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Brigadier General Charles McGee (Photo USAF)

Charles Edward McGee, born on December 7, 1919, passed away in his sleep on Sunday the 16th of January 2022, aged 102. A member of the famous Tuskegee Airmen, he was deployed in  February 1944 with the 302nd Fighter Squadron of the 332nd Fighter Group, which was then based in Italy. Flying the P-39 Airacobra, P-47 Thunderbolt and finally the P-51 Mustang, he flew 137 combat missions and was credited with one aerial victory and a shared aerial victory before returning to the US in December 1944.

After the war, he remained with the US Air Force and flew another 100 combat missions in the Korean War, still flying the P-51 Mustang. During the Vietnam war, he commanded the 16th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron flying the RF-4C Phantom II and flew another 172 combat missions.

Charles McGee standing by his P-51 Mustang named “Kitten” in 1944 (Photo USAF)

His total of 409 combat missions is one of the highest ever achieved by an American pilot. He retired from the Air Force in 1973, after 30 years of active service. After his military retirement he occupied various positions in aviation and finished the college degree which he had to give up on during World War II.

McGee’s P-51C Mustang “Kitten” (Artwork Gaëtan Marie)

He married Frances Nelson in 1942. The couple had three children, ten grandchildren and (as of today) 14 great-grandchildren. Frances passed away in 1994. Mc Gee was Christian and very active with his local church.

Our thoughts and prayers go to Charles McGee’s family and friends.

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Left to right: Alwayne Dunlap, Lawrence E. Dickson, Wilmeth W. Sidat Singh and Elmer L. Gordon in 1942 at the Tuskegee Army Flying School (Photo US Air Force)

The remains found at a crash site in Hohenturn, Austria, could be those of Captain Lawrence E. Dickson, who disappeared in his P-51 Mustang on 23 December 1944, during his 68th combat mission with the 100th Fighter Squadron. The US Defence POW/MIA Accounting Agency emphasize that they are still testing the remains but there is circumstantial evidence that this is the site where Captain Dickson crashed.

Lawrence Dickson was born in South Carolina on 1 January 1920. He was decorated multiple times during his service, earning the Air Medal with 4 Oak Leaf clusters, the Distinguished Flying Cross and Purple Heart among others.

Sources:

• The Washington Post
• History.com

Continue reading]]> Lovell Steward (25 February 1917 – 17 December 2014) was a member of the famed “Tuskegee Airmen” during World War II, and flew 143 combat missions in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations in 1944 in the P-39 Airacobra, P-40 Warhawk and P-51 Mustang.

After his military discharge in 1946, he returned to Los Angeles with his wife to buy a house but they were not able to secure a mortgage because they were black. Because of this, he went to real estate school and obtained a real estate license. In the 1950s he helped to integrate parts of Los Angeles by facilitating home sales.

As a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, he received the Congressional Gold Medal in 2007.