Tuskegee Top Guns Visit DU
Scholarship banquet honors group during the diamond anniversary celebration
Photo Courtesy: Hubert L. [qt]Hooks[qt] Jones Chapter of Tuskegee Inc.
Four American heroes, original Tuskegee Airmen, visited the University of Denver Friday to take part in an annual awards and scholarship banquet hosted by the Hubert L. “Hooks” Jones (HLHJ) Chapter of Tuskegee Airmen Inc.
In honor of the Tuskegee Airmen’s diamond anniversary, the program celebrated their achievements and recognized the major milestone in aviation’s history by honoring the remaining Colorado Documented Original Tuskegee Airmen, as well as recognized four of Colorado’s top youth. The HLHJ Chapter has a $50,000 endowed scholarship at the University of Denver.
It was 75 years ago that the airmen made history. The Tuskegee Airmen were an elite group of fighter pilots, becoming the first black servicemen to serve as military aviators in the U.S. armed forces during World War II.
Col. James Harvey was among the four that came to campus. He remembers when he first arrived in Japan in the late 1940s. The white pilots were reluctant to fly with him. Col. Harvey says, “My fondest memory as a jet pilot was the integration of the U.S. military in 1948.” Eventually, he became the commander of that base.
