Mr. SCHIFF. Mr. Speaker, this month we celebrate Black History Month and the many accomplishments and contributions of African Americans in our community. I rise today to honor the lives and sacrifices of the Tuskegee Airmen.
Prior to 1940, African Americans were denied military leadership roles and skilled training in the U.S. Military because the military institution believed they lacked the qualifications and experience for combat duty. In fact, African Americans were barred from flying for the U.S. military until World War II when the Army Air Corps program initiated a program known ``Tuskegee Experiment.''
In July 1941, thirteen young Americans began military flight training at the Tuskegee Army Air Field in Tuskegee, Alabama. Five of those thirteen young men completed training and received their Army Air Corps silver pilot wings, becoming our Nation's first African American military fighter pilots. They would later be known as the Tuskegee Airmen.
Between 1941 and 1946, 992 pilots graduated from Tuskegee Army Air Field, with 450 of those serving during World War II in either the famed 99th Fighter Squadron or the 332nd Fighter Group. Both units, heralded for their bravery and tenacity, received numerous Presidential Unit Citations for exemplary tactical air support and aerial combat. The Tuskegee Airmen also paid a high price, losing 150 pilots while in training or on combat flights.
It has been said that the Tuskegee Airmen fought two wars--one against the enemy overseas and the other against racism and bigotry at home and abroad. Yet, in the face of these challenges, they accepted their country's call to service and fought heroically in great battles for freedom.
Mr. Speaker, the national organization of Tuskegee Airmen, Tuskegee Airmen, Inc., estimates there are fewer than 300 of the original Tuskegee Airmen still alive today. Three of these courageous individuals reside in my own district. Mr. O. Oliver Goodall of Altadena, California; Mr. Andrew Jack Simon of South Pasadena, California; and Mr. LeRoy Criss of Pasadena, California all received their training as Army Air Force fighter pilots and joined the ranks of the Tuskegee Airmen in 1942 and 1943. They served our country with honor and distinction, and I am grateful for their dedication and service. Today, I honor the contributions of Mr. Goodall, Mr. Simon, and Mr. Criss and all of the other Tuskegee Airmen who served valiantly in the U.S. Military.
I am pleased to rise in support of H. Con. Res. 26 which recognizes these groundbreaking individuals for their bravery and dedication not only to fight for their country, but also to fight for equality back home.
The ``Tuskegee Experiment,'' as it was known at the time, was not an experiment at all, but a radical disproving of racial stereotypes and a precursor to the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and the 1960s. The Tuskegee Airmen shattered many of the entrenched racial biases in American culture, and in many respects, these pioneers were among the first to challenge segregationist policies. The Tuskegee Airmen charted the course for the many other brave individuals who follow them in the continuing quest for racial equality in the United States, and they deserve both our respect and our admiration.