The Last of the Tuskegee Airman's Story of Heroism and Service and The Fateful Night During WWII That Cecil Wax Met God

This is an old American stories we tell stories about everything you're in the show sports business to history and today we bring you the story of Col. Harry Stewart Perry is one of the last surviving Tuskegee airmen and fought in the skies over Europe to bring an end to the war in victory.

The United States Perry I like to start out by asking you about your early life on July 4, 1924 I was born to Florence to Blake who is a native of Gloucester County, Virginia, and Harry T. Stewart Senior which was a native of the Newport News, Virginia. After I was two years old to New York City. But before that, let me mention about living in Virginia not too far from Langley Field which was a big military airfield at the time there.

My parents would put me out of my crib and the planes flying over.

Evidently they attracted me very much because my parents would tell me how I would cooler at the claims but anyway that was followed up by moved to the borough of Queens in New York City, lived about a mile or mile and 1/2 from the airport by the name of North Beach airport in 1939 they changed the name of that airport to LaGuardia Airport which everyone knows pretty well that's about where I started.

I guess my yen for aviation was supposed to feel sooner being near run Langley Field Virginia and LaGuardia Airport, New York. So it was almost blood and bones and my blood and bones and I didn't get she would use the word.

The other 25% already inculcated. You know me you know $0.25 word. Let's talk about your childhood and your high school library experience in New York City.

As it turns out it's in your bones, but something happens in New York City that puts it in your mind. Talk about that I'm thinking about where it is quite new thing as far as the traction and the adventure was concerned there lot was happening at that time with aviation and of course I saw things like people don't see the data. Great giant dirigibles flying over New York like the acronym in the Shenandoah.

Of course the von Hindenburg, I saw that when it's over New York on a couple of occasions, and of course I lived in New York when it had it's a tragic end in Lakehurst by you by bursting into flames. But anyway that was my attraction to aviation at the time there and little world war coming along. I World War II of the colleges in the sky of World War II there was the draft that was taking place.

And of course they were drafting all able-bodied men between the ages of 1825 course I was still a teenager, maybe 15 or 16 or 17, but I thought of the draft. As I got to be about 17 years old and I was thinking about volunteering for the air Corps. When I found out that African-Americans were not accepted for training is pilot while he was in high school at the time I was in the in the library.

And I picked up a copy of the popular science magazine and and there was an article mention in there that the air Corps had decided that it would permit Negroes to take training as aircraft pilots and that they were going to form a field already squadron of these pilots down in Tuskegee, Alabama, so I immediately went I was 17 I guess at the time and I immediately went to the draft board and took the examination to become a cadet there.

I passed the examination and of course after I reached 18 I was called into the service and sent down to Tuskegee, Alabama to begin my training was 99% squadron that were talking about this train ride down to the self, and it's not like all things race were perfect in New York as they weren't all but the train ride down south was eye-opening for teenager talk about that crossing of the Mason-Dixon line and what you experience through New York even though they will prejudice they were not the mandated segregation that you found in the south so I was completely raised in a integrated enabler that went to integrated schools I went to integrated social affairs. I went to integrated type of thing in the transportation system was all integrated when I got to the Mason-Dixon line was going into the service, and that was that the imaginary line that crossed Washington DC that was clear. Segregation was enforced by law.

At that time there where I was sitting with some friends of mine visual white friends who were living in the neighborhood with me will going in the service of same time I was was headed south. The same way I was in the conductor came back when we got to Washington DC and he pointed to me and he said you have to go up to the front car. That's the Jimmy Brokaw so the sellers I was with you nor they weren't familiar with this and said okay I will go up with you so you don't know is is you have to say that you car up front.

There is for the colored people and that was my first experience with that with the Jim Crow and enforced segregation and foresight lived under those forced segregation rules all the time that I was in the service will continue with this remarkable life story.

