train rs in tuskegee airmen, they were the first group sent into combat in world war two. first from the first annual american veteran center conference six airmen appear on stage at the national archives marking the 71sst anniversary o their deployment. they recall some of their most dangerous missions and what it was like to serve in a segregated military. this is about 65 minutes. >> so it is with great pleasure that i now introduce our panel of american icons. the tuskegee airman. the moderator is mr. jackson. he is currently a tour divide at the u.s. capitol and formally a

paratrooper in the 82nd airborne division. >> i'm from north carolina, so we're exceptionally proud of the 82nd, and their actions over at ft. brag. we like to tell folks we're the most military friendly station in the nation and we work really hard to live up to that. without any further adieu, mr. jackson, you're on, thank you very much. >> thank you and good morning. we're here to salute american icons, the tuskegee air american. please allow me to briefly introduce the panel and then we will come back and hear from our panelist and ask the field to give questions.

i may recite the question a time or two for clarity. first, the persone closest to m lieu tent colonel brown. our closer, lieutenant colonel friend. his father was in the military as well. let's have a round of applause for our first panelist. so just give us a brief history

about you and your accounts of the military. >> i was always interested in flying. and when the chance was offered to me, i took some rather greedily -- i had a pilots license in the late 30s because i was part of a program that the united states was doing. in potential defense of itself, and that was to train people to fly as they were doing in europe. and so when the time came for us to go to tuskegee i was more than prepared and i enjoyed it very much. the one thing they would like to

clarify from my personal standpoint everybody says it is the place where they trained the african-americans. that's the wrong way to think about it. that was the place where they trained people who were not white. you could be anything else. and so i went through the program, i went through three wars, and i feel very, very participant to be able to be here to speak to you people and to let you know how we felt. thank you. >> thank you. >> would anyone like to ask a

question of colonel friend? if so please stand. i would like to make note given the bio you see on the screen, can if i may, a veteran of one of 42 combat missions and wing man to the unit's leader and the first african-american general in the air force, yesterday was the anniversary of benjamin o davis senior receiving his one star on october 25th, 1940. there is very few of us in the audience that remember 1940, but our panel does. so let's introduce lieutenant colonel browne from minneapolis, minnesota, whose father also fought in world war i, can you just give us a review of some of

your thoughts. >> i was born in raised in minneapolis, minnesota. when i was about in the sixth gra grade, 11 years old, i woke up one more and guess what, i was going to become a military fighter pilot, well at the mention of that, my mother who looked at me, isn't it strange how your mother can look at you and say he has all of this wonderful talent, and i had no talent whatsoever. so i sat on that piano stool for the first ten years of my life or so. and then in the sixth grade at 11 i decided i would become a military pilot. don't ask me why or how, i don't remember seeing a movie about it, but one miranda warning i woke up and i was bit. so from that time on it was

model airplanes and every book i can fly. i can remember one book in particular, randolph field, texas. west point of the air. i bet i had that book memorized. so when i was 16 years old, i was a soda jerk and i managed to save up $35. i had my uncle take me out to chamb chamberlain and i said i want to take flying lessons and they said that will get you five. i got the five on a little tail dragger. i don't know if you do or not, as long as you are, you don't see j-3s flying very often, but never the less that's the way it was. no more money, and no more flying lessons.

and of course in 1941 we know the war started, keep in mind back in those die days, after president roast velt decided to tra train, the first class was started in july in 1941, they wanted people to have some college experience. but it didn't take long before they just about wiped out all of the guys with college experience and they said we'll open it up for you high school kids if you can pass the physical, pass the physical and mental exams we'll talk you in. so at 17 years of age i graduated from high school, june 42, i went be bopping down to the local recruitment station and said i want to sign up. sign on the dotted line, set for the exam, scored reasonably high, and i said i'm on my way, but they said no, no, not yet.

everyone else, there is like 100 other guys, they were all sworn into reserve and protected from the draft. but my paper work had to go to washington dc. so i at there sweating that the draft is going to get me before i get my chance to go fly. but fortunately in december i was selected and i finally wound up in the military. graduating class of 1944. 19 years old, the hottest thing that ever said good morning to an airplane. but that was also, do you know why they send young guys off to fight wars? the old generals sit there and select all of you young guys to go fight, you know why they do that? you're invincible, aren't you.

