Gilbert Cargill
June 4, 1916 – July 15, 2004
Gilbert Cargill encountered his first airplane as a youth in Oberlin, Ohio, when a biplane landed in his neighbor’s back yard. From that point on, he dreamed of becoming a pilot, and after that first encounter, he set out to fly.
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During World War II, he served as a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, the first black pilots program at Moton Field in Alabama. There he was a primary flight instructor and trained many of the 992 African-American combat pilots.
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Edward Lunda
August 14, 1923 – November 3, 2017
Lunda was born in Akron and graduated from South High School, where he set a high-jump record in 1941. He went on to letter in track at the University of Akron before he was drafted. When he saw that blacks were being recruited for aircraft combat, he signed up. While 994 black men received commissions and pilot wings between 1941 and 1946, breaking racial barriers wasn’t easy.
He continued his military career in the reserves and attained the rank of major before retiring at age 60. Lunda went on to study accounting and eventually took a job with the city of Akron. He retired from the city’s income tax department, where he was an audit officer.
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Clarence Jamison
February 25, 1918 – March 6, 2014
Lt. Col. Clarence C. Jamison was a pioneering Tuskegee Airman, with 22-years of military service during and after World War II. His journey from Little Rock, Arkansas to Anzio, Italy and to Korea is one of historic firsts and heroic accomplishments.
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Captain Jamison would fly 67 combat missions, with perhaps the most harrowing being the time when his squadron came under fire from 22 German planes in a battle over the skies of Anzio, Italy. The gun of Captain Jamison’s P-40 Warhawk fighter plane jammed with four enemy planes firing upon him. After leading the enemy fighters on a chase, his P-40’s engine was finally hit by fire and Lt. Col. Jamison was forced to crash on the Anzio beachhead, amazingly unhurt. With Captain Jamison’s leadership, and despite the 99th being outnumbered 2-to-1, the Americans completed the mission.
Cornelius Gould
October 21, 1921 – June 18, 1996
Cornelius P. Gould, a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was a member of the group known as the Tuskegee Airman (332nd Fighter Group). After his P-51 Mustang went down over Slovakia, he was captured and imprisoned in Stalag Luft I. After the war, he returned to Pittsburgh, where he met and married his wife, Phyllis, and had four children.
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Stalag Luft I was a German World War II prisoner-of-war (POW) camp near Barth, Western Pomerania, Germany, for captured Allied airmen. The presence of the prison camp is said to have shielded the town of Barth from Allied bombing. About 9,000 airmen – 7,588 American and 1,351 British and Canadian – were imprisoned there when it was liberated on the night of 30 April 1945 by Russian troops.
Cornelius P. Gould Jr later became the Founding President of the Ohio Chapter of Tuskegee Airmen, Inc. and the author of Soldier Stories: Prisoner of War.
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Earl Roscoe Lane
July 22, 1920 – June 27, 1990
Lieutenant Earl Roscoe Lane was born in Redbird, Oklahoma, a Negro town formed after the Civil War to enable freed slaves to live in economic independence and dignity. He moved to Wickliffe when he was age ten.
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He attended Wilberforce University and Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) in Cleveland, Ohio and received a Law Degree from John Marshall Law School in Chicago, Illinois.
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On March 24, 1944, making the most of their limited advantages, pilots Charles Brantley, Earl Lane and Roscoe Brown all shot down German jets over Berlin that day, earning the all-black 332nd Fighter Group a Distinguished Unit Citation. These Black Airmen came home with 150 Distinguished Flying Crosses, a Legion of Merit, 744 Air Medals,8 Purple Hearts, 2 Soldiers Medals,14 Bronze stars, and a Red Star of Yugoslavia.
Charles Whitman Jones
October 7, 1916 – February 17, 2003
Born October 7, 1916, in Henderson, North Carolina Charles Whitman Jones
enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps
October 16, 1942, four months after
graduating from Ohio University with a Bachelors of Education Degree. He joined
the Tuskegee Airmen Class of 42F.