The story of Col. Harry Stewart if you love the stories we tell about this great country and especially the stories of America's past. Know that all of our stories about American history, work innovation, culture and faith brought to us by the great folks place for students studying all the things that are beautiful all the things you can get to Hillsdale that will come to you with a free and terrific online courses to Hillsdale.edu: Geico asks how would you love a chance to save some money on insurance.

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How does one hold together the idea being prideful about seeing that that American flag and fighting for your country.

At the same time of the country isn't recognizing that you're fully human.

At least a good parts of the country. That was my country are my boys my country.

There's no question about it. No country.

The other thing is that I was very well steeped in patriotism night. I remember it class the first class in the morning that we would have to stand on the side of my desk there and there were the Blacks in the class and the whites in the class and the Chinese in the classroom altogether with our right hand place overall heart reciting the Pledge of Allegiance patriotism was inculcated with me. This is the only country that I knew and number three. Of course, the Bill of Rights and the Constitution of the United States which read a very beautiful document even though it may not have been lived up to the time they are, but it was something that I felt as though was coming that I could aspire towards sometimes see in the future part of something big, something magnificent were just learning to fly you serving your country. You were going to fight and let's talk about that P 51 Mustang is my goodness, what fun it must've been for young man to have gear and equipment and engine in power under the hood that few men in America got to experience, let alone enjoy talk about that first experience seeing those people want and getting to fly one thing for 19-year-old because I didn't even know how to drive yet you know in New York City you didn't have to but yes, yes it was something big because you know these big things were. It was in the propaganda that was being espoused throughout the world.

You know, this is the Lord to either bring about the regimen of the Nazi dollars or the freedom of the tribe we live in the United States. Here is a big thing in general they were something like 11 million men and women on the arms. At that time so you part of big thing bigger than anything that has come up since then. I started with a very low powered aircraft which was so muffled all beginning cadets in the air Corps, no matter where they were. But it started with the IPT 17 by wing playing after you successfully finished training and that when you went to a higher power train which was the BT 13, which was one of those that I talk about emblazoned all metal battleship planes. There wasn't until I got overseas that I was introduced to the aircraft that I would fly throughout combat and that was the 51 Mustang which was just an absolute delight in one picture that I saw one time movie the Cadillac of the ear that was quite an aircraft.

Three combat missions 3/32 fighter group known as the red tails talk about their commander because he's a legend talking that Benjamin O Davis Junior was like to serve under him. Yes, the second or third black that ever went to West Point, but when he went to West Point 1932 there was still the mandatory segregation that they had in the service. So even though he was in a class of something like close to 400 lived alone because they mandated that they would be no integrationists was concerned so he had a room to himself and he alone for all four years that he was in West Point. However, with that onus on him. He managed to graduate the 35th in a class of something like 300 and $0.75.

It's a remarkable thing and how far we've come. Still helpful. We have to come, but it's someone imaginable. So many today that we we sequestered like this in our nation's finest military institution is a mere color of one's skin. You said you all your briefings, gentlemen. Stay with your bombers. What that mean and why did he say that, for instance, the mission of the fighter groups was to protect the bombers stuck with this old mission to protect the bombers, but however we had hotdog pilots who were leaving the bombers trying to get some victories as far as shooting down enemy aircraft to concern the pilots could get away with that vendor. But you can imagine what would happen if this happened to one of the Tuskegee airmen as a result of them hotdog anything going after the enemy fighters there to get the glory of the kill. That number will bombers got shot down because they lack the protection of those people that left them so as a result, the blow came to a conclusion and 3/32, which is now known as the Tuskegee men had the best record as far as the safety one loss of the bombers that they escorted were concerned we lost the fewest bombers of the any of the fighter groups that were over in the 15th Air Force in Italy at the time, which was quite a feather in our You also said this goes to his convictions, despite how we got treated West Point quote just being an American belong to those brave enough to fight for them.

That's really something to say.

