Tuskegee Airmen Col Charles McGee's P-51C "Kitten" Art Prints by Willie Jones

Description: Tuskegee Airmen Col Charles McGee's Kitten Tuskegee Airmen Col Charles McGee's Kitten P-51 Mustang, by artist Willie Jones Jr. Brigadier General Charles Edward McGee (December 7, 1919 − January 16, 2022) was an American fighter pilot who was one of the first Black American aviators in the United States military and one of the last living members of the Tuskegee Airmen. McGee first began his career in World War II flying with the Tuskegee Airmen, an all-black military pilot group at a time of segregation in the armed forces. His military aviation career lasted 30 years in which McGee flew 409 combat missions in World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam War. For his service, McGee received the Distinguished Flying Cross with two oak leaf clusters and the Bronze Star Medal, along with many other military honors. In 2007, as a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, McGee received the Congressional Gold Medal. In 2011, he was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame and in February 2020, was promoted from Colonel to Brigadier General. World War IIIn March 1942, McGee was a sophomore at the University of Illinois studying engineering. While a student he was a member of the National Society of Pershing Rifles. He also became a member of the Tau chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. Enlisting in the United States Army on October 26, 1942, in time he became part of the Tuskegee Airmen, having already earned his pilot’s wings and graduated from Class 43-F on June 30, 1943. By February 1944, McGee was stationed in Italy with the 302nd Fighter Squadron of the 332nd Fighter Group, flying his first mission on Valentine's Day. McGee flew the P-39Q Airacobra, the P-47D Thunderbolt, and the P-51 Mustang fighter aircraft, escorting B-24 Liberator and B-17 Flying Fortress bombers over Germany, Austria, and the Balkans. During missions, he sometimes also engaged in low level strafing attacks over enemy airfields and rail yards. On August 23, 1944, while escorting B-17s over Czechoslovakia, McGee engaged a formation of Luftwaffe fighters and shot down a Focke-Wulf FW-190. Now a captain, McGee had flown a total of 137 combat missions and was returned to the United States on December 1, 1944, to become an instructor for the B-25 Mitchell bombers flown by the 477th Bomb Group (Medium), another unit of the Tuskegee Airmen. He remained at Tuskegee Army Air Field until 1946, when the base was closed. McGee told the BBC in 2007 that "[Our success] made it possible for President Truman to issue orders mandating all of the service to integrate", referring to Executive Order 9981 that President Harry Truman signed into law in 1948, which ended racial segregation in the United States Armed Forces. Print measures 8.5X11.

Price: 14.99 USD

Location: Traverse City, Michigan

End Time: 2025-01-26T21:23:45.000Z

Shipping Cost: 8.95 USD