Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 News
    
        Photos

    Week in Photos

    Air Force TV

    Commentaries

    Features

    Art

    About Us
    
        Air Force Senior Leaders
    
        SECAF

    CSAF

    CMSAF

    Biographies

    Fact Sheets

    SECAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library
    
        CSAF Leadership Library 2022

    CSAF Leadership Library 2021

    CSAF Reading List Pre-2020 Archive
    
        2018 CSAF Reading List

    2017 CSAF Reading List

    2016 CSAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library 2023

    CMSAF Leadership Library

    50 Years of the CMSAF

    Adjunct Professors

    Air Force Strategic Documents

    Arctic Strategy

    Empowered Airmen

    State Licensure Portability

    Careers

    AF Federal Advisory Committees

    AF 75th Anniversary

    Policy Updates

    AF Content Management

    Contact Us

    AF Sites
    
        Site RegistrationU.S. Air Force LogoAir Force

        Policy UpdatesNewsroomReoptimizationBIOGRAPHIESAF Senior Leaders      Dickson will be honored by Air Force Recruiting Service and Richard Petty Motorsports at the NASCAR Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, May 25, 2020.Air Force Recruiting, NASCAR to Honor Fallen Tuskegee Airman Memorial Day Weekend
                        
                        
                        Army Air Forces Capt. Lawrence E. Dickson's P-51 Mustang crashed near the border between Italy and Austria during World War II. Dickson will be honored by Air Force Recruiting Service and Richard Petty Motorsports at the NASCAR Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, May 25, 2020. (U.S. Air Force courtesy photo)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res
        


        A decal on the windshield of Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 car honoring Capt. Lawrence E. Dickson, an American hero and fallen Tuskegee Airman.AFRS honors Tuskegee Airman
                        
                        
                        A decal on the windshield of Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 car honoring Capt. Lawrence E. Dickson, an American hero and fallen Tuskegee Airman. Dickson will be honored by Air Force Recruiting Service and RPM on Memorial Day at NASCAR's Coca Cola 600 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway, May 25, 2020. (U.S. Air Force courtesy photo)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res

Air Force Recruiting, NASCAR to honor fallen Tuskegee Airman Memorial Day weekendPublished May 24, 2020
                    
