Tuskegee Airman honors 6th SWS with speech, re-enlistment

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Rob Langhorne
  • 6th Security Forces Squadron
CAPE COD AIR FORCE STATION, Mass. --  Honored guest speaker retired Maj. Ralph Turner, a member of the famed Tuskegee Airmen during World War II, quietly awed young Airmen and Coast Guardsmen during the 6th Space Warning Squadron's African American Heritage Luncheon Feb. 19.
 
With tales of flying 53 combat missions, his career, opportunities and memories, Major Turner reminisced about entering the Army Air Corps in the early 1940s in an America of discrimination, in an American military that did not allow black pilots. A 1944 graduate of Tuskegee Airfield in Alabama, he was a P-40 and P-47 pilot in the U.S. and a P-51 'Mustang' flyer over the skies of Europe.
 
Major Turner told of how he went to the recruiter and said he wanted to be a pilot. His recruiter said he could join and do any job he wanted. Upon arrival at the processing center, however, the major was told he did not weigh enough to join. 

After Major Turner's mother gave the base commander a talking to, and put a few pounds on the young recruit, he was allowed to enter the U.S. Army Air Corps Aviation Cadet program. Even upon arrival to basic training, Major Turner was still held back from the Aviation Cadet training program. His training instructor called out names chosen for the Aviation Cadet program, and told the young cadet the program was not for his color. After another program director called for Major Turner to get on the bus with the chosen aviators, his instructor changed his tune, telling him "I guess this was for you." 

After graduation, Major Turner was assigned to several places around the globe, including Africa, Europe and Asia. As a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, 302nd Fighter Squadron, Major Turner flew 53 combat missions over Europe. The Tuskegee Airmen flew in more than 200 bomber escort missions over Europe during WWII and were credited with never losing a bomber, a feat never accomplished before or since in aviation history.
 
In 2006, Major Turner and the Tuskegee Airmen were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for their outstanding combat record that inspired revolutionary reform in the Armed Forces. 

At the end of his speech, he passed the legacy of excellence and professionalism by re-enlisting a security forces technical sergeant for his final four years in the U.S. Air Force.

 

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