Charles McGee ( pilot ) Charles E . McGee ( born December 7 , 1919 ) was one of the Tuskegee Airmen and a career officer in the United States Air Force for 30 years . He holds an Air Force record of 409 fighter combat missions flown in World War II , Korea and Vietnam . Early years . McGee was born in Cleveland , Ohio on December 7 , 1919 , to Lewis Allen and Ruth Elizabeth Lewis McGee who died shortly after the birth of his sister . His father was , at times , a teacher , social worker and Methodist minister , jobs that led to frequent moves . As a youth , McGee was a member of the Boy Scouts of America and earned the Eagle Scout award on August 9 , 1940 . He later served in district and regional positions in the BSA . At the 2010 National Scout Jamboree , he was recognized with the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award . World War II . In March 1942 , McGee was a sophomore at the University of Illinois studying engineering . After enlisting in the US Army on October 26 , 1942 , he became a part of the Tuskegee Airmen having earned his pilot ' s wings , and graduating from Class 43 - F on June 30 , 1943 . By February 1944 , he was stationed in Italy with the 301st Fighter Squadron of the 332d Fighter Group , flying his first mission on February 14 . McGee flew the Bell P - 39Q Airacobra , Republic P - 47D Thunderbolt and North American P - 51 Mustang fighter aircraft , escorting Consolidated B - 24 Liberator and Boeing B - 17 Flying Fortress bombers over Germany , Austria and the Balkans . During missions , he also engaged in low level attacks over enemy airfields and rail yards . On August 23 , 1944 , McGee while escorting B - 17s over Czechoslovakia , he engaged a formation of " Luftwaffe " fighters and downed a Focke Wulf Fw 190 . Promoted to Captain , McGee had flown a total of 137 combat missions , and had returned to the United States on December 1 , 1944 , to become an instructor on the North American B - 25 Mitchell bombers that another unit of the Tuskegee Airmen were working up . He remained at Tuskegee Army Air Field until 1946 , when the base was closed . Postwar . After World War II , McGee was sent to Lockbourne Air Field ( Columbus , Ohio ) to become the base operation and training officer , later in 1948 , being posted to an Aircraft Maintenance Technical Course and was assigned to an air refueling unit . When the Korean War broke out , he flew P - 51 Mustangs again in the 67th Fighter Bomber Squadron , completing 100 missions , and being promoted to major . Continuing his service with the United States Air Force as it was reconstituted , McGee continued to serve as a fighter pilot , flying Lockheed F - 80 Shooting Star and Northrop F - 89 Scorpion aircraft . During the Vietnam war , as a Lt . Colonel , McGee flew 172 combat missions in a McDonnell RF - 4 photo - reconnaissance aircraft . In a 30 - year active service career , he achieved the highest three - war fighter mission total , 409 fighter combat missions , of any Air Force aviator . After a series of other appointments both in the United States as well as in Italy and Germany , and promotion to Colonel , McGee retired on January 31 , 1973 . He ended his military career with 6 , 308 flying hours . Later years . After his military service , McGee held many prestigious functional and honorary positions around the field of aviation . In 1978 , at the age of 58 , he completed the college degree at Columbia College in Kansas City , over thirty years after his initial enrollment at the University of Illinois . Though interrupted by World War II , attaining a college degree had been a lifelong goal . McGee served as the Director of the Kansas City airport and as a member of the Aviation Advisory Commission . For over 30 years , he has been an ambassador of the Tuskegee Airmen , Inc . , giving numerous public addresses and has received accolades including the National Aeronautical Associations " Elder Statesman of Aviation . " McGee served as National President of the association from 1983 to 1985 , and is currently serving as its president . In 2005 , McGee was part of a group of former Tuskegee Airmen , who flew to Balad , Iraq , to speak to active duty airmen serving in the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing , the current incarnation of the 332nd Fighter Group . Honors . McGee was recognized for his combat and military service with a number of awards including : Distinguished Flying Cross with two Oak Leaf Clusters , Legion of Merit with one Oak Leaf Cluster , Bronze Star , Air Medal with 25 Oak Leaf Clusters , Army Commendation Medal , Presidential Unit Citation , Korean Presidential Unit Citation , Hellenic Republic World War II Commemorative Medal along with related campaign and service ribbons . In 2007 , President George Bush awarded him and the surviving Airmen the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor , the nation ' s highest civilian award , and in 2011 , he was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in Dayton , Ohio . He also served as a consultant to the 2012 George Lucas film , Red Tails .