著者

重宗 弘子

出版者

東洋英和女学院大学

雑誌

東洋英和大学院紀要 (ISSN:13497715)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.5, pp.107-119, 2009-03-15

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Although Black Americans had long served in the racially segregated United States Army prior to World WarII, there were no Black pilots in the Army Air Force (AAF) or its immediate predecessor, the Air Corps. TheAAF resisted previous efforts to enlist Black airmen with the claim that there were no Black pilots in theUnited States. Previous efforts to enlist Black airmen were met with the claim within the War Departmentand the AAF in general that Black Americans lacked the aptitude to be military pilots. It was not until thepassage of the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 that the AAF, along with other military services,was required to enlist Black males in proportion to their percentage (about 10 percent) of the total population.According to Charles Dryden, Tuskegee Airmen were individuals who were involved in the so-calledTuskegee Experiment by the U.S. War Department to train Black Americans to fly and to maintain airplanesin flying condition, from 1941 to 1946, including persons stationed or employed at Tuskegee Army Air Fieldand / or Moton Field, in various roles and statures: flying officers, nonflying officers, nurses, aviation cadets,noncommissioned officers, enlisted men and women, and civilians. However, according to LeRoy Gillead, theperiod definition is not from 1941 to 1946, but from 1939 to 1949. It was in 1939 that Black Americans werepromoted in aviation through Public Law 18 and the Civil Pilot Training Act. Further, 1949 was the year inwhich many Tuskegee Airmen left Lockborne Air Force Base and were transferred to white Air Force Base.Black Soldiers in World War II had to fight against enemies overseas and discrimination within the UnitedStates. In 1939, there were 1359 white officers in the Army, but only 5 Black officers. Three were chaplainsand the other two were Benjamin Davis, Sr. and Benjamin Davis, Jr. Almost 1000 Black Americans finishedPilot Training. 450 Black Pilots and many Black Ground Supports went overseas in combat roles. TheTuskegee Airmen who remained in the United States fought against discrimination in incidents such as theFreeman Field Incident. The Tuskegee Airmen fought for the advancement of the status of Black Americans20 years before the Civil Rights Movement in the United States.