Retired Lt. Col. Charles Dryden, 87, a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, died June 24 in Atlanta. He was one of the first Tuskegee pilots to lead airmen of the all-black 99th Fighter Squadron into battle against the Germans in World War II. Later in the war, he trained Tuskegee pilots. He remained in the Air Force until 1962, seeing additional combat action in Korea, amassing 4,000 total flying hours. He then went on to work for then-Lockheed Aeronautical Systems in Marietta, Ga. (For more read the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Macon Telegraph)
The Air Force has spent more than two years studying cancer risks to Airmen who work with the service's intercontinental ballistic missiles. Now lawmakers in Congress are placing fresh scrutiny on the issue and have prepared legislation that would direct the service to clean silos and launch facilities.