II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 392 

To authorize the President to award a gold medal on behalf of Congress, 

collectively, to the Tuskegee Airmen in recognition of their unique military record, which inspired revolutionary reform in the Armed Forces. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 16, 2005 

Mr. LEVIN (for himself, Mr. MCCAIN, Ms. STABENOW, Mrs. DOLE, Mr. 

OBAMA, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. PRYOR, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. ROCKEFELLER, 

Mr. NELSON of Florida, Ms. LANDRIEU, and Mr. KERRY) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

A BILL

To authorize the President to award a gold medal on behalf 

of Congress, collectively, to the Tuskegee Airmen in recognition of their unique military record, which inspired 

revolutionary reform in the Armed Forces.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 

4 Congress finds the following: 

5 (1) In 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt 

6 overruled his top generals and ordered the creation 

7 of an all Black flight training program. President 
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1 Roosevelt took this action one day after the NAACP 

2 filed suit on behalf of Howard University student 

3 Yancy Williams and others in Federal court to force 

4 the Department of War to accept Black pilot train5 ees. Yancy Williams had a civilian pilot’s license and 

6 had earned an engineering degree. Years later, 

7 Major Yancy Williams participated in an air surveil8 lance project created by President Dwight D. Eisen9 hower. 

10 (2) Due to the rigid system of racial segrega11 tion that prevailed in the United States during 

12 World War II, Black military pilots were trained at 

13 a separate airfield built near Tuskegee, Alabama. 

14 They became known as the ‘‘Tuskegee Airmen’’. 

15 (3) The Tuskegee Airmen inspired revolu16 tionary reform in the Armed Forces, paving the way 

17 for full racial integration in the Armed Forces. They 

18 overcame the enormous challenges of prejudice and 

19 discrimination, succeeding, despite obstacles that 

20 threatened failure. 

21 (4) From all accounts, the training of the 

22 Tuskegee Airmen was an experiment established to 

23 prove that so-called ‘‘coloreds’’ were incapable of op24 erating expensive and complex combat aircraft. 

25 Studies commissioned by the Army War College be-
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1 tween 1924 and 1939 concluded that Blacks were 

2 unfit for leadership roles and incapable of aviation. 

3 Instead, the Tuskegee Airmen excelled. 

4 (5) Overall, some 992 Black pilots graduated 

5 from the pilot training program of the Tuskegee 

6 Army Air Field, with the last class finishing in June 

7 1946, 450 of whom served in combat. The first class 

8 of cadets began in July 1941 with 13 airmen, all of 

9 whom had college degrees, some with Ph.D.’s, and 

10 all of whom had pilot’s licenses. One of the grad11 uates was Captain Benjamin O. Davis Jr., a United 

12 States Military Academy graduate. Four aviation ca13 dets were commissioned as second lieutenants, and 

14 5 received Army Air Corps silver pilot wings. 

15 (6) That the experiment achieved success rather 

16 than the expected failure is further evidenced by the 

17 eventual promotion of 3 of these pioneers through 

18 the commissioned officer ranks to flag rank, includ19 ing the late General Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., United 

20 States Air Force, the late General Daniel ‘‘Chappie’’ 

21 James, United States Air Force, our Nation’s first 

22 Black 4-star general, and Major General Lucius 

23 Theus, United States Air Force (retired). 

24 (7) Four hundred fifty Black fighter pilots 

25 under the command of then Colonel Benjamin O. 
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1 Davis, Jr., fought in World War II aerial battles 

2 over North Africa, Sicily, and Europe, flying, in suc3 cession, P–40, P–39, P–47, and P–51 aircraft. 

4 These gallant men flew 15,553 sorties and 1,578 

5 missions with the 12th Tactical Air Force and the 

6 15th Strategic Air Force. 

7 (8) Colonel Davis later became the first Black 

8 flag officer of the United States Air Force, retired 

9 as a 3-star general, and was honored with a 4th star 

10 in retirement by President William J. Clinton. 

11 (9) German pilots, who both feared and re12 spected the Tuskegee Airmen, called them the 

13 ‘‘Schwartze Vogelmenshen’’ (or ‘‘Black Birdmen’’). 

14 White American bomber crews reverently referred to 

15 them as the ‘‘Black Redtail Angels’’, because of the 

16 bright red painted on the tail assemblies of their 

17 fighter aircraft and because of their reputation for 

18 not losing bombers to enemy fighters as they pro19 vided close escort for bombing missions over stra20 tegic targets in Europe. 

