Retired Lieutenant Colonel Harry Stewart Jr., a Pilot of World War II, who broke ethnic obstacles as a Tuske’s plane and died for his bravery. He was 100 years old.
Stuart was one of the last survivor pilots of the famous 332nd fighter group, also known as Tusky Airman. The group was the country’s first black military pilot.
Tusky’s Airman National Historical Museum confirmed his death. The organization said it passed peacefully at his home in Michigan’s Bloomfield Hills on Sunday.
Stewart received a prominent flying cross on April 1, 1945, to download three German aircraft during a dogfight. He was also part of a team of four Tusky Airmen who won the US Air Force. Top Gun Flying Competition In 1949, his success will not be recognized for decades later.
“Harry Stewart had a deep character and successfully with a prominent career with a prominent career of service she continued for a long time after fighting for our country in World War II,” Tusky’s Airman national historical Brian Smith, president and CEO of the museum, said.
Born on July 4, 1924 in Virginia, his family was young when his family moved to New York. Stewart dreamed of flying since he was in childhood when he was watching the plane at Lagardia Airport, according to a book titled his life, “First statement of a Tusky Airman about World War II” The title of his life is titled. In the context of Pearl Harbor, an 18 -year -old Stewart joined it, which was considered an experience for the training of black military pilots. The unit was sometimes also known as Tusky Airman, where he was trained in Alabama or Red Tail because of his red signal of his P-51 Mustangs.
“I did not recognize the gravity we face at the moment. I just felt as if it was my duty at that time. I just stood up with my duty,” Stewart said about World War II in 2024. Said Interview with CNN About the battle
After growing up in a multi -pronged neighborhood, the separation and prejudice of the south of Jim Crowe suffered a shock to Stewart, but he was determined to finish and earn his wings according to the book about his life. After finishing training, the pilots were assigned to detect American bombers in Europe. Tuscali airmen are given the help of losing significantly less carved bombers than other fighter groups.
“I really had to enjoy the idea of ​​Panorama, I would say, about the scene I would see with hundreds of bombers and hundreds of fighter jets in front of me, and all of them were pulling the trail of thickness, and it’s just In 2020, Stewart said, “Belle in the sky and a feeling of something that was really big. Interview with WAMC.
Stewart sometimes used to say in an impressive manner that he was very busy to enjoy flying, according to his book.
Stuart hoped that he would become a business airline pilot after leaving the army, but was rejected because of his race. He holds a mechanical engineering degree at New York University. He moved to the detriment and retired as the Vice President of the Natural Gas Pipeline Company.
Stewart told Michigan Public Radio In 2019, it was shifted to tears on a recent commercial flight when he saw who was piloting the plane.
When I entered the plane, I looked there in the cockpit and there were two African American pilots. There was a co -pilot, and a pilot. But not only that, the thing that began to tear into my eyes is that they were both women.
Last month Air Force briefly The training course was removed s with his floor videos Tuscaji Airman And the Women Air Force Service Pilot, or Waste in an attempt to comply with the Trump administration Crack down Diversity, equality and participation measures. The material was restored quickly after a two -way response.
