A member of the famed Tuskegee Airmen’s Wish of a Lifetime from AARP has righted a wrong more than 70 years in the making.
While the achievements and influence of the Tuskegee Airmen are widely now known, the 332nd Fighter Group’s win in the Air Force’s first Aerial Gunnery Competition in 1949 was largely ignored for years.
“Our competitors, they didn’t think we were for real,” retired Air Force Lt. Col. James Harvey said in a video documentary. “We were Black and we were flying these obsolete aircraft. We weren’t supposed to win it.”
The Tuskegee Airmen were the first African-American military aviators in the United States armed forces, going to battle during World War II on behalf of a nation that was rooted in Jim Crow laws and serving in a military that was segregated. Before 1940, African-Americans were prohibited from flying in the U.S. military but with war imminent, training was offered to African-Americans as pilots at an airbase in Tuskegee, Alabama.
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“Fighter pilots like to fly low and fast,” explained Harvey. “We were the original `Top Gun.’”
Harvey was drafted into the Army as an engineer in 1943 and was sent to Fort Belvoir, Virginia for training.
“The mission was to go to the jungles of the South Pacific, bulldoze out an area for an airfield for aircraft to operate out of,” he explained.
The soldiers practiced for that mission daily.
“All this dust, sweat, I said no, no, no this isn’t for me,” he said.
From a young age, Harvey had been interested in aviation. He decided to apply to become a pilot, was accepted, and sent to the flight school for Black pilots n Tuskegee.
“They built a special airfield for us,” Harvey said. “I was a perfectionist. Everything had to be perfect. Instructor gave me maneuvers to practice, so I practiced until I nailed it.”
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Harvey completed his combat training in April of 1945 and was assigned to the 332nd Fighter Group. Before Harvey could do battle in the skies over Europe, Germany surrendered.
“The truth is, they knew I was coming, so they threw in the towel,” he joked.
Fast forward to January of 1949. The Chief of Staff of the Air Force sent out a directive to all the fighter groups in the United States to pick their top three scorers to represent their air groups at the first-ever Top Gun weapons meet.
Competing in the event would be teams from the 27th, 332nd, 82nd, 52nd, and 325th Fighter Groups.
Based on those scores, Capt. Alvin Temple, 1st Lt. Harry Stewart and Harvey were chosen as the primary members of the 332nd team. 1st Lt. Halbert Alexander was the alternate.
Before they left for the competition, the team had a meeting with their commander, Gen. Benjamin O. Davis, Jr.
“He said if you don’t win, don’t come back,” recalled Harvey.
The competition was held at Las Vegas Air Force Base, known today as Nellis Air Force Base.
“We as a race of people weren’t expected to do anything,” he said. “The only thing left for us was to go out and win this meet.”
The competition consisted of aerial gunnery, panel strafing, dive-bombing, skip bombing, and rocket firing.
“Our competitors were flying the P-51 and P-82, which was the latest thing in the Air Force inventory as far as aircraft go,” said Harvey. “They were lighter, did tighter turns and that’s what you need when you are doing aerial combat.”
Harvey and his teammates were flying the obsolete P-47.
“It didn’t matter though. It’s the skill of the pilot that determines what’s going to happen,” he said. “They were there to compete. We were there to win.”
At the competition’s conclusion, the 332nd came in first place with a score of 536.588. The 82nd came in second with a score of 515.010 and the 27th was third with 475.325.
“We were elated,” said Harvey. “It was very intense, no one expected us to win.”
When it was announced that the 332nd had won, Harvey said it was quiet.
“There was no applause, because we weren’t supposed to win it,” he said.
The trophy would not be seen by the public for 55 years, Harvey said.
“The victory was swept under the rug,” he added.
Harvey went on to fly 126 combat missions in the Korean War and retired from the Air Force in 1965.
“Flying is great, it’s great,” he said. “You are up there in that machine all by yourself. You’re in complete control. You can’t screw up. No room for error, none.”
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The trophy was eventually uncovered by historian Zellie Rainey Orr and put on display at the National Museum of the Air Force in 2004.
Tom Wagenlander, executive director, Wish of a Lifetime from AARP, said his organization had been working with a local Tuskegee Airmen chapter when it learned of Harvey’s story.
“We had heard that the 332nd Fighter Group received no official recognition for their win at Nellis Air Force Base in 1949,” he said.
Wagenlander said Wish of a Lifetime’s mission is to change the way society views and values older adults by granting their lifelong wishes and sharing those stories in order to inspire those of all ages.
“Lt. Col. Harvey gives us a chance to right a wrong so many years later,” he said.
Harvey’s wish was to go to Nellis and see the 332nd “right at the top as far as the weapons meet goes.”
Wish of a Lifetime immediately reach out to the military to see if the 332nd’s victory could be recognized.
“We were able to get hold of the Air Force Association and work with them to come up with a way to commemorate the winners of the first Top Gun competition,” said Wagenlander. “They came through big time for Lt. Col. Harvey and the 332nd.”
A plaque was mounted at Nellis Air Force Base on Jan. 11 honoring the moment in the history of the Tuskegee Airmen.
“It proves that if you believe in something and stay at it, you’ll finally get the recognition you deserve,” Harvey said. “This plaque, finally, after many years will be at the top. Finally, number one.”
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.