Jones rose to the rank of sergeant, was awarded the American Theatre Campaign
and Good Conduct medals, qualified as a marksman on the carbine rifle and
played on the Corps’ basketball and integrated baseball squads. One of his
European-American teammates, noting his athletic prowess, secured a contract
for Jones with the Salt Lake City minor league franchise before Jackie Robinson
made his major league debut. Ready to move on with his life and seeing no real
future in professional baseball, Jones declined.
Jones was honorably discharged from the Army Air Corps January 3, 1946.
Captain Erwin Bernard Lawrence
May 31, 1919 – October 4, 1944
One of the first Tuskegee graduates, Capt. Erwin B. Lawrence Jr. eventually led the 99th Fighter Squadron for six months. Lawrence of Cleveland graduated from flight training on July 3, 1942, at Tuskegee Army Air Field in Alabama. Lawrence joined the 99th Fighter Squadron, declared combat-ready on September 15.
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Lawrence led several escort missions in the following months. On Oct. 4, he led 37 P-51 Mustangs on a strafing mission at a Greek airfield at Tatoi. As Lawrence’s plane approached the target, “suddenly it flipped into a spin,” 1st Lt. Leonard M. Jackson wrote in a military report. “After about two or three turns, the plane crashed into the ground and exploded into flames.”
In 18 months of combat, Captain Lawrence flew nearly 100 missions in the P-40 and P-51 before he was killed. Lawrence is buried at the Florence American Cemetery and Memorial in Italy. According to a government database, he was awarded an Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters and a Purple Heart for his military service.
Herbert A. McIntyre
??? – 1988
Herbert Alvin McIntyre was a distinguished member of the Tuskegee Airmen, the first African-American military aviators in the United States Armed Forces during World War II. He graduated as a Second Lieutenant from the Single Engine Section Class 45-F-SE on September 8, 1945, at Tuskegee Army Air Field in Alabama. His service number was 02075541, and he hailed from Cleveland, Ohio.
During his training, McIntyre would have flown aircraft such as the Bell P-39 Airacobra, Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, and North American P-51 Mustang, which were commonly used by the Tuskegee Airmen.
While specific details of McIntyre's military service are limited, it's known that after World War II, he married Arie Griffin, whom he met during his time in Alabama. The couple settled in Cleveland's Mt. Pleasant area, where they raised four children. Arie pursued a career in nursing, obtaining multiple degrees and contributing significantly to the community
Howard Arthur Tibbs
September 24, 1919 – January 27, 1986
Howard Arthur Tibbs of Salem, Ohio, served as a member of the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II. Enlisting in 1943, he trained as an aerial reconnaissance specialist with the 619th Bombardment Squadron. Though he initially aspired to be a pilot, segregation policies steered him toward intelligence and photography. He also played tenor saxophone in military bands, performing alongside musicians like Duke Ellington.
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While stationed in the U.S., Tibbs witnessed racial injustice firsthand. In a letter to his mother, he expressed frustration over defending a country that upheld segregation. He was present during the Freeman Field Mutiny, where over 100 Black officers were arrested for resisting discrimination. After the war, Tibbs built a career with the IRS and remained active in his community.
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In 2007, Tibbs was posthumously awarded the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal. His legacy was further honored in 2023 when the Salem Post Office was renamed in his memory. His son, Philip, continues to share his story, preserving the contributions of Tuskegee Airmen in American history.
Benjamin O. Davis Jr.
December 18, 1912 – July 4, 2002
Benjamin Oliver Davis Jr. was a United States Air Force (USAF) general and commander of the World War II Tuskegee Airmen.
He was the first African-American brigadier general in the USAF. After his retirement, on December 9, 1998, he was advanced to four-star general by President Bill Clinton. During World War II, Davis was commander of the 99th Fighter Squadron and the 332nd Fighter Group, which escorted bombers on air combat missions over Europe.
Davis flew sixty missions in P-39 Airacobra, Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, P-47 Thunderbolt, and P-51 Mustang fighters and was one of the first African-American pilots to see combat. Davis followed in his father's footsteps in breaking racial barriers, as Benjamin O. Davis Sr. had been the first Black brigadier general in the United States Army.
Roy Richardson
November 9, 1929 – December 3, 2019
Colonel Roy Richardson was a proud member of the Tuskegee Airmen, the Army Air Corps’ first all-African American combat unit, whose courage and excellence helped reshape military history. After graduating from East Tech High School, he served his country during World War II, demonstrating resilience and determination at a time marked by both global conflict and racial injustice. Assigned to the 91st Strategic Air Command, he embodied the discipline and bravery that defined the Tuskegee Airmen and opened doors for future generations.
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In addition to his military service, Colonel Richardson contributed to unit morale as a woodwind musician in the 766th Army Air Corps Band. His service was later honored in 2007 when the Tuskegee Airmen collectively received the Congressional Gold Medal. Colonel Roy Richardson’s legacy endures as a symbol of honor, perseverance, and service to both country and community.
Eugene Guyton
March 14, 1923 – November 3, 2001
Eugene L. Guyton Sr. was a proud Tuskegee Airman and Flight Officer who trained at Tuskegee Army Air Field during World War II. He enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1943 and graduated as a fighter pilot with Class 44-J-SE, becoming part of the historic 99th Fighter Squadron. Although World War II ended before he flew a combat mission, his achievement as one of the nation’s first African American military aviators stood as a powerful milestone in American history.
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After his military service, Mr. Guyton carried the values of discipline, service, and leadership into his community. Through mentorship, education, and his involvement with the Tuskegee Airmen organization, he helped preserve and share the legacy of the Airmen, ensuring that their courage, perseverance, and contribution to equality would not be forgotten.
Dorothy Mcintyre
January 27, 1917 – August 30, 2015
Dorothy Layne McIntyre was a pioneering aviator and educator who broke racial and gender barriers in American aviation. Born in 1917 in Le Roy, New York, she attended West Virginia State College, where she participated in the Civilian Pilot Training Program. In 1940, she became one of the first Black women in the United States to earn a pilot’s license from the Civil Aeronautics Authority—an extraordinary achievement at a time when opportunities for women of color in aviation were severely limited.
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Though denied entry into the Women Airforce Service Pilots during World War II because of her race, McIntyre continued to serve her country through education and civic engagement. After marrying Tuskegee Airman Francis Benjamin McIntyre and settling in Cleveland, she built a career as an accountant, social worker, and teacher, later earning induction into the Cleveland Educators and Alumni Hall of Fame. Dorothy Layne McIntyre passed away in 2015 at age 98, leaving a legacy defined by courage, intellect, and lifelong commitment to equity and learning.
Arthur Sanders
March 14, 1923 – November 3, 2001
Arthur G. Saunders was a pioneering aviator and Tuskegee Airman who helped advance equality within the U.S. Army Air Corps. Born in the early 1920s, he earned his pilot’s license in 1941 and trained at Tuskegee Army Air Field, later serving as a junior officer with the 477th Bombardment Group, the nation’s only all-Black bombardment unit. Stationed at several bases across the country, including Selfridge and Freeman Fields, he experienced both the challenges and progress of a segregated military during a pivotal moment in history.
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After his honorable discharge in 1947, Saunders returned to Cleveland and established a distinguished career in architecture. In 1956, he became among the first African American architects to design buildings for the State of Ohio, breaking barriers in public service and professional practice. Through decades of work and mentorship, he left a lasting legacy of leadership and integrity. Arthur G. Saunders passed away in 2011 at age 91, remembered for a life that shaped both American aviation history and Ohio’s civic landscape.
