In a scene repeated on scores of
missions in 1944 and 1945, often over German air space, the pilots
of the 332nd Fighter Group answer the distress call of a crippled
bomber crew of the 15th Air Force. As they are being pursued
by a determined Luftwaffe pilot in a Focke Wulf D-9, bent on
bringing down the Fortress, the red tailed Tuskegee pilots arrive
in the nick of time to break up the attack and escort the grateful
bomber crew back home to friendlier skies.
The harrowing encounter for the crew of Jeze Belle is over now,
thanks to the dedication and courage of the Tuskegee Airmen,
who built an unmatched legacy in the war torn skies over Europe,
of never having lost a bomber that they were escorting. Depicted
here is 1st Lt Spurgeon Ellington in LOLLIPOOP, nicknamed after
his wife. Ellington was later killed and his widow married singer
Nat King Cole. In the background is 2nd Lt George E Hardy in
TALL IN THE SADDLE, of the 99th Fighter Squadron. |