Given the treatment he'd suffered West Point, but tells a lot about his character well and I think that's what made him and made me and made a lot of other black Americans. Hopefully, certified citizen of the country here with all of the rights and prerogatives and that type of thing so in other words we learned our keep. Let's talk Sunday 1945 and you shooting down three German fighters talk about that we were on a bomber escort mission up into Austria and the command mentioned to us that at the end of the mission. There might be a segment of us fighters that are released to leave the bombers and go on what's known as a fighter, sweep the fighter sweet being is looking for targets of opportunity.

While there were seven of us who are designated to leave the bombers we were looking for trouble than we found it that we ran into Horgan follicles one 90s but three of us got shot down one of the truck down the actually explained was damaged pretty badly, but he managed to make it back to friendly portion of Yugoslavia. The second pilot. I'm thinking of his name was William Armstrong. He was killed instantly and the third planet was a fellow by the name of Walter Manning from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The bailout and when he landed, he was picked up by a mob of Austrians that took him and put them in the local jailhouse of the nearest town a couple of nights later mob formed again and they broke into the jail and drag the wall throughout the year lynched him from a young local lamppost that would mistreat their listening to Col. Stuart is one of the last surviving talk about some storytelling folks like you hear voices like this is why we do the show. You can hear stories like this in stories like this can be honored and remembered when we come back to continue with this remarkable American life Col. Harry Stewart's life is stored here on our American stores and we continue with our American stories and return to the story of Col. Henry Stewart in his own words.

We last left off Harry was in a dogfight over the skies of Europe and three of his fellow pilots been shut down just returning out of the three plain German fighters you shot down you received the distinguished flying Cross for that talk about that in terms of this fighter sweet. You did happening at the same time that got shot down what happening is that I got a good idea. I don't think that the two bottles aircraft the German aircraft saw me and I pulled up behind him and III hit both of them with the 50 calibers that I had and the pieces came off of the plane and that type of thing, but the same time or just after that trace is coming by me and I look back and there was this German aircraft on my tail and I was sure that I had it because he was in a position where you know you just can't miss.

You know so high I went into a very steep dive with the aircraft and I pulled also to maneuvers to try to get a way out of the gunsight of this German aircraft area and I pulled a steep turn very very close to the ground.

Evidently the pilots who is behind the German pilot lost control of explain what they call a high-speed stall but he went into the ground.

When I got back to the base.

There, the intelligence officer said will you get credit for that aircraft discloses you shot him down. So that's where I got the free phone and that's how I got the DSC and actually associating down this concern. I shutdown to claims but I got credit for the third one which would not have happened had not. I didn't contact with the plaintiff.

So they gave you credit for stories and called for Janine by winning we had that victory overseas there but we also had a victory proving ourselves that we also were combatants who did a lot to win the war they are and that we we paid our dues so it was a victory on both sides.

As far as our investment in this country is concerned in regards to the racial discrimination but we proved ourselves and that was the architect treatment by the double victory in that proving ourselves as even turned out to be greater this time is gone on is going into this new century here and more recognition has been given to the Tuskegee airmen because well before getting out of the service ended was in 1949, Gen. Vandenberg, who is the chief general of the Air Force at the time to decide if he would really cigarette a game that was in the air, before World War II and that was a game similar to what we call today top gun and he dictated that three pilots be sent from each of the fighter groups that they were in the continental United States ear out to the environs of Las Vegas, Nevada. The desert there and compete in a very competition and competition would take place in 1949.

It would be the first Top Gun contest and it would be this 12 fighter groups that would compete three men representing each of the fighter group and at the end of the tournament there turned out that the three from the Tuskegee airmen fighter group turned out to be the winners talk about light service in the military beyond same old same all the racial attitudes in the country.

I thought that with my flying time that I had with the record that I had I could go ahead and get a job probably flying on the airline sand.

I did apply with two airlines and I was rejected because of my race.

They admitted that he wasn't prepared to go ahead and take Negro or African-American on the planet in a plane one just dismiss me right, the other the personnel officer tried to explain that it wasn't the policy of the company.

