Tuskegee Airman

Technically Woody Crockett, (a true American Hero), lived in the Stone Haven subdivision at 5023 Cockney Court. Stone Haven is completely surrounded by Canterbury Woods, and I believe that in the initial development stages by Hyman Bernstein and Sons that the Stone Haven community was originally part of the Canterbury Woods development plans. Canterbury Woods and Stone Haven residents are part of the same family since we all share the use and membership of the Canterbury Woods Swim and Racquet Club, and therefore we consider ourselves part of the same community.

Woodrow Wilson Crockett was born 31 August 1918 in Texarkana, Arkansas. He attended Dunbar High School graduating in 1939 and then attended Dunbar Junior College in 1939-1940. Woody loved mathematics and exceled in that subject matter. He was a Tuskegee Airman from 1942-1945 as a member of the 99th Pursuit Squadron and part of the 332nd Fighter Group. He continued on as a pilot and flight instructor through the years 1945-1972. Woody married his sweetheart from Dunbar High School, Daisy Juanita McMurray, and they had four children together, Marcia Juanita Crockett, Rosemary Faye Crockett, Woodrow Wilson Crockett Jr., and Kathleen Yvonne Crockett.

The distinguished “Tuskegee Airman” were a group of primarily African Americans serving in the U.S. military during WW II. This included navigators, bombardiers, mechanics, instructors, crew chiefs, nurses, cooks, and other support personnel. The group of pilots were the first African Americans to serve in that role for the U.S. military forces. Woody was one of the 922 distinguished pilots with the Tuskegee Airman. He earned his wings of gold in March 1943 as the 79th Tuskegee graduate that earned the coveted designation.

Awards and Honors

Awards and Honors include: Congressional Gold Medal (2007), Distinguished Flying Cross, Presidential Unit Citation, Soldiers medal for Bravery (2), Air Medal with 4 oak leaf clusters, Meritorious Service Medal (MSM), inducted into the Arkansas Aviation Hall of Fame (1992), inducted into the Arkansas African American Hall of Fame (1995)

General Information

Woody and his fellow Tuskegee Airman were used as long-range bomber escorts for the 12th Tactical Air Force, where 66 Tuskegee Airman were killed in combat, and an additional 32 were shot down and became prisoners of war. Woody himself flew over 107 missions in just 4 months during the war and were flying against German ME-262 jet aircraft. Woody’s group never lost an escorted bomber to enemy fire.

Woody continued his military service after WWII and became a flight instructor at the same Tuskegee Institute where he was trained. He also flew during the Korean war and in the Marshall Islands during some of the atomic bomb testing that was taking place on Eniwetok island. After 30 years of dedicated service Woody Crockett retired as a Lieutenant Colonel. All told he logged over 5,000 flight hours, 149 combat missions in WW II, and 45 combat missions during the Korean War.

In an article by the Washington Post by Megan McDonough (9 Sept 2012) Woody stated that he faced bigotry from his fellow Americans, “The German POWs could also go into the theater, but the black soldiers had to sit in the balcony in the back. We called it the Crow’s Nest. Things weren’t too glamorous.”

In 1994 Woody was hand-selected by President Clinton to accompany him at the 50th anniversary and commemoration of the Victory in Europe (VE) day celebration.

A quote from Woody Crockett during an interview when asked about the racial injustices that he endured, “I could’ve spent the rest of my life feeling resentment and would have ended up doing nothing. If we would have waited until the playing field was level, we would have never gotten into the game.”

VE Day (50th Anniversary, Woody’s Speech)

GENERAL KICKLIGHTER: Next, I’d like to introduce Colonel Woody Crockett. Colonel Woody Crockett started his career as a young cannoneer in a field artillery battalion and he was selected to go to flight candidate school and became a Tuskegee Airman. And if you flew 50 combat missions you were eligible to come home, and he has got just a wonderful story. Colonel Crockett, please.

COLONEL CROCKETT: I spent two years in the 349th Field Artillery at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. I must say that was the blacks’ first field artillery in the regular Army, from 1940-’42. Due to economic reasons — all black outfit — white officers, a lieutenant’s pay was $125 a month, and a private’s pay was $21 a month. The Army Air Corps put up a sign in the room that said be a pilot bombardier or navigator and earn $245 per month. Ladies and gentlemen, that got my attention.  I applied for the aviation program, was accepted, went to Tuskegee. I didn’t know about the big fight they had that blacks could not get in the Army Aviation Corps. They finally agreed to have one squadron, the 99th Pursuit Squadron that you hear a lot of.

