More Than 200 Tuskegee Airmen Accept Inauguration Invite
By Katharine Q. Seelye
About 225 of the Tuskegee airmen have accepted an invitation to go to Washington for Barack Obama’s inauguration, but it is not clear if all will actually make it.
Some of the 225 have accepted on a “conditional” basis — they are waiting to see what kind of arrangements can be made for their transportation and lodging as well as ground logistics in Washington.
Friday was the deadline for the airmen to respond to the invitation, which was extended Dec. 9 by Senator Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California and head of the congressional inaugural committee, through Tuskegee Airmen Inc. (T.A.I.). That’s the support association that represents the elite corps of black pilots and ground crew who fought for the United States during World War II despite the country’s active racial discrimination against them.
Each airman would get two tickets to Mr. Obama’s swearing-in ceremony. So that could mean a total of 450 coveted tickets — and coveted seats.
We chatted Sunday with Robert D. Rose, the T.A.I. official and retired Air Force captain in Omaha who is coordinating the invitations and trying to work out logistics in Washington.
“I gave the committee a tentative list of 225 with the understanding that we’re still scrubbing it,” Mr. Rose told us.
While the invitation was extended through T.A.I., it was extended to all original Tuskegee airmen, not just those who are members of the association. There were originally 16,000 pilots and ground crew who were based in Tuskegee, Alabama, between 1942 and 1946.
Mr. Rose said it has been hard tracking down everyone and verifying that all those who have responded were original airmen. About 330 originals are members of T.A.I., but T.A.I. is not certain how many others who are not members are still alive or where they are.
“We’re trying to get the word out, but most of these are people who don’t have e-mail,” Mr. Rose said. “So it’s very difficult to get information around. It’s a very labor-intensive and time-intensive endeavor.”
About 300 original airmen showed up in Washington in March 2007 to accept the Congressional Gold Medal, but some have died since then. Most of those still alive are in their 80s or 90s and some are in failing health.
For many, the trip presents challenges: getting to Washington, finding a place to stay and then being able to reach their seats at the West Front of the Capitol for the swearing-in ceremony without too much walking. Many are also concerned about the weather, the availability of restroom facilities and the crowds.
“We are trying to smooth it out as much as possible,” Mr. Rose told me.
“Some say, ‘I’m going regardless’ one day, and the next day they say, ‘I’m thinking about the bad weather,’ and a little bit of realism creeps in,” he said. “They realize this may not be a picnic, all peaches and cream. But these are hearty folks.”
Mr. Rose and his team of a half-dozen others who, like him, are volunteering their time to develop a plan, said he is trying to set up a staging area in Washington where the airmen could meet and then be transported together to the Capitol.
He said that a draft of a logistics plan that was circulating earlier and called for the airmen to be adopted by local law firms and driven close to their seats was “pie in the sky.”
“The Tuskegee airmen are not the only invitees, nor are they the only senior citizen invitees,” he said, acknowledging the many demands on inaugural planners. They say this could be the biggest event ever in Washington, with more than 1.5 million people.
In total, there are 240,000 tickets for the swearing-in ceremony. These include about 30,000 seats close to the podium, where the airmen would be seated, although their exact location has not been determined. The seats won’t be allocated until the number of airmen is clear, but in a kind of Catch-22, the number won’t be clear until the airmen know where they are seated, all of which makes planning difficult for both the airmen and the inaugural staff.
Part of the problem too is that it is not yet clear which streets will be closed off and whether certain vehicles will be able to pass through the security perimeter.
“Things have been so nebulous that it’s hard to make any firm commitments,” Mr. Rose said.
Many of the airmen accepted their invitations tentatively because they know it will be easier to get off the list later than get added to it.
“So even folks who don’t know how they’ll travel or find the money to travel are on the list,” Mr. Rose said. “I’m sure the list will dwindle.”
He said T.A.I. has received numerous offers of subsidies and help with transportation. But he has to screen these offers and be mindful of safety and liability issues. Some offers to drive the airmen in Washington, for example, may have been from people who were just trying to secure tickets for themselves.
Still, Mr. Rose said, “I am deeply moved by all the interest that has been expressed, and the guys are just awed by it. Nobody even knew who they were until 1995,” when Laurence Fishburne made a movie about the airmen. “There’s been a real paradigm-shift.”
We’ll keep you posted on further developments, but can’t say for sure when plans will be finalized. We asked Mr. Rose if he felt any pressure to have it all wrapped up by Christmas.
“No,” he said. “I feel pressure to do it right.”
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
I have always known about the Tuskeegee Airmen, my step father was in the 8th Army Air Corp and he truly respected all of the fliers of the Tuskeegee units, it was a known fact that as long as the Tuskeegee men were supplying fighter escort you were not going be to shot down by German fighter planes, flak might still get you, but you would not be shot down from above. The air group Dale belonged to always requested the units that were filled with Tuskeegee pilots for this very valid reason, they were good at what they did, Dale feels the only reason he and other men from his unit lived to come home after the war, was due to the Tuskeegee Airmen.
They may not have gotten the public support they deserved until the 1995 movie, but people in the Air Force damn sure knew who they were.
If Dale was still alive he would be proud of them come Jan 20, 2009 they deserve and have earned every honor this nation can give these hero's.
Monday, December 22, 2008
More Than 200 Tuskegee Airmen Accept Inauguration Invite