21 (10) The 99th Fighter Squadron, after having 

22 distinguished itself over North Africa, Sicily, and 

23 Italy, joined 3 other Black squadrons, the 100th, the 

24 301st, and the 302nd, designated as the 332nd 

25 Fighter Group. They then comprised the largest 
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1 fighter unit in the 15th Air Force. From Italian 

2 bases, they destroyed many enemy targets on the 

3 ground and at sea, including a German destroyer in 

4 strafing attacks, and they destroyed numerous 

5 enemy aircraft in the air and on the ground. 

6 (11) Sixty-six of these pilots were killed in com7 bat, while another 32 were either forced down or 

8 shot down and captured to become prisoners of war. 

9 These Black airmen came home with 150 Distin10 guished Flying Crosses, Bronze Stars, Silver Stars, 

11 and Legions of Merit, one Presidential Unit Cita12 tion, and the Red Star of Yugoslavia. 

13 (12) Other Black pilots, navigators, bombard14 iers and crewman who were trained for medium 

15 bombardment duty as the 477th Bomber Group 

16 (Medium) were joined by veterans of the 332nd 

17 Fighter Group to form the 477th Composite Group, 

18 flying the B–25 and P–47 aircraft. The demands of 

19 the members of the 477th Composite Group for par20 ity in treatment and for recognition as competent 

21 military professionals, combined with the magnifi22 cent wartime records of the 99th Fighter Squadron 

23 and the 332nd Fighter Group, led to a review of the 

24 racial policies of the Department of War. 
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1 (13) In September 1947, the United States Air 

2 Force, as a separate service, reactivated the 332d 

3 Fighter Group under the Tactical Air command. 

4 Members of the 332d Fighter Group were ‘‘Top 

5 Guns’’ in the 1st annual Air Force Gunnery Meet in 

6 1949. 

7 (14) For every Black pilot there were 12 other 

8 civilian or military Black men and women per9 forming ground support duties. Many of these men 

10 and women remained in the military service during 

11 the post-World War II era and spearheaded the inte12 gration of the Armed Forces of the United States. 

13 (15) Major achievements are attributed to 

14 many of those who returned to civilian life and 

15 earned leadership positions and respect as business16 men, corporate executives, religious leaders, lawyers, 

17 doctors, educators, bankers, and political leaders. 

18 (16) A period of nearly 30 years of anonymity 

19 for the Tuskegee Airmen was ended in 1972 with 

20 the founding of Tuskegee Airmen, Inc., in Detroit, 

21 Michigan. Organized as a non-military and nonprofit 

22 entity, Tuskegee Airmen, Inc., exists primarily to 

23 motivate and inspire young Americans to become 

24 participants in our Nation’s society and its demo-
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1 cratic process, and to preserve the history of their 

2 legacy. 

3 (17) The Tuskegee Airmen have several memo4 rials in place to perpetuate the memory of who they 

5 were and what they accomplished, including— 

6 (A) the Tuskegee Airmen, Inc., National 

7 Scholarship Fund for high school seniors who 

8 excel in mathematics, but need financial assist9 ance to begin a college program; 

10 (B) a museum in historic Fort Wayne in 

11 Detroit, Michigan; 

12 (C) Memorial Park at the Air Force Mu13 seum at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in 

14 Dayton, Ohio; 

15 (D) a statue of a Tuskegee Airman in the 

16 Honor Park at the United States Air Force 

17 Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado; and 

18 (E) a National Historic Site at Moton 

19 Field, where primary flight training was per20 formed under contract with the Tuskegee Insti21 tute. 

22 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

23 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The President is 

24 authorized to award to the Tuskegee Airmen, on behalf 

25 of Congress, a gold medal of appropriate design honoring 
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1 the Tuskegee Airmen in recognition of their unique mili2 tary record, which inspired revolutionary reform in the 

3 Armed Forces. 

4 (b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For the purposes of the 

5 award referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the 

6 Treasury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Sec7 retary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, 

8 devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Sec9 retary. 

10 SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

11 Under such regulations as the Secretary may pre12 scribe, the Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

13 bronze of the gold medal struck under section 2, at a price 

14 sufficient to cover the costs of the medals, including labor, 

15 materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses. 

16 SEC. 4. NATIONAL MEDALS. 

17 Medals struck pursuant to this Act are national med18 als for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States 

19 Code. 

20 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; PROCEEDS 

21 OF SALE. 

22 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

23 authorized to be charged against the United States Mint 

24 Public Enterprise Fund, an amount not to exceed $30,000 
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1 to pay for the cost of the medals authorized under section 

2 2. 

3 (b) PROCEEDS OF SALE.—Amounts received from the 

4 sale of duplicate bronze medals under section 3 shall be 

5 deposited in the United States Mint Public Enterprise 

6 Fund.

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