The Tuskegee Airmen

The Tuskegee airmen were the first African American aviators in the US army. This was a big deal at the time because the army was under the influence of the Jim Crow laws. The group consisted of 250 of the finest African American pilots and was under the command of Benjamin O. Davis Jr. They were treated rather harshly when it came to their missions. They were only allowed to receive medical attention from doctors of their skin color. When it came time to invade Sicily the Tuskegee airmen were the first to sacrifice their men in aerial combat and they completed the task. Regardless they were able to find success through all of the grueling missions they were assigned. As soon as the news spread about their success, they were heavily criticized and almost disbanded due to some flawed statistics. Although they received a great number of medals during their service, they were greatly rewarded for putting up with hard times by the president George W. Bush Jr.