John Holway's Red Tails

Two years ago I won an essay writing contest over World War II, and a trip to France. To prepare for the historical excursion, I was assigned eight books to read over the international conflict. None of the eight books even mentioned an African American by name (or any other minority for that matter). I wanted to select a book that highlight the achievements of minorities during that war. I was strolling down the library aisle when I just happen to stumble on this truly awe-inspiring biography. In his book Red Tails, John Holway tells the incredibly inspirational real-life story of an all African American flying quadrants during World War II. Although White Army commanders tried to keep the Red tails on the ground and the German Airforce tried

By the time the Tuskegee airmen had arrived at their base in Ramitelli, Italy the United State Air Corps needed them. By 1944 the Allied Powers were carpet bombing Germany; While Great Britain bombed under the cover of darkness, the much more precise Americans bombed in board daylight. The gargantuan bombers were colossal sitting ducks for the German Air Force. The Luftwaffe tremendous success in bomber-hunting almost halted the crucial carpet bombing missions. Instead, the plan was saved by a new invention, the P51 Mustang. In Red Tails one former pilot points out the Intricacy of this new plane “There were 21 switches I had to hit before I could turn the engine on – it was a complicated engine. (Holway 163). The strong perseverance of the Tuskegee Airmen meant they adapted to the P51 before many of their white counterparts. This fighter plane had the capacity to fly all the way to the bombing site and back. Numerous regiments of bomber escorts were deployed throughout Europe to protect the fragile bombers. The 332nd Fighter Group was one of the best regarded escorts. This was the first time many Europeans had ever seen Black people outside the context of a racist caricature or human zoo. The majority of Europeans thought that Black were a savage and insubordinate. However, after witnessing the precision and brilliance of the Tuskegee airman, their perception changed. The Germans were humiliated that airmen from this ‘inferior race’ were helping to annihilate there once great Luftwaffe. One of the Tuskegee airmen even shot down a Nazi jet! “Even Thompson didn’t realized that he had just defeated the fastest plane ever built” (Holway