Ne
ws first reported by the Montgomery Advertiser has spread fast about the recent discovery by two respected historians—one with the Tuskegee Airmen organization and one with the Air Force—that the famed World War II Tuskegee Airmen did not have a perfect bomber protection record. William Holton, historian for Tuskegee Airmen, Inc., and Daniel Haulman with the Air Force Historical Research Agency, have found combat mission records that indicate there were some aircraft losses. In fact, it appears they found the records at least two years ago. Author Alan Gropman told the Advertiser that it would take “more readings of those mission reports to settle this once and for all.” He also said that the loss of three or four bombers would be “miniscule compared to the losses incurred by white pilots who also escorted bombers.” (Read our 1997 article on Tuskegee leader Benjamin Davis by Gropman.)
The U.S. military is maintaining a beefed-up presence in the Middle East, including fighters and air defense assets, following the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities June 22 and subsequent retaliation by the Iranians against Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
