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America’s Black Flyers: The Tuskegee Airmen

Khalid Elhassan April 4, 2025 16 min

Tuskegee Airmen. Sheppard Air Force Base

8. Earning A Second Distinguished Unit Citation

Tuskegee - Linwood Williams, a civilian flight instructor at Tuskegee Army Air Field, circa 1943 — Linwood Williams, a civilian flight instructor at Tuskegee Army Air Field, circa 1943. National Air and Space Museum

A week after its exploits at Anzio, the 99^th was assigned to the Twelfth Air Force and tasked with harbor protection, convoy escort, and armed reconnaissance missions. The 99^th also provided close air support to French and Polish forces when they assaulted Monte Cassino in May, 1944. The unit distinguished itself in the latter engagement. It surprised and devastated German infantry massing for a counterattack, then bombed and strafed a nearby strongpoint, forcing its surrender to French colonial troops. That performance earned the 99^th its second Distinguished Unit Citation. In the meantime, the airbase in Tuskegee continued to pump out more black aviators. By February, 1944, there were three all-black fighter squadrons ready and waiting in the US: the 100^th, 301^st, and 302^nd. The units were shipped to North Africa, where they were combined into the all-black 332^nd Fighter Group.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.