But if I were to get on the plane and walked into the cockpit. It would disturb the passengers. Probably they would probably lose faith in the airline and not fly the airline longer so it was it was a business thing that was it. But I decided to go back to school. I had to go back to school because I never had my high school diploma right at quick high school in order to service there. I did make up my credits that I needed for the academic course, there was qualified, integrated, and enter engineering school which I did. New York University College of engineering. I got my engineering degree. After I got my degrees everything fell along well for me.

I was hired with no no problem buying a number of very prestigious companies said ended up as vice president and oil and gas Consortium United States ear and that that was about it. I did, I didn't continue a little bit of flying. After that I belong to a Tuskegee organization, I would hear the museum coolly given this on my aircraft by the Air Force and I dusted off my license and requalified myself in these aircraft are: motor glider and send. I used to take local kids up in the local neighborhood ear and give them an orientation in the area aircraft. They are hoping that someday it might lead them on to getting a good job in the field of aviation which some of them did. And some of them pilots on major airlines today. It's a heck of a story in my story of you volunteering for this is very dangerous duty by the much of the most Americans understand and volunteered to fly really taking some of the greatest risks of anybody my mother's brother didn't qualify to fly but he qualified to jump out of those planes, and the only only son of her father was killed jumping out of those planes. A few days after D-Day, but he knew what he was getting into and wanted to do it like so many of the young men did at the time, but the talk about the knowledge of the danger of of what you were getting into visual knew how dangerous flying planes in combat was, you know we were teenagers, and general attitude. We have teenagers or something like that will blow and bad things happen to other people you know that type of thing. So that's why they take these people so young and in the feeling of camaraderie and belonging that type of thing when I used to see the movies that we went to the heroes in the movies those guys like like John Wayne O'Brien, James Cagney and people like that. They made you feel really good seeing them as heroes and protecting the country. You felt the same thing when you witness service that you'd like to emulate those guys even though they were in the movies there you would like to ambulate them in real life mating for 96 now will be 96 on 4 July I feel just fine. All I can tell you that I've had a blessed life. I wouldn't change it for anything and I feel as though was really nothing by the blessed life and listening to Col. Harry Stewart were blessed to hear his voice is not a character for moving folks, this is what a real life hero. Sounds like humility with which he told his own story.

We say more. Col. Harry Stewart story here American store and we continue without American stories.

Not long ago we spent some time in our great flagship station WHO in Des Moines, Iowa giant in the middle of this great country and I heart station, and we been on that station for years and telling stories.

We decided to have a storytelling contest and asked folks to send in their stories. We drove up to Des Moines and well we did it in a beautiful restaurant with a few hundred people and we feature right now. One of the women who submitted her story to that event about her father, Cecil wax. What a surreal encounter during World War II here is Marilyn Jensen my dad Cecil wax his family storytelling. He had an endless supply of stories about scratching life from the many hell Southwest style. He passed on to my brother Bill and me the wisdom and laughter that can improve almost any situation. Sprinkled humor like salt throughout his tales. Dad rummage through his memory for any scrap of his months of service in World War II, he tagged that bleak era as Uncle Sam's all expense paid trip to Europe is blue eyes were twinkle in his dimples dances.

He shared memories of times when he and his war brothers laughed together like United Gelasius bomb went off his buddy Hastings jumped into a ditch for protection and later discovered it was a trench left over from World War I, which the Germans even using the latrine grant and say talk about outer we asked him to sleep alone in the truck For the rest of the night, but this story lacks that � of comedy. This is the account of how I scared farmer turned soldier conquered dangerous mountain road at the height of one of the most decisive battles on the European continent referred to this as the night I found that there is a God. Clouds of dark memories with covered sparkling eyes cleared his throat, stare deeply into the past and begin. It was December 1944, Gen. George Patton's third Army included of over 800 men called the 818 tank destroyer. The 18th was in place. Each of the Battle of the Bulge. Dad would shiver at the very mention of those chilling words, the scene of that epic bloodletting of the winter 44 and 45 temperatures, then as well as six that nightmare battle which splattered pristine white snow dress with the blood of over 19,000 American men shake off darkness like a layer of snow from his shoulders and continue all the tanks, trucks and soldiers of the 18th were concealed in some mountain for the dense forest of the eye. Dan Luxenberg, Cecil's job was to drive one of the many supply track providing rations for the hungry soldiers gasoline for the thirsty tanks and shells for their begging Dan Choi, an officer approached Cecil late one afternoon it was hard to tell what time it was the force was that in light seldom broke through the trees around now called. He ordered me to drive down the mountain with supplies for company they needed gasoline and ammunition. I asked when to release their commander looked me straight in the eye immediately soldier you're going alone gesture track and Lieut. as trucks called engine ground to a start.

