Black B-26 units in the Pacific?

Never meet your heroes

DerAdlerIstGelandet said:

I have no issues with him at all.

My point was simply that being an officer or having a college degree does not make someone a gentleman.

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So it was a good thing he was a pro-wrestling referee.

Howard Gibson said:

So it was a good thing he was a pro-wrestling referee.

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I'd say so..

Met him at an airshow in the 80s. The years may have mellowed him. Also met Ens, George Gay at the same show. While I was in the Airforce (1960) met Chennault's son. Looked very much like his father. I think he was a Major and he tooled up in a new F-105 and as he walked over, after a few minutes, I was impressed by how old, wrinkled and worn his flight suit was and how wrinkled his face was. It was as if his father, Claire, had just landed.. In 1959, just after reporting to the USAF I met Boyington's son, also in the AirForce. Taller than Greg and had sort of blonde hair as i remember.

Regarding the wiki piece - It could be that he once told someone, "I was with B-26s training for the Pacific" and someone mistakenly thought he was claiming to be a pilot. For many people, when they hear that someoen was in the Air Force, the first thing they think of is a pilot.

DerAdlerIstGelandet said:

Do those two things automatically make someone a gentleman?

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Never ever confuse education with intelligence.

denoferth said:

Never ever confuse education with intelligence.

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My point exactly…

ODonovan said:

Since the ONLY training base for black pilots during WWII was at Tuskegee, he would have to be listed as a "Tuskegee Airman." He is not. Here is the official list of pilot graduates.

PILOT LISTING

This is from the Tuskegee Airmen's official website.

"In addition to training fighter pilots, Tuskegee graduated a group of twin-engine pilots. They were assigned to the 477th Bombardment Group and flew the B-25 Mitchell bomber, a twin-engine, medium bomber. The Group was activated with four bombardment squadrons; the 616th, 617th, 618th, and 619th. However, the war against Japan ended before the 477th Group could be deployed overseas."

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My father, Jack Chin, was a graduating pilot at Tuskegee Army Air Field (and is a listed DOTA pilot on the listing page link), completing both SE and TE training. He was part of the 477th, mostly flying the P-47D and then a co-pilot on B-25J, as they were hoping to be deployed to support the effort in either theatre. As stated, the 477th did not send anyone overseas and there were no other coloured pilots in the Army Air Corps. So no TE trained coloured pilots saw action in either theatre and no Tuskegee Airmen saw action in Japan. And given the whole reason for the Tuskegee Experience to begin with, I would not expect any other part of the AAC would even consider having a coloured pilot (considering the army was segregated). And the 99th Pursuit Squadron and the 332nd Fighter Group were the only ones to see action. Note, there were several thousand other men who are considered Tuskegee Airmen that were in other roles, such as navigator, gunners, and instructors. And there were other supporting roles such as mechanics, crew chief, and nurses, But if they did not go through the Experience and graduate, they would not have flown.