Tuskegee Airman depicted in ‘Red Tails’ remembered

Before Barack Obama was elected president, he hailed the aviation trail blazers as “heroes” during comments surrounding their 2007 Congressional Gold Medal. Obama said the group helped make his public service career possible. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that McDaniel joined 330 other surviving Tuskegee Airmen for Obama’s 2009 presidential inauguration.

McDaniel spoke at a reception during a screening of the 2012 film Red Tails, which documented the challenges the all-black squadron faced during World War II. “There were no blacks at all in the Air Corps. None. Didn’t want them there. They said, ‘They don’t have the dexterity to work these planes,’” the newspaper reported.

McDaniel, a former Red Tail member of the Texas 477th Bombardment Group, was also the guest of honor during a showing of the film at Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base in Texas.

McDaniel told the U.S. Air Force 301st Fighter Wing that he appreciated the movie “because it shows the contributions of Tuskegee Airmen to our country and our dedication to duty despite the bigotry and racism that paralyzed our efforts for equality and leadership roles.”

He was one of 101 officers arrested at the Freeman Field Officers Club, an incident that was depicted in the movie. In the scene, the men were denied entry to the club by a white commanding officer. When they entered the club anyway, they were arrested.

The incident initially led to court-martial charges, which were later dropped, and the men were exonerated. Their plight led to the “integration of all officers clubs and military facilities previously off-limits to black officers,” the military service noted.

Historian Sarah Walker remembered McDaniel, one of her elementary school teachers, as someone who didn’t brag about his service. “They weren’t seeking pride. It was just a thing they knew they had to do,” she told the newspaper. “He is the last of the Mohicans if you will.”