The story of the Tuskegee Airmen, perhaps better known in Sarpy County than many other areas of the country, comes to life in the new film "Red Tails."
Bob Rose, a Bellevue resident and president of the Alfonza W. Davis Chapter of Tuskegee Airmen Inc., hopes the film — which he described as "excellent" — will boost awareness of the role played by African-American fighter pilots in World War II and perhaps boost membership in Tuskegee chapters around the nation.
Three original Tuskegee Airmen — retired Lt. Col. Charles Lane Jr. of Omaha, retired Lt. Col. Paul Adams of Omaha and retired Cpl. Robert Holts of Lincoln — attended a special screening last month at Aksarben Cinema in Omaha. Rose organized the film showing.
Actor John Beasley was among those attending. "It's a tremendous story," he said. "It took George Lucas 22 years to get this done."
The Offutt Air Force-based chapter of Tuskegee Airmen meets monthly at Richmont Village. The chapter has about 40 members, Rose said, and he is aiming to increase that number to 100.
He said several misconceptions apply to membership in the Tuskegee Airmen.
First, you don't have to have been a Tuskegee Airman in World War II. Second, he said, members do not have to be black, male, female, young, old, military or non-military.
All are welcome to join an organization whose objective, he said, is to honor the memory of the Tuskegees — men who were told they were incapable of doing what they proceeded to do so well — by encouraging children of all races to excel.
The Tuskegee Airmen were named for Tuskegee Army Airfield in Tuskegee, Ala., where black fighter pilots were trained. The movie title refers to the red tails of the fighter planes flown by the Tuskegees.
Rose, who joined the Air Force in 1954, said he missed the Tuskegee-era by about five years. "I feel I owe those guys something," he said. "Even though the order had gone out for the total integration of the military, there were still some folks who hadn't got the memo."
Capt. Alfonza Davis, for whom the chapter was named, was born in Omaha in 1919 and became the first black military aviator from Omaha to receive his wings at Tuskegee Army Airfield. He was lost in action on Oct. 29, 1944.
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