Tuskee airman, 90, shares his insights
Pat Mack
Issue date: 11/17/09 Section: News
Retired Lt. Col. Washington DuBois Ross, an original Tuskegee Airman, recounted some of his life's highlights with such detail Friday that you might have thought he was speaking of current events.
Ross, 90, was a member of the famed Alabama-based, all-black combat unit, which was formed in the 1940s and featured the first African American U.S. military pilots.
A 1974 graduate of the University of Detroit, Ross spoke to Prof. Ann Eskridge's students. He began simply by writing his name on the board, explaining that it was a "little lengthy" to remember and noting that he was named for "Booker T. Washington, not George."
Born in Mississippi and raised in Kentucky, Ross was a son of the Southern states until his parents sent him to a high school in Ohio because it was integrated.
He said there were no airports nearby and piloting never struck his interest until he went for a plane ride, just a simple Sunday circle for which he had saved his pennies. While flying immediately infatuated him, the military was another story.
Ross received his pilot's license in 1941 from the Hampton Institute and recalled trying to dodge the draft twice after being deferred for being a student.
His plans to sneak by the government didn't work. Ross was told straight up to report to the draft board or report to jail.
From his days in training to his missions overseas, he encountered discrimination, he said.
This was during World War II, long before the days of affirmative action, he pointedly reminded the audience.
Despite the anger he felt when he often failed to be given the proper respect of an officer's salute, he always believed racial acceptance would be "an evolution not a revolution," he said.
But by no means did he ever think he wasn't going to make it, even after crashing a P-39 to the point where its wings were taken off, he said. He totaled the aircraft, slamming into a tree in a residential area.
He said the first question his superiors asked was, "What's the condition of the aircraft?"
"My aim was to go overseas, do my missions and come back," he said. "I wasn't mad at the Germans and if they were mad at me I didn't care."
In the end, after 63 missions overseas, he did make it back, which must have provided a great relief to his parents; all five of their sons served in the war simultaneously and all five made it back.
After his military career, Ross had difficulty finding a job, something that resonates for others today, he said.
He eventually furthered his education by earning his master's degree in education here, followed by 29 years of service in the Detroit Public Schools.
Ross has been retired for 20 years, but remains eager to answer questions and bring the past to life.
The class was eager as well, trying to see what it was like then - and would never be like again.
Ross, 90, was a member of the famed Alabama-based, all-black combat unit, which was formed in the 1940s and featured the first African American U.S. military pilots.
A 1974 graduate of the University of Detroit, Ross spoke to Prof. Ann Eskridge's students. He began simply by writing his name on the board, explaining that it was a "little lengthy" to remember and noting that he was named for "Booker T. Washington, not George."
Born in Mississippi and raised in Kentucky, Ross was a son of the Southern states until his parents sent him to a high school in Ohio because it was integrated.
He said there were no airports nearby and piloting never struck his interest until he went for a plane ride, just a simple Sunday circle for which he had saved his pennies. While flying immediately infatuated him, the military was another story.
Ross received his pilot's license in 1941 from the Hampton Institute and recalled trying to dodge the draft twice after being deferred for being a student.
His plans to sneak by the government didn't work. Ross was told straight up to report to the draft board or report to jail.
From his days in training to his missions overseas, he encountered discrimination, he said.
This was during World War II, long before the days of affirmative action, he pointedly reminded the audience.
Despite the anger he felt when he often failed to be given the proper respect of an officer's salute, he always believed racial acceptance would be "an evolution not a revolution," he said.
But by no means did he ever think he wasn't going to make it, even after crashing a P-39 to the point where its wings were taken off, he said. He totaled the aircraft, slamming into a tree in a residential area.
He said the first question his superiors asked was, "What's the condition of the aircraft?"
"My aim was to go overseas, do my missions and come back," he said. "I wasn't mad at the Germans and if they were mad at me I didn't care."
In the end, after 63 missions overseas, he did make it back, which must have provided a great relief to his parents; all five of their sons served in the war simultaneously and all five made it back.
After his military career, Ross had difficulty finding a job, something that resonates for others today, he said.
He eventually furthered his education by earning his master's degree in education here, followed by 29 years of service in the Detroit Public Schools.
Ross has been retired for 20 years, but remains eager to answer questions and bring the past to life.
The class was eager as well, trying to see what it was like then - and would never be like again.
Be the first to comment on this story