don't you consider that"? And I thought about it and I said, "You know, that's a good idea". The following week I made application for cadet training from Hampton University. I had to take a physical examination, mental test. I really didn't expect I'd pass all of them, but I did. And, and from then on, I was looking forward to the day that I was going to take off all by myself. The rate at which you had to learn was much more than you would expect in the civilian life. I'd never been close to an airplane before I got there. I remember the first time I went up with my instructor in primary, and I looked out of the plane, and I said, "It'll never happen. I'll never be able to determine what all this is and fly". Uh, that was a little premature because five hours of flight later, we landed, he climbed out, and I said, "Uh-oh, what's he going to do"? And he waved for me to go around. And I took off, flew around, landed. He waved me again. I did it a second time. Then he came, got in the plane. The next day they gave me an airplane to take off in. And, man, did I have fun!
John Bradshaw: At the time, were you aware that this was history in the making?
Jerry Hodges: At the time I had little idea, no idea at all that we were making history.
John Bradshaw: When did it dawn on you that you were part of history being made?
Jerry Hodges: You know, I was back in civilian life before it really occurred to me: Look at this, look what we did.
John Bradshaw: How'd that make you feel?
Jerry Hodges: Yeah, well, I tell you, I felt really good and excited about it because when I was in service, I had met a large majority of these veterans that had been over into Italy, into Europe and flying, and these guys that really made history really showed that we could fly and what we could do flying. Other flight squadrons, they were flying escorts. They would take them to the target; before they get there, they say, "Okay, here you are. You're on your own". And they'd turn around and go back home. Our group took them to the target, stayed with them, and took them back. That's why they, they developed that reputation.
John Bradshaw: You know, it's pretty special that you made history. But, but... it's unfortunate that it had to be history that was being made.
Jerry Hodges: Indeed.
John Bradshaw: At that time, how did you relate to those circumstances which, until now, had been set in place to keep you back?
Jerry Hodges: I was very aware of it, and I hated those circumstances. I always felt imposed on when I would get or go into situations in which this was clamped down on me. But I also knew there were a lot of good people urging and working toward the elimination of that. It was, we were fighting two wars: overseas and at home. Double victory we were working for. Overseas, I could see them, you know, winning, coming out ahead. But at home, it was really difficult to see if we gonna make any progress. Over the years, I have seen, yes, we have made progress. And we still have a very long way to go. You know, so, we must keep on. We can't relax; we've gotta keep on doing it.
John Bradshaw: After the Tuskegee Airmen, the nation went on to end Jim Crow and segregation and legalized discrimination. But imagine if it hadn't. Imagine if after Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois and countless other men and women had toiled for change, that the nation simply forgot all about it and went back to the old practices of former years? Such a thing has happened before. A man once came to this earth who rose up and stood for change and achieved great things, but then He watched as those He had given so much for simply reverted to type. A world given great opportunity to press forward didn't. And here we are today. I'll tell you more about that story in just a moment.
John Bradshaw: When World War II began, there were only about 125 licensed black pilots in the entire United States and none in the military. Yet just a couple of generations after the abolition of slavery, black Americans were flying as pilots of the United States Army Air Forces, as the air force was known back then. Those pioneering aviators were the Tuskegee Airmen, a name given to the pilots and their support staff. And they earned a reputation for excellence. It's a fascinating story, one that you can compare many Bible stories to: men fighting against great odds and overcoming, men fighting against the establishment, against the status quo, men who were undeniably on the side of right asking for an opportunity to do what was clearly and obviously just. These were men who volunteered to fight against tyranny overseas while, simultaneously, fighting tyranny of another kind at home.
After World War II, Jerry Hodges went on to establish a successful accounting business in California. In 2019, another Tuskegee airman, Charles McGee, flew a private jet from Maryland to Dover Air Force Base. You're doing the math, aren't you? He did that on his 100th birthday. Benjamin O. Davis Jr. was the son of the army's first black general. Initially, he was denied admission to the army air corps based on race but went on to command both of the Tuskegee units that saw combat. He became the first black brigadier general in the United States Air Force. Daniel James Jr. became the first black four-star general in the air force. He flew 101 combat missions during the Korean War and another 78 combat missions during Vietnam. Roscoe C. Brown Jr. flew 68 combat missions during World War II. When he shot down a Messerschmitt near Berlin, he became only the 15th U.S. pilot to shoot down a jet. He went on to earn a doctorate from New York University and enjoyed a very successful career as an educator and university administrator.
