RED TAILS

A big budget Hollywood movie is keeping alive the legacy of a few of America's lesser-known heroes. It's called "Red Tails" and follows the story of the Tuskegee Airmen, the military's first all-African American fighter pilot group. The story of the Airmen is one that's not only important to the Allied Campaign in Europe, but also for the Civil Rights Movement here in the US Tonight, George Lucas' big budget move opens in theaters across the country, and it's a film that celebrates a group of young men who defied the odds and changed the country. It's Lucas' modern take on the heroic story. The program launched in 1941 in Tuskegee, Alabama and was labeled an experiment to see if African Americans were even capable of flying. The Airmen didn't settle for just breaking the race barrier. They also performed brilliantly and were activated to fight in WWII. In over 1500 missions, they destroyed 260 enemy aircraft and sank an enemy destroyer, their painted tails and relentless protection of allied bombers earned them the nickname "Red Tail Angels". At John C. Tune Airport, WWII historian Tom Patten is making sure the Airmen's contributions aren't forgotten. He keeps a museum complete with a fully-operational P51 Mustang, the same plane flown by the Airmen in European skies. Patten says the plane often brought veterans to his hangar, like Tuskegee Airman Dr. Joseph White, from Brentwood, who recently passed away. Even though White is no longer here to tell his story, Arrendodo ...

View Count: 0 Date: January 21, 2012