on the Tuskegee Airmen...

[acroyear]

There's been a clarification of the historical legend that they never lost a bomber to enemy fire under their watch.  The legend seems to have started from a paper article published in March of 1945 saying that they'd flown 200 missions without a loss.  The popular assumption was that those were the only 200 missions they'd flown up to that point.  Really it was 200 missions since July of 1944, which was the last time prior to that they'd lost one.

The annoying irony is that as soon as you point out a streak, the streak is broken - they lost a bomber the same day as the article was published.

Regardless of the legend being brought back down to more reasonable claims, this should in no way deter any respect anyone has for that air group, its men, and its accomplishments.  Only 25 planes lost over 5 days out of hundreds of sorties, and a streak of over 200 missions, is and remains an astounding feat.

Comments

[johnbroadfoot.livejournal.com]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,262303,00.html

[droid18.livejournal.com]

Good job on the research!! I couldn't agree more with your closing comment. As an associate member of the 352nd Fighter Group, I've had the pleasure of actually meeting some of WWII's greatest pilots. To read more on the amazing achievements of this group check out the following link: http://www.352ndfightergroup.com/assoc/main.html

Among these events was the "Legend of Y-29". As 53 German aircraft attempted to attack our forward airfields on New Years Day 1945, (thinking we would be drunk and hungover) 12 pilots of the 487th FS, from the 352nd FG, took off to fight. Col. J.C. Meyers was the first off the ground, and before his landing gear had completely stowed, he shot a german down in a head-on pass. At the end of it all, the 352nd FG shot down 23 enemy aircraft without a single loss of our own.

Although killing is never glamorous, the art and skill involved with saving one's own ass is. These men, (both the Tuskegee Airmen and the 352nd, as well as members of all groups alike) accomplished feats of pure survival under the most severe pressure any of us could imagine. I feel that WWII was the last justifiable war, as we all would most certainly not be doing what we're doing today at home. This is not to disclaim our soldiers of wars since and today, but to point out, (and I personally know many veterans of Vietnam, The Gulf War, and the current war in Iraq, and they all agree) today is all about surviving the actions ordered by someone's political agenda.

As one pilot of the 352nd FG once said in an interview, "You know how every war they say 'it's the war to end all wars'? Lets hope one day we get it right!" - Don McKibben 352nd FG

Thanks for posting this, as we all need to remember what those before us have done. And how minor breaking a nail or having a bad hair is in comparison.