Tuskegee Airman Charles McGee and his great grandson Iain Lanphier are seen during President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address on February 4, 2020. McGee, one of the last survivors of the Tuskegee Airmen , who had performed 409 combat combat missions in three wars, died Sunday.
Patrick Semansky / AP
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Tuskegee Airman Charles McGee and his great grandson Iain Lanphier are seen during President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address on February 4, 2020. McGee, one of the last survivors of the Tuskegee Airmen , who had performed 409 combat combat missions in three wars, died Sunday.
Patrick Semansky / AP
Charles McGee, a Tuskegee aviator who flew 409 fighter missions in three wars, has died. He was 102 years old.
Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III announced his death Sunday on Twitter, both calling McGee an American hero.
“While I grieve his loss, I am also incredibly grateful for his sacrifice, legacy and character. Rest in peace, General,” wrote Austin, who did not speak. It’s clear where McGee died.
The Tuskegee Airmen was the nickname for the first African-American unit to fly a fighter jet during World War II.
Charles McGee receives congratulations following a visit with 436 Airport Squadron personnel at Dover Air Force Base to help celebrate his 100th birthday in Dover, Del., in 2019.
David Tulis / AP
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David Tulis / AP
Charles McGee receives congratulations following a visit with 436 Airport Squadron personnel at Dover Air Force Base to help celebrate his 100th birthday in Dover, Del., in 2019.
David Tulis / AP
McGee was among more than 900 men who trained in rural Alabama from 1940 to 1946 after the Army Air Forces were forced to accept Black pilots. About 450 were deployed overseas, and 150 were killed in training or combat.
McGee was one of the few pilots – white or black – to have flown combat missions in that conflict and during the wars between Korea and Vietnam.
“You could say that one of the things we fought for was equality. Equality of opportunity. We knew we had the same skills or better,” he told The Associated Press in a 1995 interview.
After turning 100, McGee was awarded an honorary committee that promoted him to the rank of one-star lieutenant general under a congressional measure signed by President Donald Trump. In 2020, McGee won applause from members of Congress when introduced by Trump during his State of the Union address.
