Tuskegee Airmen at Rockford’s Memorial Hall Feb. 9

Online Staff Report

Two documented original Tuskegee Airmen — members of the Chicago “DODO” Chapter — will appear at Rockford’s Veterans Memorial Hall, 211 N. Main St., from 1 to 4:30 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 9.

Cost to attend the event, titled “Meet the Tuskegee Airmen, A Living History,” is $5.

The airmen will give testimony of their experiences while training at Tuskegee University. Also during the event, Karyn Taylor will present a special tribute to her father, World War II liaison pilot Dr. Welton Taylor. Dr. Taylor’s book, Two Steps From Glory, will be available for purchase.

In 1939, the United States government began establishing flight schools at colleges around the nation but refused to do so at any of the black colleges, believing black men didn’t have the caliber to be fighter pilots. However, with mounting pressure, the “Tuskegee Experiment” was birthed, resulting in the establishment of a flight school at Alabama’s historic Tuskegee University on July 19, 1941.

More about the Tuskegee Airmen can be found at www.tuskegeeairmen.org. Veterans Memorial Hall can be reached at (815) 969-1999.

Posted Feb. 7, 2013