you'll live foer, nothing bad will ever happen to you, but guess what, one day you, too, will also sweat it out. but i could go on and keep yakking, i don't want to take up too much time. does anyone have any questions come on, r.o.t.c., you have 10,000 questions. give me one. >> colonel brown, the gentleman to the left. >> the gentleman to the left. >> what is it? >> i'm from west point, given that you lack talent, what talent do you wish you had when you were shot down. >> i wish i had a pair of wings to fly to be honest, but unfortunately that was not the case. let me tell you a little bit like that,ly take a few minutes.

one of the biggest hazards of flying missions were if you were hit you were always briefed to get out of the target area and rightly so, but the escorting bombers and whatever, there is a bunch of people down there, not that they're trying to kill people but shrapnel and stuff is all over the place. you get hit and you're in your chute. can you imagine what the people are thinking about after you just about wiped out some guys brother and then you come floating down in a parachute. those are very angry people and rightly so. and to follow that up, two more minutes is all i'll take, i was shot down on my 30th mission. and -- alexander is giving me a

rough time down here. i was shot down on my one of the unfortunate things is i didn't get out of the target area. i was picked up and brought back to a little village and i was met by 35 of the most angry people you have ever seen in your life. there was no doubt they had murder on their minds. and they made certain that i knew what they were going to do. here i was 20 years old looking like this, in germany, and a mop of 30 some people who wanted a piece of me. a constable came up and preventing them from taking my

life. but for a very short while those first first 35 minutes or so i was frightened to death. there was no doubt in my mind that i was going to die. i could not run, hide, or do anything. as a matter of fact, i think i was talking to myself, what are you going to do. what are you going to do? you're not just going to sit here and let them kill you, but that was the most frightening thing that ever happened to me i was looking death straight in the eye. and at 20 years old i had a lot of living to do. but from that point it was really a safe haven, really.

i think you get the picture. >> thank you, sir. >> thank you. i would like to hear colonel brown lecture a time or two. our next panelest is lieutenant colonel george harding. >> i was borned in raised in philadelphia. i had to wait a year to get into the service, but in '43 i took the exam and passed it and they sent me home until i was 18. i went through flying school in

december. i graduated in september of 44. after additional training i went over seas in the 99th flier squadron, 19 years old flying a p-51 and i had my rolls royce. i was recalled in '48. that's when racial integration started forth air force. seven months later they said they were going to integrate racially. i went back in and went to p school for 50 weeks and became a may want nans officer. when i graduated rascial integration had taken place and i was signed to a bomb group on guam, a maintenance officer, but

i learned to fly the airplane. in 1950 i was put on a combat crew as a co-pilot. when the korean war started we flew over korea. the first mission was the 30th of june. but there was still racial problems in those days. i got a new commander who would not speak to me except in the line of duty because he didn't believe in racial integration. and we went to okinawa, and he pulled me off of the airplane and replaced me, he didn't want me in his outfit. that was the first crew shot down, my crew was in it and i didn't go down with them. i survived that period, i got a new commander after that because

my squadron commander went to group commander and a new commander put me on flying status and i flew 49 missions. i came back to the states and was in s.a.c. i was at several bases. and i say i grew up in the service because from limestone i wen went on to get a major in engineering. airplanes from the british bombers. from there i went to new york. and my wind commander was the same officer that pulled me off of the airplane in okinawa. he was now my wing commander. i was with him for three years

up there and it was the best three years of my career. i loved working for him the second time. but i stayed, i would have stayed forever, but the institute of technology let me know there was a new graduate level program and they wanted to do it right away and they didn't have time to advertise for it so they went back to prior graduates and my name came up and they offered me a chance. i went there on february of '63 and got a masters in system's reliability. i got a masters in that. so i grew up in the service. from there i got a job and i made lieutenant colonel up

there. automatic voice network. the first direct dial telephone system. so i was chief of engineering and program manager for that. the first switch was cut over in june of 1969. but they prepared a new gun ship, a 119 k. they made a gun ship out of a two cart airplane. it required 42 paratroopers but they made a gun ship out of it, and they looked for pilots to fly it and i had hundreds of hours in a 119. i went to vietnam in 1970. all of the airplanes were at

four oerpttiperating locations. when i went overseas they took the crew away from me. i flew 70 combat missions. i came back and retired in 1971. anyway i say that i grew up and was educated in the service. i never had to bail out of an airplane. so as i said, i was in someone's good ratigraces and thank god f that. the thing is when i retired, pause of my degrees, i retired on friday and i got a job offer on monday, and i worked for them for 18 years. i had the best of everything

with my service and i am so grate fful for that. good day, gentleman, i have a question for you all. in your age now, how do you stay so sharp and so witty? >> what was that question again? >> how do you stay so sharp and witty? >> touche. how do you stay so sharp and witty. that's for the entire panel i believe. >> i'm 93. i know how hard it is to get around. age catches up with everyone.

>> slowly with surely. if we could be reflective for a appropriate from world war ii to korea to the cuban missile crisis to vietnam, how did your experiences leading up to vietnam help you? >> when i look back i was able to i adapt to everything. but when i look at the totally of my career. they would not have anyone with african ancestry over a caucasian. but i was a detachment commander and all of my pilots were white, so it shows that lev lugs evolu thousand things went in the service.

i was 45 then and they were all younger but i got along with them very well. yes, yes, absolutely. >> our fourth panelest had a grandfath grandfather who helped found morehouse, university. tell us about yourself and your history with armed forces. >> good. someone asked why the hell did you go to the army. in 1941, world war ii was kicking out. i graduated from clark college in june of '42. the draft was coming, boom boom

boom, so the first thing i did was go to detroit federal building and joined. i thought they would send me to tuskegee because we were segregated. they said go home and we'll call you. it took me almost nine months before they called me. i'm a graduate, clark college graduate, and i'm in the last class going to tuskegee of black college graduates because the army, the navy, and the marines were grabbing black men with college degrees. the classes after me went to three months of college training detachment.

i graduated in january of 44. >> we were sent to the self ridge air force base to fly the p-49. the three squadrons were the 301st, the 302nd, and the 99th. these three squadrons of blacks were flying p 39s up and down the shores of italy. we were supposed to with replacements for them and we were trained in p-39s until something of like march of 44, a two-star general came to selfridge. i'm out over late heron. air gunnery, all officers report

onle lthe double which means dr everything and get your behind there. we were there, blacks and white officers mixing trying to figure out what is going on. no one knows what the hell is going on. then someone said attention, and down the aisle went a two-star general, we're going what is goi goi going on, i don't know, then he rambled for ten minutes and these are the words i remember "gentleman, this is my airfield" as long as i'm in command, there will be no socialization between blacks and whites.

we were trying to get into the officers club and he said hell no. that was thursday. saturday morning they put us on a train and three days later we ended up in south carolina. we were the first class to be shipped over to join the 332nd fighter group. i went to the 301st. i flew 18 and one-half missions. my 18th mission were escorting p-51s. we just got into p-51s. i'm cutting it shorts, and escorted b 17s to b 24s.

the 19th mission was a striffing mission. it was the first time and i'm in the 301st out of the 16 airplanes, four, red, white, yellow, blue. i think, i'm blue. i'm over here, we're straffing. southern france, radar stations, we didn't know the invasion of southern france came on august the 15th.

our job was to knock out the radar stations. we went in, first flight, second flight, third flight. fourth flight, on the fourth flight, the last guy to cross the target? me. you look up ahead and you see all of this stuff coming back at you. i went across the top of the target and something says boom. i said what is going on. fire came up out of the floor, so i had to bailout. here we are doing about 400 miles per hour. we forced everything to the wall. so i said to myself, remember now, out of ten, nine months of training, not one minute on how to bailout.

so you rise to the occasion. pull back on the stick, get some altitude, and as you go up you're looking down at a little wheel you rotate for nose down. if you turn the stick county your nose goes down. i don't know how i got up, all i know is it got pretty warm. i had to get out. as you're goes up you reach up and put a knob and the canopy and it goes off. i got up high, i turned the stick loose and when you do what happens to the nose?

boom, abruptly. and i said as the tail dropped, i hit, you have straps here, a big buckle, and you hit the buckle and the traps came loose. i remember the tail going by with all of that fire. and somebody said when you bailout you go a, b, c, but i looked down and the trees were so close. you pull that sucker real fast. boom. i'm in the trees. and all of after sudden i'm trying to get out and i hear a voice and i said oh, shit -- realistically, german guard and

he looked up and i'm in the trees, and he is helping me get out, and he looks up and sees a little gold bar, and he salutes me. and all i can do is return the salute. i was introduced to the german gentleman, i became a p.o.w. this was in 1944. by the time harold came in, burning the war there was 32 men out of the 332nd fighter group were p.o.w.s. 32 of us, i won't go through the men who died, but we spent the rest of the war at stellog three

and then 7-8. i became a school teacher for the city of detroit for 35 years, those little stinking snots. low and behold i quit. take care, i quit, that's it, thank you. >> thank you, colonel jefferson. before our audience asks a questions, can i ask what you taught? >> elementary science. >> please wait for the microphone. >> my question for the whole entire panel is how did you overcome racism and

discrimination, and what lessons would you mind sharing about that? >> what did he say? >> by the way you're talking the guys up here, every one of us has bad hearing. >> how did you overcome racial discrimination while you were services in the service? >> how did we do it? >> how did you overcome racism in your years of service. >> with the attitude that everybody is stupid except you and me. >> and i would like to make a comments on that. >> and sometimes i'm not so sure about you. >> i would like to make a comment about that. after racial integration took place in '49, all of us were

shipped out to other outfits. that's when a lot of people ran into problems. bet you never thought you would run into discrimination problems. but it was a fact of life. there was many people, whiting, that didn't agree with racial integration. if you served with someone like that you may have paid a price, but gradually it worked and i think we came out on top. >> it is still going on today. >> let's bring our fifth panelist in. lieutenant colonel from montclair university. what brought you into the service? >> i tried to enlist in the army

air corp and they said they weren't taking enlistments at that time. that was the height of the war. i got the picture they didn't want me, so they drafted me in april of 1943. get the train to pennsylvania growing to maryland. got to washington dc. we had an our layover. i got off of the train, went to at restaurant, went back to get on the train, and he said no way, you're on that car back there, he said welcome to the south. he sent me to the car where the negros rode, generally the last car. i was born -- you have to be born. i was born in july of 1923.

i left new jersey, went to pennsylvania in 1936. my dad was there, working there at the hazard wire rope works. we moved to a small town that is near mountain top, pennsylvania, which is near hazelton, pennsylvania. and i went to a school, a two-room schoolhouse in the 7th and 8th grades. and then when i went to high school, we had to take bus and that was at mountain top, pennsylvania. when we moved throughout we were the only family of color out there. so i had no segregation, whatsoever, i was treated like

every other person, segregation never entered my mind, no problems. went to high school at mountain top pennsylvania. the only sports we had was basketball and a tumbling team. i was the anchor man on the tumbling team and captain of the basketball team, and in my senior year, we had another young lady of color come in. now there is two of us in the school my senior year. my senior year i was class presidents and valevictorian. my senior year i was in my frand yard, we were out in the country, we lived in the country, we had a house away from the house if you know what i mean, i was standing in my yard and i saw a flight of p-40s

fly over in formation. i said to myself i would like to do that one day. so i go to ft. meade, maryland. i got my uniform, my shots, i checked in. and they sent me to jefferson, missouri for 30 days of basic training. i finished and based on my written scores and performance they put me in the army air corps of engineered. i wanted us to go in the jungle and build an airfield. i said no, this isn't for me. so i applied for cadet training. there was ten of us that applied that wents to the ta to take the

whites and myself. two of us passed. then i want to mississippi for 30 more days of basic training. after that off to tuskegee i went. i was a perfectionist when i was growing up, everything had to be perfect. when i got married that had to change. right? so washing out or failing never entered my mind, i knew i could do anything they wanted me to do and that took me all of the way through flying school. i had no problems at all in flying school. i remember one day i was practicing a lazy 8, it's an 8 on a 45 degree angel between 2,000 and 1,000 feet.

ours was between 2,000 and 1,000 feet. i was out practicing and at the top i was approaching 2,000 feet mighty fast, so i found myself upside down mighty fast. i had to practice because the instructor didn't want any of that kind of stuff. everything that we did had to be perfect. so we learned to fly the aircraft. i think the white pilots just had to demonstrate they could get it off the ground and blaac on the ground safely. they knew there would be no one graduating to man the 99th squadron. they knew that without a doubt but we proved otherwise. i graduated from flying school

in october 16th of 1944. from there i went to south carolina for combat training. i finished my combat training in april of 1945, i had my bags packed and one hour i caught a train to norfolk, took a ship to go join the group in europe. we got a message saying to hold us. so i, an hour before, i was ready to go. a message saying hold us so i didn't go. that was in april of 45. i would have been on the high seas. and in may of 1949 we had the first ever top gun weapons meet.

we were members and we won the meet, but in the following month of june they started full integration of the military. they declared they would integrate the military in 48 been they scattered us, they scattered us all over the world. eddie drummond and i had an assignment in japan. so our records were forwarded and they knew who was coming. i should say the wing commander knew. so he called all of the pilots in before we got there and said we have two negro pilots coming in and they'll be assigned to this squadron.

the pilots told us this themselves, they said no way we're going to fly with them, so we reported into the wing comma commander, sitting in his office talking, and he said what do you want us to call you? this is a military organization. what do you want us to call you, and i said i'm first lieutenant, and he is a second lieutenant, he said we have three fighter squadrons on the base, two p 51s, an and f 80, that's the jet, which do you want to go to? that's a no brainer, i said the f 80, so he put us both in the f 80 squadron. they did not have a t 33 which is an fha trainer. they didn't have one, but they had a few at 6s, that's what we

flew in advance. we true them, in the back seat you pull a hood up and you can't see out, you only have your strau instruments, we both had two flights in the back of an at 6. i get in the back seat, the pilot up front would get instructions for takeoff. in the meantime i have the hood up before we taxi. i have the hood up and i can only see my strauinstruments, t pilot lines up on the run way and he says you got it, so i throttle floor, pitch, mixed control, all of that good stuff, and i fly around doing maneuvers he wants know do. then it is time to land and i call ground control approach, they vector me in for a landing. i touch down and the pilot up front took over. i had two flights like that.

what does that have to do with flying the f 80? nothing. i finally figured out why they had us do that. they wanted to see if we could fly. we proved we could. i knew that. they had doubts, but we showed them that yes, we could fly like anybody else. and that was in japan. and i came back to the states, i went to korea, korea started when i inforwas in japan. we started flying missions the next day after the invasion, and i flew 126 missions in the f 80 and rotated back to japan. i started flying back after the day after the invasion started and i had 126 missions by

christmas day. the wing commander had been asking air force command for a cut off on the number of missions that the mie lpilots f. then it came down that it was 100 missions. i came back to japan, came back to the states in april of 51 and i went to george air force base in california. and from there i was a assistant operations officer, instrument instructor pilot and test pilot. i didn't have any problems throughout my whole career in the military as far as being a minority. none whatsoever. even the guys that were in the squadron in japan, the up wionet

said they would not fly with us, that found out that we were good, better than they were. the reason we were so good as a group is because of our training, everything the instructor did was to try to wash us out but it made us better pilots. we were good, we were the best and we proved it overseas that we were the best. we proved we were the best there in '49. i like to use the word best. >> what year cdid you retire, sir? >> i retired in madison, wisconsin in may of 1949. now before i retired i had a family to support, so before i retired i started looking for a job. i interviewed with united

airlines and they didn't want me. because of my color. they didn't want any passengers getting on the airplane and seeing a dark face in the cockpit. madison, wisconsin was the home office for oscar moyer. i interviewed, i got a job at the salesman, i was supposed to be at plant for three months learning the operation from slaughter to finished product. i went to new jersey and was a salesman there for three years. i went to detroit as a assistant sales manager. a direct manager, rather, and i was there for 18 months, and i went to philadelphia as an assistant sales manager. i was there for three years. then i got a promotion to denver

as a center manager. i was there, a senate manager from 73 to february of 1980 and i retiered in february 1980. >> i would like to yield to the floor, do we have any questions? >> you'll have to relay like jefferson. >> don't you love the details of like 1949 and 1945. >> good morning, i'm from texas a&m university. what was it like coming back to areas of the country where there was still segregation. >> what was it like to live in areas that were still segregated. >> what was it like to live, when you came back home, that

was still segregated. >> what was it like to live in areas of segregation? >> it didn't bother me at all. they had their problem, i ignored their problem. i didn't let it bother me. maybe that's wrong, nothing in life bothers me. i just go with the flow. >> okay, let's goat our closet closer, it is lieutenant colonel harry stewart, let's hear your story, sir. >> i see you looking at your watch and i want to find out how much time do i have? >> we'll yield whatever you would like, sir. >> thank you, i won't take more than a half hour, all right? anyway, i will preempt some of the questions that may be asked

