To award a congressional gold medal on behalf of the Tuskegee Airmen, collectively,  in recognition of their unique military record, which inspired revolutionary reform in the Armed Forces.
PL 109-213 (H.R.1259), enacted 04/11/2006

120 STAT. 322
PUBLIC LAW 109–213—APR. 11, 2006
Public Law 109–213
109th Congress
An Act
To award a congressional gold medal on behalf of the Tuskegee Airmen, collectively,
in recognition of their unique military record, which inspired revolutionary reform
in the Armed Forces.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 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 trainees. Yancy
Williams had a civilian pilot’s license and had earned an
engineering degree. Years later, Major Yancy Williams partici-
pated in an air surveillance project created by President Dwight
D. Eisenhower.
(2) Due to the rigid system of racial segregation that pre-
vailed 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 revolutionary 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 operating expensive and complex combat
aircraft. Studies commissioned by the Army War College
between 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.
degrees, 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 cadets were commis-
sioned as second lieutenants, and 5 received Army Air Corps
silver pilot wings.
Benjamin O.
Davis, Jr.
Yancy Williams.
31 USC 5111
note.
Apr. 11, 2006
[H.R. 1259]
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120 STAT. 323
PUBLIC LAW 109–213—APR. 11, 2006
(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, including 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) 450 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 succes-
sion, 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 respected the
Tuskegee Airmen, called them the ‘‘Schwartze Vogelmenschen’’
(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 provided close escort for bombing
missions over strategic 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) 66 of these pilots were killed in combat, while another
32 were either forced down or shot down and captured to
become prisoners of war. These Black airmen came home with
150 Distinguished Flying Crosses, Bronze Stars, Silver Stars,
and Legions of Merit, one Presidential Unit Citation, and the
Red Star of Yugoslavia.
(12) Other Black pilots, navigators, bombardiers and crew-
man 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 parity in treatment and
for recognition as competent military professionals, combined
with the magnificent 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.
(13) In September 1947, the United States Air Force, as
a separate service, reactivated the 332d Fighter Group under
the Tactical Air command. Members of the 332d Fighter Group
were ‘‘Top Guns’’ in the 1st annual Air Force Gunnery Meet
in 1949.
Daniel James.
Lucius Theus.
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120 STAT. 324
PUBLIC LAW 109–213—APR. 11, 2006
(14) For every Black pilot, there were 12 other civilian
or military Black men and women performing ground support
duties. Many of these men and women remained in the military
service during the post-World War II era and spearheaded
the integration of the Armed Forces of the United States.
(15) Major achievements are attributed to many of those
who returned to civilian life and earned leadership positions
and respect as businessmen, corporate executives, religious
leaders, lawyers, doctors, educators, bankers, and political
leaders.
(16) A period of nearly 30 years of anonymity for the
Tuskegee Airmen was ended in 1972 with the founding of
Tuskegee Airmen, Inc., in Detroit, Michigan. Organized as a
non-military and nonprofit entity, Tuskegee Airmen, Inc., exists
primarily to motivate and inspire young Americans to become
participants in our Nation’s society and its democratic process,
and to preserve the history of their legacy.
(17) The Tuskegee Airmen have several memorials in place
to perpetuate the memory of who they were and what they
accomplished, including—
(A) the Tuskegee Airmen, Inc., National Scholarship
Fund for high school seniors who excel in mathematics,
but need financial assistance to begin a college program;
(B) a museum in historic Fort Wayne in Detroit,
Michigan;
(C) Memorial Park at the Air Force Museum at Wright-
Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio;
(D) a statue of a Tuskegee Airman in the Honor Park
at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado
Springs, Colorado; and
(E) a National Historic Site at Moton Field, where
primary flight training was performed under contract with
the Tuskegee Institute.
SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.
(a) AWARD AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of the House of Rep-
resentatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate shall
make appropriate arrangements for the award, on behalf of the
Congress, of a single gold medal of appropriate design in honor
of the Tuskegee Airmen, collectively, in recognition of their unique
military record, which inspired revolutionary reform in the Armed
Forces.
(b) DESIGN
AND STRIKING.—For the purposes of the award
referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter
in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall strike the gold
medal with suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions, to be deter-
mined by the Secretary.
(c) SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Following the award of the gold medal
in honor of the Tuskegee Airmen under subsection (a), the
gold medal shall be given to the Smithsonian Institution, where
it will be displayed as appropriate and made available for
research.
(2) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the Con-
gress that the Smithsonian Institution should make the gold
Tuskegee
Airmen, Inc.
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120 STAT. 325
PUBLIC LAW 109–213—APR. 11, 2006
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—H.R. 1259 (S. 392):
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 152 (2006):
Feb. 28, considered and passed House.
Mar. 27, considered and passed Senate.
medal received under paragraph (1) available for display else-
where, particularly at other appropriate locations associated
with the Tuskegee Airmen.
SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS.
Under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, the
Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold
medal struck under section 2, at a price sufficient to cover the
costs of the medals, including labor, materials, dies, use of
machinery, and overhead expenses.
SEC. 4. NATIONAL MEDALS.
Medals struck pursuant to this Act are national medals for
purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code.
SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; PROCEEDS OF SALE.
(a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is authorized
to be charged against the United States Mint Public Enterprise
Fund, an amount not to exceed $30,000 to pay for the cost of
the medals authorized under section 2.
(b) PROCEEDS OF SALE.—Amounts received from the sale of
duplicate bronze medals under section 3 shall be deposited in the
United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
Approved April 11, 2006.
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