TUSKEGEE AIRMAN JACKET
This leather flight jacket was worn during WWII by Woodrow W Crockett – a decorated USAAF pilot who flew with the legendary African American fighter and bomber squadrons
Active during 1940-48, the Tuskegee Airmen were a group of African American fighter and bomber pilots who fought during the Second World War. Serving in the United States Army Air Forces’ (USAAF) 332nd Fighter Group and 477th (Medium) Bombardment Group, they were unofficially named after the Tuskegee Institute where they were educated.
The Tuskegee Airmen consisted of 922 pilots and were the first African American aviators to serve in the US Armed Forces. At a time when many African Americans were still subject to Jim Crow laws, the pilots suffered persistent discrimination. Nevertheless, they served with distinction in North Africa, Italy, France and Germany.
Sixty-eight pilots were killed in action or accidents across 1,578 combat and 179 bomber escort missions. The airmen destroyed 262 enemy aircraft along with over 1,000 ground vehicles, railway carriages and boats. They were awarded three Distinguished Unit Citations and many individual awards, including 96 Distinguished Flying Crosses.
This leather flight jacket belonged to Woodrow W Crockett (1918 – 2012), an officer from Arkansas in the 100th Fighter Squadron, 332nd Fighter Group. He flew 149 combat missions during the Second World War and 45 during the Korean War. He retired in 1970 with the rank of lieutenant colonel. His many medals
“THE TUSKEGEE AIRMEN CONSISTED OF 922 PILOTS AND WERE THE FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN AVIATORS TO SERVE IN THE US ARMED FORCES”
included the Distinguished Flying Cross, two Soldier’s Medals for bravery in Italy and Korea, and the Air Medal with four Oak Leaf clusters. In 2007, Crockett was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal – Congress’s highest award for national achievement – along with the rest of the collective Tuskegee Airmen.
Woodrow W Crockett’s jacket is exhibited in the National Museum of African American History & Culture