                    By Master Sgt. Chance Babin
                    
                    
                    Air Force Recruiting Service Public Affairs
            **CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AFNS) --****Air Force Recruiting Service** and Richard Petty Motorsports will pay tribute to an American hero — fallen Tuskegee Airman, Capt. Lawrence E. Dickson, as part of NASCAR’s Coca Cola 600 Memorial Day tribute at the Charlotte Motor Speedway, May 25.
Dickson’s name will be displayed above the windshield of driver Bubba Wallace’s No. 43 race car. The car will also be painted to resemble the iconic **A-10 Thunderbolt II**, right down to the tiger shark teeth on the grill.
Memorial Day is an American holiday, observed on the last Monday of May, honoring the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. A national moment of remembrance will take place at 3 p.m. EDT on Memorial Day and people are asked to pause then for a moment of silence.
“To be able to honor Capt. Dickson at the Coca Cola 600 is remarkable,” Wallace said. “It’s truly an honor to hear his story and how he was a pioneer, a warrior and an all-around great American hero. It’s our job and duty to go out and perform to the best levels we know how to represent him and his family and make them proud for everything he has done. We will showcase just how big he was to this country at the Coca Cola 600. I’m excited. I can’t wait.”
The Tuskegee Airmen were the first black military aviators in the U.S. Army Air Corps, a precursor of the U.S. Air Force. Pilots, navigators, maintainers, bombardiers, instructors and support staff all trained at the Tuskegee Army Air Field in Alabama. The Tuskegee Airmen flew more than 15,000 sorties during World War II in Europe and North Africa.
Dickson, who was assigned to the 100th Fighter Squadron, flew 68 missions during WWII. On December 23, 1944, he was returning from a reconnaissance mission when his Mustang P-51 experienced engine failure. His plane crashed along the Italy-Austria border, according to the Pentagon. Searches of the crash site were unsuccessful, and in 1949, the military declared his remains non-recoverable.
But Dickson’s story didn’t end there. In 2012, an American recovery team found the crash site in Austria after receiving information from an Austrian researcher. The team found wreckage matching Dickson's type of fighter. Excavations conducted over four weeks in the summer of 2017 by the University of New Orleans and Austria's University of Innsbruck resulted in the recovery of human remains. On July 27, 2018, Dickson's remains were identified by the **Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency**.
“I did a lot of searching for a Tuskegee Airman to honor as our fallen hero for the Coca-Cola 600,” said Master Sgt. Shawn Emmerling, AFRS marketing/events non commissioned officer. “It was important to have a Tuskegee Airman; because like them, Bubba is leading the charge for diversity being the only African American driver in NASCAR. I read a lot of articles that honored fallen Tuskegee Airmen, and it was pretty difficult to choose who to honor because I wanted to honor them all. Capt. Dickson’s story was one that stood out because of the length of time it took to get him home, and how much his family was involved to finally have some sense of peace.”
Dickson’s daughter, Marla Andrews, who is now 77, was given a precious gift – a 14-karat art deco ring – that was found during the dig. During excavation, the ring’s aqua-colored stone, which had broken from the ring, was found separately. The ring was inscribed with the initials, L.E.D and P.D., with a heart and arrow going through it. P.D honored her mother Phyllis Dickson.
“I went through a lot of different stories on fallen Tuskegee Airman, and his story stuck out to me in a big way. I almost felt like it was a love story,” Emmerling said. “From how his body was identified with his wedding ring, and having his family still searching for answers after such a long time, I truly wanted to show them how much it touched me and our office. I felt like the love his family has shown in his story, and after personal conversations with his daughter, Marla, I was convinced we needed to honor him.”
For Andrews and her family, the long wait to find her father was difficult, but she now has some closure and is honored his legacy will be honored at the Coca Cola 600 this weekend.
“I appreciate the Air Force, NASCAR and Bubba Wallace for honoring my father,” she said. “I am so grateful my father’s name and his story will be recognized. He was an American hero. My love goes out to all the guys who are giving my dad a chance to say hello again.”
Andrews said that although her father’s name is on the car, this honor goes to all Tuskegee Airmen and their families.
“We strive to reach a diverse population for the future of our Air Force,” Emmerling said. “I really felt that this was a tribute to what Capt. Dickson and his fellow Tuskegee Airman started so many years ago, and what Bubba is currently doing for the sport of NASCAR as well.”USAF 



AF 



Air Force 



AFRS 



Air Force Recruiting Service 



Capt. Lawrence E. Dickson 



Tuskegee Airmen 



Memorial Day 



A-10 Thunderbolt II 



American holiday 



Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency 



fallen 



hero 



AFWN Featured News
        Senior Leader Priorities
                SecAF, CSAF, CMSAF begin Indo-Pacific trip focused on ACE
                    
                    DAF leaders talk budget, reoptimizing the force
                    
                    DAF leaders speak at National Character and Leadership Symposium
                    
                    DAF members recognized during BEYA STEM awards
                    
                    DAF senior enlisted advisors discuss Airmen, Guardians in the fightInnovation
                F-16s arrive to be modified for autonomous testing
                    
                    AFWERX director discusses role of tech startups, quick innovation in Great Power Competition
                    
                    DAF delivers lethality at the speed of data during Project Convergence Capstone 4
                    
                    DAF welcomes industry partners to HQ development program
                    
                    DAF announces Spark Tank 2024 finalistsMAJCOM News
                Safety enterprise announces new mission, vision, goals in 2024 strategic plan
                    
                    Air Combat Command welcomes new commander
                    
                    USAFE-AFAFRICA commander discusses Integrated Air, Missile Defense during Munich Security Conference
                    
                    Flosi to AFMC family: Embrace change, make every day count
                    
                    AMC rises to increasing global tension
 Quick Links
AccessibilityContact UsEqual OpportunityFOIA | Privacy | Section 508Information QualityInspector GeneralJAG Court-Martial DocketLink DisclaimerNo FEAR ActOpen GovernmentOSI Tip LinePlain LanguageQuestionsResilienceRSSSite MapVeterans Crisis LineCareers
Join the Air ForceAir Force BenefitsAir Force CareersAir Force ReserveAir National GuardCivilian ServiceConnect
            Get Social with Us
            
            Official United States Air Force Website
    Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil