Those air crew and ground crew personnel associated with black flying units of the Army Air Forces (AAF) during World War II are known as the Tuskegee Airmen. On 16 January 1941, Secretary of the Army Henry L. Stimson authorized the formation of a black pursuit squadron. The 99th Pursuit (later Fighter) Squadron was activated in March 1941 and began training in separate facilities at Tuskegee, Alabama, on 15 November. The 99th Squadron, equipped with Curtiss P-40s and later Bell P-39s, was sent to French Morocco in April 1943, and it continued combat service from bases in Tunisia, Sicily, and Ramitelli, Italy. In February 1944, the 99th Squadron was joined by three other fighter squadrons, the 100th, the 301st, and the 302nd, and all four squadrons constituted the 332nd Fighter Group, commanded by Colonel (later Lieutenant General) Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. The group converted to Republic P-47s in April-May 1944 and to North American P-51s in June. Until the end of the war in Europe, it escorted Fifteenth Air Force bombers and made attacks on ground targets from its bases in Italy. The group earned a Distinguished Unit Citation for an escort mission to Berlin on 24 March 1945.

The International Museum of World War II welcomes school groups, educators, researchers, and the public from around the United States to share an overview of the personal stories of the WWII generation. Check out all our World War II Virtual Reality Films in our VR section of the museum’s theater. The International Museum of World War II is very interactive and focused on preserving these stories so that future generations don’t forget the sacrifices of all those who served in and survived WWII. It will also impart the hard lessons of war and its cost to society. The International Museum of World War II’s curriculum is built upon the 35 films The World War II Foundation has produced to date for a global television audience, as well as the artifacts of WWII, more than 600 books which chronicle the stories of that generation, and a small theater, seating 35 people, which is a central part of the museum’s visual learning component. The International Museum of World War II does not glorify war but focuses on the people and their personal stories during that time. info@wwiifoundation.org https://wwiifoundation.org/virtual-visit/