Former slave Booker T. Washington created the Tuskegee Normal School for Colored Teachers in Alabama, which was later renamed the Tuskegee Institute. Among other things, the Institute had a flight program which greatly interested the U.S. Military.
Considered an experiment by many, the Army Air Corps started training African American men to be combat pilots in 1940. Before this time, they were not even allowed to fly US military aircraft. Overcoming prejudice and segregation, over 1,000 men at the institute excelled and became one of the most highly respected fighter groups of the war.
The first Tuskegee pilot to successfully shoot down an enemy was Captain Charles B. Hall who accomplished the feat on July 2, 1943. His reward for his actions was said to be a bottle of Coca-Cola.
The Tuskegee Airmen completed 15,000 sorties in approximately 1,500 missions, destroyed more than 260 enemy aircraft, sank one enemy destroyer and demolished numerous enemy installations. The Tuskegee Airmen were awarded many high honors, including Distinguished Flying Crosses, Legions of Merit, Silver Stars, Purple Hearts, the Croix de Guerre and the Red Star of Yugoslavia.
The Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site honors all of the pilots and support personnel of Tuskegee and the accomplishments they achieved.
The Geocache Notification Form has been submitted to The Glacial Drumlin trail office in Lake Mills, of the Wisconsin DNR. Geocaches placed on Wisconsin Department of Natural Resource managed lands require permission by means of a notification form. Please print out a paper copy of the notification form, fill in all required information, then submit it to the land manager. The DNR Notification form and land manager information can be obtained at: http://www.wi-geocaching.com/hiding