of me. maybe two questions, and that reque question would have to do what were the greatest things that happened to me while i was in the service? well i would say the second greatest thing was 75 years ago, plus or minus a few months, i met these guys here. and it was quite an event for me. it has been a lasting love affair for 75 years. of the combat pilots, 13 of us are left and we try to keep in contact. but right on the stage you see the remainder portion of that 13, but getting back to the question, that was one of them, that was the second greatest. i would like to say these gentleman, colonel friend over

there, the first panelist, he was born in columbia, south carolina, but he was raised in manhattan, and you introduced me as being born in newport news, virginia, and i was raised in the boro of queens in new york there. so we were over, just a river apart, but i didn't know him before i went into the service, he was operations officer in the 301st, and when i went over there he had already gotten about 100 missions under his belt. he was on his second tour. but anyway, the war ended in may of 1945 and we all of us got on the boat together and came back from italy. landed in staten island. and colonel friend over there went home with his family in manhattan and i took the subway

and i went home to my family in queens. and i guess i was home for about two days and i got a call from colonel friend and he said harry, he said, i would like you to come over and meet my family in manhattan. so i went over and met his family and little did i know this would end up in a 68 year marriage to his sister. so i call him cupid because he did the same thing with another one of his sisters there. one of the tuskegee airmen home, and he introduced them and they were married. a question i got before was how many times did cupid do this again? and cupid answers none.

and they said why, and he said i ran out of sisters. but that was one of the greatest things to happen to me while i was in the service there. >> wait, wait, wait. >> there's one other thing. you shot down three airplanes in one mission. >> okay. >> you didn't mention that. >> it's up there. >> i want to make sure they heard that. >> we have just a question or two before we have -- okay. let's start for the gentleman in black all the way up in that direction. there's a microphone coming toward you, sir. >> hi, colonel. my name is ray simon. i'm an artist. one of the questions i wanted to ask you, have you ever looked at yourself as a civil rights movement yet to come? in all reality, has history

proceeded -- you guys were the trail blazers. i was talking to colonel jefferson yesterday. almost laid the path for ruby bridges, rosa parks, and dr. martin luther king jr. what i find interesting is the march 24th, 1945 mission was 20 years and one day, which was 1965. march 25th when dr. martin luther walked across the bridge to vote. my question is have you ever looked at yourself, all of you, as a civil rights movement yet to come? you didn't protest. you didn't march. what you guys did was did and you became some of the best pilots in the country. >> well, i've been asked that question a number of times. while we were going through training, and i think that the other panelists will attest to this, is i don't think we

dreamed at that time we were making an impact on, you know, the future of what was happening as far as racial integration was concerned. we thought we were doing our job as citizens of the united states and performing as soldiers in the military. it wasn't until maybe in the late 1970s and even more recent when two film came out. one was called "the tuskegee airmen," which had worldwide distribution. that was put out by hbo. the second was "the red tails." that was a lucas film put out by george lucas. anyway, they got world wide distribution. around that time all sorts of inquiries started coming in as far as, you know, we'd like to hear from you guys and what you did and give us a run down on

the history and the organization you were in and that type of thing. to answer the question again, no, i don't think we realized how much impact we were going to make on integration while we were in the service there. this became readily apparent after we came out of the service and got more notoriety. >> i think i heard colonel jefferson say someone had to do it. >> seriously, i was satisfying inside of me. i wanted to fly. i flew, caught all kinds of hell, but let's face it. that's what was going on as a black person in this country. i came after the war, put all my stuff together, red tail captured, red tail free. i wrote this book, and it was highly accepted, but it was something on the inside of me that made me learn to fly.

teaching school, i felt that somewhere young black men needed to learn how to fight the system. the system is vicious. and unless you know how to cope with the vicious system, you got nothing. and when i taught school -- well, we had things called safety patrols, remember? a little kid had a white belt and had a responsibility of patrolling, covering that corner. well, in order to be a safety, you had to be a nerd. that's number one. and to a black teenager or a

black kid telling him at that time to be a nerd was a no-no. o you had to be on time. colonel davis demanded us to be on time. when colonel davis said be into my office at 0900, you don't show up at 9:00. what time do you show up? >> 8:45. >> damn right. as a safety patrol, you had to be on that corner at least ten minutes ahead of time. all the sudden you're teaching a 12-year-old to be on time. when you come in the school building, you take off your hat. teaching young men how to cope

