Eldred World War II Museum: Reflections of a Tuskegee Airman

Preserving the History of World War II

Reflections of A Tuskegee Airman

The Eldred World War II Museum

more determined," he said.

Mr. Watson said that the 99th Fighter squadron did not try to aggressively chase German
fighters that were attacking the bombers. Instead, they stayed with the formation to
prevent a second wave of German fighters from attacking while they were chasing the first
wave of planes.

During a two-day span in 1944, the Allies lost more than 120 bombers. The 99th Squadron
told a different story. While other fighter units had bomber losses as high as 34 percent,
the 99th did not lose one bomber during the war.

"There was an inborn spirit that every Tuskegee Airman had, that we were not going to
fail." Mr. Watson said, "We'd pull up alongside (the bombers) and wave. They'd be happy to
see you."

Mr. Watson contends that they were not the "foul-mouthed" people portrayed in the
movies. Most of the Tuskegee airmen were just college students.

Mr. Watson was born August 14, 1916. He lived in the South until 1927 when his family
moved to New Jersey. It was in New Jersey, near the Teterboro Airport that Mr. Watson
found his love for flying.

"I spent a lot of time at the airport. I thought that I would like to do this thing - fly
airplanes," he said.

He began his passion for flying by building model airplanes out of tissue paper, sticks and
glue. Armed with only Model Airplane News magazines, and help from his father, he learned
to make model airplanes "that would actually fly."

Mr. Watson's aspirations to fly would not materialize until he was enrolled at Howard
University to study mechanical engineering. While at Howard, President Roosevelt
authorized the Army Air Corps to form an all-African-American air unit.

After 23 years of military service, he worked for the Federal Aviation Administration for 27
years and was responsible for helping to integrate minorities into the airline work force.

Mr. Watson encouraged those in attendance to help minorities and the underprivileged to
succeed. "You do the best you can for everyone you can, and don't expect any payback."

"America is great people" he said. "God bless America."

Reprinted in part with permission from the author and the Olean Times Herald.

Retired Lt. Col. Spann Watson recently addressed a group at St.
Bonaventure University about his experiences as a WWII airman.
During World War II, Mr. Watson was one of the first Tuskegee
Airmen who flew with the 99th Fighter squadron. The pilots were
the first African-Americans to fly for the military and were highly
decorated for never losing a bomber that they were escorting. The
Tuskegee Airmen wanted to prove that the formation of an
African-American unit was not a mistake.

"Nobody would admit a black man to aviation before 1941." Because
of Hitler's advances, "they (the military) thought that they better
train all the people they could get," Mr. Watson said. Many people
thought that the Army was "foolish to let the fly. "It only made us