Tales of the Red Tails are moving, especially when told by a Tuskegee Airmen who still serves in the Los Angeles Chapter of the famed flying unit's society.
In an exclusive interview with Carib Press — conducted in the Tuskegee Room in the Proud Bird Restaurant on Aviation Boulevard at the edge of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) — Jerry Hodges told his own story of duty with the first African-American military flyers in the history of the U.S. military.
These men were dedicated and determined volunteers. They met the physical, mental and psychological qualifications to become combat flyers, and were accepted for aviation cadet training to become pilots, navigators, or bombardiers.
The airmen-to-be went to Tuskegee University in Alabama because the U.S. Army Air Corps — forerunner of the U.S. Air Force — entered into contract for the school to be a center of training. Tuskegee had already invested in the development its own Moton Airfield, named for the university's second president Dr. Robert R. Moton, who served with distinction from 1915-1935.
Hodges joined his comrades to become part of the all-black, 332nd Fighter Group, The group originally consisted of four fighter squadrons — the 99th, the 100th, the 301st, and the 302nd. From 1941-1946, some 1,000 black pilots were trained at Tuskegee. Hodges was a B-25 bomber pilot Jerry Hodges of the 477th Bomber Group. Our Q&A with Hodges, who is now 85 years old, follows:
CP: Where were you born in?
JH: I was born and raised in Heth, Arkansas.
CP: How did you get selected to be an air cadet?
JH: I was a student at Hampton Institute, in Hampton Virginia. My major was drafting. When Tuskegee opened, I was interested. I volunteered for flight training in 1944 and was in one of the final graduating classes. Each class had a quota of 47-48 cadets.
CP: What was life like at the airbase?
JH: If you stayed on the base it was OK. Once you left the base you could see and feel the racism. The town's people didn't care if you had on a military uniform, you were still a negro. On occasions we did get respect.
CP: After graduation from Tuskegee, did you go overseas?
JH: No. I didn't leave the U.S. The war came to an abrupt end in August of 1945 due to the two atomic bombs that were dropped on Japan. I cried when told the war was over — I knew that I wouldn't fly again. I was placed into an independent unit and was commissioned into the 617 Bomber Squadron, as a squadron leader, in Columbus, Ohio. I was 20 years-old at that time.
CP: After your tour of duty was up, what did you do next?
JH: I was accepted to attend USC.
CP: Did you get to fly again?
JH: No! The major commercial airlines didn't hire black pilots. Just the cargo airlines did hire a few of us.
CP: If you were flying in the military today, what plane would you think of flying?
JH: I would love to fly the stealth B-2 Bomber, it's so advanced and is a beautiful airplane.
While we sat in the Tuskegee Room surrounded with many photos of the airmen along the walls. Jerry Hodges kept looking up at the photos. He pointed at General Daniel "Chappie" James' photo.
"He was one heck of a card player," Hodges recalled.
Then he saw a photo of General Ben Davis.
"He was by the book," Hodges said.
The room had another intriguing photo — a shot of the late Lena Horne in a long evening dress and standing in front of the propeller of a P-51 fighter, surrounded by several admiring airmen. Hodges said that during the war, most service men had their favorite pin up girl.
"The white servicemen loved the shapely legs of Betty Grable — she was their pin up girl," he said. "We had Lena as ours. All the men loved her"
Hodges said that he is proud to be a Tuskegee Airman, and considers himself one of crew that opened doors for many black pilots that are flying military and commercial planes today.
Hodges currently serves as chairman of the Tuskegee Airmen Inc. Board of Governors Scholarship Fund.
For more information about the Tuskegee Airmen Scholarship program log onto their website at www.taisf.org.
Wilfred Phillips Jr. is a writer for Carib Press
Historical photo of the Tuskegee Airmen from the U.S. Air Force. Photo of Leo Sullivan, Farrell Chiles and Jerry Hodges from Carib Press.
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