Cecil set out the word alone was still blowing through his ears like the bitter wind swirling around the halftime trot no tanks rumbling ahead breaking the path and chewing up the ice just 1 Solitary Track Feeling Its Way along, clinging to the side of the mountain. The heater list Was frigid.

Cecil drove down that winding mountain trail with the windows down, getting little visibility.

The trucks catalyze black outline link helplessly against the swirling white surface was so slick, he even touched the brakes.

The front wheels would slide the truck well under the loaded 90 cans of gasoline in many rounds shall sustain a couple of times and skidded sideways saplings on either side of the way to back center. Cecil knew that the men were depending on his army that surreal howling ripped open the deathly quiet forest. Another German assault Cecil believed he was going to die. He was praying every slippery and ship the way that, as he said nothing was happening. On one dangerous hairpin curve happened heavily loaded tracks skidded on a patch of black ice and slid out of control toward the void seasonably then that he was about to die supply track bearing to American soldiers was about to crash into oblivion time seem to flow in slow motion. He saw the vision of his mother Nora on her knees with her elbow sucked deeply into her patchwork tears were flowing down her cheeks and her lips were moving in fervent prayer as he struggles to bring the truck out of his skin. Cecil realized that his mother was praying Terry Cecil prayed to please help me. The boys need ammunition second. Said that something like a cool wind blew on the back of his through the blackness, he heard a voice just like someone said aloud shot switch off Cecil didn't hesitate to switch off the motor, sudden change of momentum allowed him to guide the toboggan like vehicle safely back onto the when he regained speech, he asked the young lieutenant did you hear that scared officer just stared blankly ahead. Cecil continued with assurance. It was God. Suddenly there was the landmark even told company a was concealed near a bomb on the road just before bridge all 90 CAT scans rattled as Cecil tiptoed the trek across that gaping hole in incoming/revealed and arched stone bridge. They rolled across the bridge and pulled over expectant silence was shattered by the rumble of approaching vehicles.

Cecil would say I did nothing the Germans or what he and Lieut. breached again only one that can make out that it was American equipment carriers approaching, Cecil heaved a sigh of relief when the precious cargo was safely unloaded. He overheard one grateful tank driver state that they had been down to nine shells. The Lieut. company. A blackout, get the hell out of here. The Germans are everywhere and bring some or any nation trip back to the security of the base camp began. The tire tracks marking his recent arrival were quickly selling and with snow, but the track gradually retrace the snakelike curves soon week lights from the race of the dying sun lit the rest of the journey in amazement. Cecil could see that what he thought were young saplings marking the edges of the trail were in actuality the tops of tall pine trees rooted in deep valleys below, he thought to himself.

There was somebody who drove that Besides me there is no way any human could drive a truck down this narrow icy road in the dark. Cecil's life changed forever when the voice urged him to shut the switch. He knew that God cared enough to guide him 128-year-old farmer in Iowa that a frozen mountain was just one of over 16 million Americans fighting for freedom that God loved him and saved his life. That night Cecil wax lived the remainder of his 94 years depending on the knowledge that no matter how impossible the path never traveled alone just a terrific piece of production by Robbie in a beautiful piece of writing by Marilyn Jensen and this is why we love doing the show folks to let you tell the stories of that night in Iowa.

There were six remarkable storytellers and your stories make our American stories the show.

It is the story of Cecil wax the story of courage in the story of God here on our American stories