A student, Yancy Williams, that attended Howard University, sued the War Department to allow blacks to get into the Army Aviation Corps.  We only wanted an opportunity to show what we could do. We could do anything that anyone else could do. I was in the 12th class. All the blacks attended school at Tuskegee. The airfield was just about nine miles from Tuskegee Institute. The primary phase was with black instructors, and then we went back to the air base for basic and advanced training.

They graduated over 900 black pilots from that school. I’m number 79. I was in the class 43-C, the 12th.class. — Four of the cadets were in the 1st class; graduated on the 7th of March 1942. We trained in Tuskegee, but most of the training was done at — Field. The 99th went to North Africa the month after I finished flying school, which was in March 1943. They left in April and went to North Africa. Weren’t received very well by a unit. They switched units and they did well.

The 332nd trained during the entire year of 1943 in –Michigan, flying the P-40, P-39, used the P-47 Thunderbolt for high altitude target work. Arrived in Naples in late January. I’d expected to spend 30 days in orientation and then to come back, but the relieving unit could not go home until they checked us out. The fourth day after I got off the boat I flew my first mission.

As the General said, 50 missions was a tour of duty. In four months, I flew 107 missions in Naples in a P-39. We knew the Tuskegee Airmen was an experiment and we were going to make it work. We continued to fly. The best thing that happened to us was that the 15th Air Force, General –needed long-range escort to protect his 15th Air Force bombers, the B-24s and B-17s. German fighters were having a field day on the 8th Air Force and the 15th Air Force because our fighters had insufficient range to accompany the bombers to the target. So the P-51s solved that problem because it had 275-gallon external tanks. And that was my dream airplane. We were known as the Red Tails. Everyone had distinctive tail markings.

Accomplishments by the 332nd –the 99th finally joined us in July 1944, and we made a first squadron group. Normally, you only had three squadrons in the group. Things that we accomplished: The 99th shot down about 16 airplanes over Anzio in a few days just before we arrived. We also sank or destroyed flying the P-47 in Triesta Harbor with machine gun fire only. We also strafed the radar sites in Southern France, I think it was on the 12th of August, supposedly two days before General Patton invaded Southern France with the 7th Army. The theory was that we could damage the radar sites, the General Patton could go aboard with many less casualties. We lost six pilots on that mission, but we think it was very successful.

Also, we escorted the bombers on the 24th of March. And I heard some mention of that a minute ago. We escorted the bombers, B-17s, to Berlin. General–Commander General of the 15th Air Force, wanted to let everyone know that he could hit Berlin from the south. We picked up the bombers 600 miles from base, escorted them to Berlin. One of the units to relieve us was late arriving. We had reequipped the airplanes from 110-gallon external tanks to 110-gallon tanks (?) so we had lots of fuel. We shot down three ME-262s over Berlin flying Mustangs when the German twin-engine jet 262 had 125, or 50-mile speed advantage on us.

After spending an extra 30 minutes over Berlin we retired and came all the way back, 800 miles, back to Italy. The group contributed 1,578 missions. We flew 15,553 sorties–that’s one pilot, one aircraft flying a combat mission. So that was our contribution, I think, to the war effort.

Where was I on V-E Day? I was on the high seas. I ended up flying 149 missions. The squadron commander finally let me come home, and the thing that I remember is looking at the map. If you kept up with the news, you could see that Germany had North Africa, all of Europe under their control to see that whole thing shrink, and on V-E Day, why, it went to nothing. That I remember most about V-E Day. I was on the high seas and came back stateside. Thank you very much.

(Applause.)

GENERAL KICKLIGHTER: Our next veteran, Lt. Gen. Orwin Talbott, was a young captain off the coast of Normandy –to the land when his ship was sunk out from under him. And with that, I’ll let him pick up the story and tell us what he did and where he was. General Talbott.

GENERAL TALBOTT: First, I’d like to say it’s a privilege to appear on a platform with Colonel Crockett, a distinguished representative of the Tuskegee Airmen. So, it’s a privilege to be with you.