with the system. women teachers come to the door and a 12 or 13-year-old opens the door. what do you teach him? manners. slowly but surely. these are the kinds of things in the back of my mind. and learning how to fly, that satisfied -- oh, hell. they said landing was -- oh, that's a joke i can't tell. >> colonel jefferson, if i may, for the audience to ask questions, you'll address the panel. we have something special coming. so thank you for your time. to be early is to be on time. to be on time is to be late. >> may i say something ? >> yes, sir. >> i think it's very important

for the cadets to appreciate the fact that you don't have to be a pilot in order to be in the air force. the air force has an awful wide range of activities that people get involved in. you can do both but at the same time selecting for your career something else. for instance, i was in tech intelligence. in tech intelligence, i was responsible for those kinds of things. i went through lots and lots of schooling. lots of schooling. at least ten years of schooling. and you'd be happy with that.

that's real life. if you can get into flying, if you like flying, that's fine. i liked flying. i got into flying and had a good time. i also recognized that the air force needs people other than pilots. these are the people who are responsible for pilots. like those crew chiefs we had. they, too, had to understand they have the same appreciation for dedication to a subject. when i came down and got in that airplane, he used to walk over to me and say, where we going today? we. when i came back, he would say, what did you do to our airplane? >> colonel, that will be -- >> and i recognized a lot of

things -- >> it won't be the final word. >> for instance, the young man down there. i watched him do it. i was right behind him. >> okay. please remain seated. we have a presentation by mr. roberts. >> first of all, thank you very much for really one of the highlights not only of our day but i suspect the highlights of our lives. in meeting, listening to not just american heroes, they are world heroes. they have stood up, taken responsibility for themselves and for others. so on behalf of a former air force guy who was not a pilot, i want to express my appreciation for your leadership, for the example that you have set, for your bravery, and for your dedication.

thank you very much. [ applause ] with that, ladies and gentlemen, please be seated. i'd like to now introduce, again, mr. jim roberts, president and founder of the american veteran center, for a special presentation. >> thank you, craig. you're doing a great job. and thank you, gentlemen. it's a real honor to have the tuskegee airmen with us. i knew you would be inspirational, and you were. but i didn't know you'd be that damn entertaining. but it's been a great session. thank you so much for being with us. i urge you, if you haven't done so yet, to take the opportunity to visit the rotunda and see our founding documents, which are on display there. see you soon, after lunch. have a good lunch.

american history tv is on c-span3 every weekend and all of our programs are archived on our

website at c-span.org/history. you can watch lectures in college classrooms, tours of historic sites, archival films and see our schedule of upcoming programs. that's c-span.org/history. >> you can watch archival films on public affairs each week on our series "reel america." saturday at 10:00 p.m. and sunday at 4:00 p.m. eastern on american history tv. here's a quick look at one of our recent programs. >> let me tell you something about nixon's silent majority. a zbrgroup he refers to often a leans heavily on for support, the term originates in homer and refers to the dead. in those days when someone died, he was said to have gone to the silent majority.

[ applause ] we say that the silent majority is dead. there has been in this country for a long time a silenced majority who were told that loyalty to their country meant loyalty to whatever policy an administration concocted, however disastrous. but after this week's events, after this week's events, the silenced majority is finding its voice. this war is not only responsible for most of our economic ills, this war is tearing us apart as a people. the present governor of california goes on television to say that violence will not be tolerated. what makes him think that we can wreak violence on the people of vietnam and cambodia and that this violence is not going to corrupt the minds of some of our

young here at home, where it originates. >> you can watch archival films on our weekly series "reel america" saturday at 10:00 p.m. and sunday at 4:00 p.m. eastern here on american history tv. >> once, tv was simply three giant networks and a government supported service called pbs. then in 1979, a small network with an unusual name rolled out a big idea. let viewers decide all on their own what was important to them. c-span opened the doors to washington policymaking for all to see, bringing you unfiltered content from congress and beyond. in the age of power to the people, this was true people power. in the 40 years since, the

landscape has clearly changed. there's no monolithic media. broadcasting has given way to narrowcasting. youtube stars are a thing. but c-span's big idea is more relevant today than ever. no government money supports c-span. its nonpartisan coverage of washington is funded as a public service by your cable or satellite provider. on television and online, c-span is your unfiltered view of government so you can make up your own mind. all-american news brings you our people's constitution to america and freedom. >> happy birthday to you. that's what it says. the occasion is the 100th birthday of mrs. lucy berry smith of louisville, kentucky, and the 15th