When Eugene Richardson joined the Army in 1944, it was segregated, and no Black man had ever served as a pilot within the navy. Nonetheless, Richardson wished to be a pilot.
He knew that “issues could be higher sooner or later. They’re not all the time going to be because it had been at that specific second,” Richardson stated.
Richardson and practically 1,000 others later attended pilot coaching in Tuskegee, Alabama, serving to desegregate the navy and turning into members of the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group of the USA Army Air Forces. The elite group of African American navy pilots and airmen, famously generally known as the Tuskegee Airmen, earned reward for his or her fight report whereas defending American bombers throughout World Conflict II.
On Sept. 18, Richardson, who had briefly lived in Camden, celebrated his one centesimal birthday in Springfield, Pennsylvania, surrounded by over 100 individuals he had impressed all through his lifetime.
“I’m actually amazed that I used to be the one concerned with that, however I’m very pleased with it,” he stated in reference to his service.
Richardson was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1925, the place he stated his love of planes and want to be an airman blossomed on the age of 5 after he watched Black stunt fliers at an airshow, in response to the Larger Philadelphia Chapter of Tuskegee Airmen, Inc. Later, his household moved to Toledo, after which to Camden, the place his father had accepted a place as a church minister.
Richardson advised CBS Philadelphia that he and his youthful brother would watch Navy planes take off from Airport Circle in Camden as teenagers.
Earlier than 1941, the Army was segregated attributable to racist Jim Crow legal guidelines, in response to the Nationwide WWII Museum in New Orleans. However in 1941, the navy established the Tuskegee Airmen Air Drive program on the Tuskegee Army Air Area in Alabama, the place recruits had been skilled to fly single- and twin-engine planes and given different navy instruction to arrange them for service. The airmen had “one of many lowest loss data of any escort group,” in response to a Nationwide WWII Museum report.
Richardson by no means noticed fight as a result of the battle in Europe ended two months after he was commissioned in March 1945, in response to the Larger Philadelphia Chapter of Tuskegee Airmen, Inc. In 1948, former President Harry S. Truman signed an Govt Order absolutely integrating the navy.
In keeping with CBS Philadelphia, in 2007, former President George W. Bush offered the Tuskegee Airmen with the Congressional Gold Medal, Congress’s highest civilian honor awarded to people, teams or establishments for distinguished achievements or contributions. Richardson, different airmen and widows obtained bronze replicas of the medals, the backs of which learn, “Excellent Fight Document. Impressed Revolutionary Reform In The Armed Providers.”
Richardson advised the Larger Philadelphia Chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen, Inc., that “The efficiency of Black pilots in World Conflict II … proved that prime ranges of efficiency weren’t the province of men with mild pores and skin.”
After service, Richardson continued to encourage others, turning into a trainer after which a principal in Philadelphia.
Shanda Taylor Boyd, 62, one of many attendees at Richardson’s party, was one of many first females to enroll at Valley Forge Army Academy in Wayne, Pennsylvania.
She stated the Tuskegee Airmen impressed her.
“It means miracles occur and that we’ve hope,” stated Taylor Boyd, of Coatesville, Pennsylvania.
In 1985, Taylor Boyd obtained an award for tutorial excellence and Richardson pinned the pin on her. On the time, she didn’t understand that Richardson was a Tuskegee Airman.
“He’s my private hero,” Taylor Boyd stated.
Melvin Payne, president of the Larger Philadelphia Chapter of Tuskegee Airmen, Inc., additionally admires Richardson.
Payne joined the chapter 25 years in the past, the place he met Richardson. Richardson has been a mentor to Payne since then.
Payne stated Richardson taught him “perseverance, professionalism and preparedness.”
“I’m one of the crucial blessed individuals on this planet to get to reside, stroll and speak with dwelling historical past,” Payne stated.
In the meantime, Richardson stated he has realized lots within the 100 years he has been alive. He stated the most effective piece of recommendation he has for individuals is to “place confidence in your self and see your self as doing one thing greater and higher.”
© 2025 Advance Native Media LLC.
Go to nj.com.
Distributed by Tribune Content material Company, LLC.
Associated: How Jesse Owens’ Olympic Teammate Saved the Tuskegee Airmen Secure Throughout World Conflict II
Story Continues
© Copyright 2025 nj.com. All rights reserved. This materials will not be printed, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