These outstanding Americans didn't achieve because of the color of their skin, nor did they achieve in spite of the color of their skin. They were high fliers, and doing what they did would pave the way for others to fly high. But imagine if, after all the hard work done and the insults and discrimination, imagine if society went back to that. Of course, you just cannot go back to a broken system. You don't turn back the clock on matters of justice. So, think with me about another pioneer who came on to the scene when injustice was rampant, when certain men and women had lost their freedoms. This Man made such great advancements, only to see the progress that He had made basically ignored.
This is Isaiah 61:1. "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound". Jesus quoted this passage and then said to those who were there that day, "This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears". In other words, "I've come to liberate the oppressed, to preach deliverance to the captives, and to heal the blind. I've come to save the world from the tyranny of sin," Jesus was saying. That was a huge gain for the world. Meaningless tradition, along with ignorance and superstition and hopelessness, were swept aside when Jesus came into the world.
So how much sense does it make to ignore that Jesus lived? And to reject the gains made by His life and death? It isn't a desire for liberty that craves a Jesus-less world but a strange attraction to the exact opposite. John wrote that Jesus "came unto His own, and His own received Him not". The world had never been deeper in sin. Jesus came to this world to free us from that. He came to this world that we might not only have life but, in His words, "have it more abundantly". But it's as though that people of His day said, "Actually, we'd rather go back to Egypt". To quote them, they said, "We have no king but Caesar"! He was in their midst, the Messiah for whom they'd been waiting thousands of years, the promised One who opened the eyes of the blind and healed lepers and drove away disease and raised the dead again and again. And they said, "No, no, let's not advance. Let's go backwards".
Drastically. Jesus' life on earth changed the world. And His life and death can change your world. You don't have to live your past life anymore. You can live a life of hope and freedom, of dignity and respect. If David hadn't stepped forward to kill Goliath, who knows what misery Israel would have endured. But after his incredible victory, the nation didn't say, "Actually, we prefer to be under Philistine rule". What if the Red Sea had parted and Israel said, "We're not crossing over"? Caleb, whose name means "wholehearted," and Joshua, which means "Yahweh saves," encouraged Israel to press forward into the Promised Land. The faithless ones gave what the Bible calls "an evil report". They said, "We cannot," which, of course, means, "We believe God cannot".
And that backward thinking, in the face of God's grace and blessing, saw the nation spend 40 years in the wilderness when they could have made it to the Promised Land in just 11 days. God wants every person alive to fly high spiritually. But every time God says, "I'll set you free," and you choose to stay in sin, you're clinging to the darkness of the past. When you choose to let an addiction govern you, you're saying you want to forget everything the death of Jesus represents. He died to give you power, victory. It's freely offered to you. You'd accept that, wouldn't you? There's not one good reason why you shouldn't. It might be discouragement or pride or lust or anger or dishonesty, and Jesus says, "I have a way forward for you. You've been freed from that".
There stands a cross at Calvary declaring that Jesus calls you from the past into a bright future of hope and light. How is it with you today? We've looked today at a group of individuals who manifestly changed society. Society couldn't go back, and neither can you after what Jesus has done for you. Jesus came into the world and changed the world, opening up to you the reality of eternal life. You can't go back, can you? He said to a group of fishermen one day, "Follow me". And today, He says the same to you. Will you follow Jesus, the One who made great gains for you, who has freed you from the condemnation and dysfunction and guilt of your past? Accept what He's done for you and start living, right now, the more abundant life that He offers.
Our Father in heaven, we are grateful for the example of those who have gone before us, examples of courage and integrity under great pressure and duress. We're thankful for the example of Jesus, who made such great gains for this world.
Friend, right now, as God is calling to your heart, I'm wondering if you want to ignore the gains Jesus made and go back to some old life, or step forward into what God has provided for you and assume your rightful role as a son or daughter of God. Would you do that? And say yes to the God of heaven and yes to the new life Jesus through His heroism and sacrifice and bravery secured.
We thank You, Lord, for the new life, for a new way. We turn our back on the old life through faith in Jesus and ask that He would live His life in us. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.