“Florida Celebrates the Tuskegee Airmen, the First African-American Military Pilots” is currently on display in the Community Exhibition Gallery area on Level 3 of Terminal A at Orlando International Airport until April 21. The State of Florida’s Tuskegee Airmen Commemoration Day is Thursday, March 27, 2025.
The exhibition is unique because it has a gallery of images by photographer Toni Frissell. It is believed that these may be the only photos taken of the airmen in Europe by a professional photographer.
ClickOrlando quotes 103-year-old Lt. Daniel Keel Jr, one of the last surviving Tuskegee Airmen who visited the exhibit, as saying:
“Being honored this afternoon for what [we] accomplished and for all the obstacles we ran during the war. I would like to say only one thing, thank you, thank you very much. ”
Who were the Tuskegee Airmen?
Encyclopedia Britannica explains that Tuskegee Airmen were “black servicemen of the U.S. Army Air Forces who trained at Tuskegee Army Air Field in Alabama during World War II. They constituted the first African American flying unit in the U.S. military.”
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and the black press, among others, had long been asking for African American men to serve as military pilots. But they were not in favor of having separate black units, which they said only served to perpetuate segregation and discrimination.
Nevertheless, a separate unit was created under President Franklin D. Roosevelt's leadership. In July 1941, the Tuskegee base was opened where enlisted men were trained. In preparation for their first mission, further training took place in French Morocco.
According to Encyclopedia Britannica: “992 pilots graduated from Tuskegee Air Field courses; they flew 1,578 missions and 15,533 sorties; destroyed261 enemy aircraft; won more than850 medals.”
Florida’s contribution
As part of "Tuskeege Experience," Florida also played an important role.The state trained many pilots,navigators,bombardiers,instructors ,mechanics ,control tower operators,and other support staff.AccordingtoofficialreleasebyOrlandoInternationalAirport ,atleastfourTuskeegeAirmenwerefromCentralFloridaincluding:
Chief Master Sergeant Richard C.Hall,Jr(1923–2021)WinterPark
Lt.DanielK.Keel,Jr(1922–Present)Clermont
Lt.Col.RobertC.Hughes(1924–2022)BrevardCounty
Lt.RaymondCassagnol(1920–2023)SeminoleCounty
Kevin J.Thibault CEOofGreaterOrlandoAviationAuthority(GOAA),commented:
"HonoringthelegacyofTuskeegeAirmenthroughexhibitionisameaningfulwaytocelebrateandrecognizethecontributionsofthesepioneeringpilots.ByshowcasingtheirremarkablestorywehopetoeducateandinspiretravelersbutalsoenrichtheirjourneywithadeeperappreciationofhowTuskeegeAirmenmadehistory."
AboutOrlandoInternationalAirportOperatedbyGreaterOrlandoAviationAuthority ,OrlandoInternationalAirportservesalmost58millionpassengersannuallyacrossitsthreeterminalsA,B,C.TerminalCequippedwith100%automatedscreeninglanesatTSAcheckpointsconnectedIntermodalTerminalFacility.TheairportwellconnectedmajorcitiesUnitedStatesseveralinternationaldestinationsfullservicelowcostcarriersoperatingout.AccordingCiriumaviationanalyticscompanymorethan18000flightsscheduledMCOMarch2025.Photo:BenoîtPrieurWikimediaCommons
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