March 19, 2007 (Vol. 5, No. 4)

Father of Lehman VP Honored as a Tuskegee Airman

Lt. Wheeler (standing, far right) and other Tuskegee Airmen during World War II.

The legendary World War II aviators known as the Tuskegee Airmen received the Congressional Gold Medal–the highest honor Congress can give–in a ceremony March 29 in the Capitol Rotunda. Among the recipients was William M. Wheeler, the father of Lehman's Vice President of Administration, Derek Wheeler, who also attended the ceremony.

Lt. Wheeler flew the P-51D Mustang on combat missions to Germany, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Albania, and Greece. He and other former Airmen presented a panel discussion at Lehman for the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Lecture in February 2002.

In 2002, Lehman faculty, staff and students, including Vice President Derek Wheeler (standing, far right), joined in a salute to the service of the Tuskegee Airmen (seated), including Vice President Wheeler's father, retired Lt. William M. Wheeler.

In his remarks preceding that discussion, President Ricardo R. Fernández noted that "these young men ... had grown up in a society that was far from equal. Whether from the North or the South, most had been raised in segregated neighborhoods, had attended segregated schools, and when the call came to serve their country, had joined a segregated army. To their everlasting credit, the Tuskegee Airmen saw beyond those imperfect conditions to the ideals on which this nation is founded. Their valiant service became a weapon against the bigotry and oppression of both fascism and racism."

In 1941, the Army Air Force began a program to train African Americans as military pilots. Primary flight training was conducted by the Division of Aeronautics at Tuskegee Institute, the famed school of learning founded by Booker T. Washington, and then at nearby Tuskegee Army Air Field. By the end of the war, 992 had graduated from the training, and 450 of them had been sent overseas for combat assignment. Approximately 150 lost their lives.

You can read more about the Airmen and the Congressional award ceremony at CNN.com.

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