I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1259
To authorize the President to award a gold medal on behalf of the Congress, 
collectively, to the Tuskegee Airmen in recognition of their unique mili-
tary record, which inspired revolutionary reform in the Armed Forces. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 10, 2005
Mr. RANGEL (for himself, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. FILNER, Mr. BRADY 
of Pennsylvania, Mr. OWENS, Ms. CARSON, Mr. TOWNS, Ms. CORRINE 
BROWN of Florida, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. MEEKS 
of New York, and Mrs. CHRISTENSEN) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To authorize the President to award a gold medal on behalf 
of the Congress, collectively, to the Tuskegee Airmen 
in recognition of their unique military record, which in-
spired revolutionary reform in the Armed Forces.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds the following: 
(1) In 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt 
overruled his top generals and ordered the creation 
of an all Black flight training program. President
Roosevelt took this action one day after the NAACP 
filed suit on behalf of Howard University student 
Yancy Williams and others in Federal court to force 
the Department of War to accept Black pilot train-
ees. Yancy Williams had a civilian pilot’s license and 
had earned an engineering degree. Years later, 
Major Yancy Williams participated in an air surveil-
lance project created by President Dwight D. Eisen-
hower. 
(2) Due to the rigid system of racial segrega-
tion that prevailed in the United States during 
World War II, Black military pilots were trained at 
a separate airfield built near Tuskegee, Alabama. 
They became known as the ‘‘Tuskegee Airmen’’. 
(3) The Tuskegee Airmen inspired revolu-
tionary reform in the Armed Forces, paving the way 
for full racial integration in the Armed Forces. They 
overcame the enormous challenges of prejudice and 
discrimination, succeeding, despite obstacles that 
threatened failure. 
(4) From all accounts, the training of the 
Tuskegee Airmen was an experiment established to 
prove that so-called ‘‘coloreds’’ were incapable of op-
erating expensive and complex combat aircraft. 
Studies commissioned by the Army War College be-
tween 1924 and 1939 concluded that Blacks were 
unfit for leadership roles and incapable of aviation. 
Instead, the Tuskegee Airmen excelled. 
(5) Overall, some 992 Black pilots graduated 
from the pilot training program of the Tuskegee 
Army Air Field, with the last class finishing in June 
1946, 450 of whom served in combat. The first class 
of cadets began in July 1941 with 13 airmen, all of 
whom had college degrees, some with Ph.D.’s, and 
all of whom had pilot’s licenses. One of the grad-
uates was Captain Benjamin O. Davis Jr., a United 
States Military Academy graduate. Four aviation ca-
dets were commissioned as second lieutenants, and 
5 received Army Air Corps silver pilot wings. 
(6) That the experiment achieved success rather 
than the expected failure is further evidenced by the 
eventual promotion of 3 of these pioneers through 
the commissioned officer ranks to flag rank, includ-
ing the late General Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., United 
States Air Force, the late General Daniel ‘‘Chappie’’ 
James, United States Air Force, our Nation’s first 
Black 4-star general, and Major General Lucius 
Theus, United States Air Force (retired). 
(7) Four hundred fifty Black fighter pilots 
under the command of then Colonel Benjamin O.
Davis, Jr., fought in World War II aerial battles 
over North Africa, Sicily, and Europe, flying, in suc-
cession, P–40, P–39, P–47, and P–51 aircraft. 
These gallant men flew 15,553 sorties and 1,578 
missions with the 12th Tactical Air Force and the 
15th Strategic Air Force. 
(8) Colonel Davis later became the first Black 
flag officer of the United States Air Force, retired 
as a 3-star general, and was honored with a 4th star 
in retirement by President William J. Clinton. 
(9) German pilots, who both feared and re-
spected the Tuskegee Airmen, called them the 
‘‘Schwartze Vogelmenshen’’ (or ‘‘Black Birdmen’’). 
White American bomber crews reverently referred to 
them as the ‘‘Black Redtail Angels’’, because of the 
bright red painted on the tail assemblies of their 
fighter aircraft and because of their reputation for 
not losing bombers to enemy fighters as they pro-
vided close escort for bombing missions over stra-
tegic targets in Europe. 
(10) The 99th Fighter Squadron, after having 
distinguished itself over North Africa, Sicily, and 
Italy, joined 3 other Black squadrons, the 100th, the 
301st, and the 302nd, designated as the 332nd 
Fighter Group. They then comprised the largest
fighter unit in the 15th Air Force. From Italian 
bases, they destroyed many enemy targets on the 
ground and at sea, including a German destroyer in 
strafing attacks, and they destroyed numerous 
enemy aircraft in the air and on the ground. 
(11) Sixty-six of these pilots were killed in com-
bat, while another 32 were either forced down or 
shot down and captured to become prisoners of war. 
These Black airmen came home with 150 Distin-
guished Flying Crosses, Bronze Stars, Silver Stars, 
and Legions of Merit, one Presidential Unit Cita-
tion, and the Red Star of Yugoslavia. 
(12) Other Black pilots, navigators, bombard-
iers and crewman who were trained for medium 
bombardment duty as the 477th Bomber Group 
(Medium) were joined by veterans of the 332nd 
Fighter Group to form the 477th Composite Group, 
flying the B–25 and P–47 aircraft. The demands of 
the members of the 477th Composite Group for par-
ity in treatment and for recognition as competent 
military professionals, combined with the magnifi-
cent wartime records of the 99th Fighter Squadron 
and the 332nd Fighter Group, led to a review of the 
racial policies of the Department of War.