The "Tuskegee Experience", a program designed by the Army Air Corps to train African Americans as military pilots, began at Tuskegee Army Air Field in Alabama in 1941.
Pilots from the 99th Pursuit Squadron joined with the 100th, 301st and 302nd fighter squadrons to form the 332nd Fighter Group.
The group faced racism and mistrust right from the start. Even under the enormous weight of scrutiny from the public and skepticism from white servicemen, they persevered and in 1942 the first class of cadets graduated.
Their first mission came in June 1943 and it set the precedent for many successful missions all across Europe during World War II.
The squadron would go on to rack up an impressive record during the war that included nearly 1,800 combat missions, earning them more than 850 medals and awards.
In 1944, the 477th Composite Group, a combination of fighter squadrons and bombardment groups, was activated.
Facing bigotry from their own commanders, the pilots of the 477th were pushed to the point of mutiny.
In 1946 they were briefly transferred to Kentucky and Indiana before finding their home at Lockbourne Army Air Field south of Columbus, Ohio.
It was here where Col. Benjamin O. Davis, Jr, one of the Tuskegee Airmen's first cadets, became the first black officer to command an Army Air Base in the United States.
Col. Davis created a complete leadership team of African Americans, marking the first time in the group's history that black servicemen worked without the direct supervision of white officers.
Under his supervision, black airmen enjoyed freedom and independence greater than any other time in the history of the Tuskegee Airmen.
In 1948, President Truman signed Executive Order 9981 ending segregation in the American Armed Forces. A year later, the group was deactivated at Lockbourne and reintegrated into the Air Force, thus effectively ending the Tuskegee Airmen.
Lockbourne Army Air Field is known today as the Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base, home of the 121st Air Refueling Wing of the Ohio National Guard.
While the Tuskegee Airmen are no longer present, their spirit of perseverance and determination lives on in the halls and hangars of the airfield.