Charles W. Dryden was a Tuskegee Airman, author, and professor. Born on September 16, 1920 in New York City, Dryden was the son of Jamaican immigrant parents Charles Levy Tucker Dryden, a World War I veteran and teacher, and Violet Adina Buckley Dryden, also a … Read MoreCharles Walter Dryden (1920-2008)
Herman Barnett, a physician, civil rights activist, and Tuskegee Airman achieved a significant number of “firsts” in Texas history. Born on January 22, 1926 in Austin, Texas, Barnett was the son of Hencil Barnett and Lula Searcy Barnett. After graduating from Phyllis Wheatley High School, … Read MoreHerman Aladdin Barnett, III (1926-1973)
Wilmeth Webb, born February 13, 1918 in Washington, D.C., become the first star African American athlete at Syracuse University. His father, Elias Webb, died when Wilmeth was young, and his mother, Pauline Webb, remarried. Her new husband, Dr. Samuel Sidat-Singh, was a medical student from India. He adopted Wilmeth, … Read MoreWilmeth Sidat-Singh (1918-1943)
Charles Edward Anderson, meteorologist, Air Force officer, and weather officer, was born August 13, 1919 in the inner suburbs of St. Louis, Missouri on a farm in University City. Both his mother and father were from Mississippi. Anderson resided in St. Louis until he graduated the valedictorian of the Sumner High … Read MoreCharles Edward Anderson (1919-1994)
Geologist and college administrator Randolph W. Bromery was born in Cumberland, Maryland, on January 18, 1926, the son of Lawrence Randolph Bromery and Edith Edmonson Bromery. Graduating at the top of his high school class in 1942, he briefly worked as a machinist in Detroit, Michigan, before entering … Read MoreRandolph Wilson Bromery (1926-2013)
Police official, business leader, and civil rights advocate Elbert T. Hudson was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, on November 16, 1920. Three years later, his family moved to Los Angeles, California. In 1924, his father, H. Claude Hudson, became president of the local chapter of the … Read MoreElbert T. Hudson (1920-2017)
Esteban Hotesse was the only Dominican-born member of the famed Tuskegee Airmen, as well as one of the few people born in a Spanish-speaking nation to serve the United Stated during World War II. Hotesse was born on February 11, 1919, in the town of … Read MoreEsteban Hotesse (1919-1945)
Sam Martin Bruce was born on December 7, 1915, in Houston, Texas. Bruce’s father died when he was a young boy. His mother remarried and the family relocated to Seattle, Washington. In 1933, Bruce graduated from Garfield High School and soon enrolled at North Carolina … Read MoreSamuel (Sam) Bruce Martin (1915-1944)
Lieutenant Colonel Eldridge F. Williams was one of the first trainers of Tuskegee Airmen. Williams was born in Harris, Washington County, Texas on November 2, 1917, the son of cotton sharecroppers Ora and E.D. Williams who eventually moved to Kansas. Williams finished high school and … Read MoreEldridge F. Williams (1917-2015)
Attorney, civil rights activist, and medical expert Raymond L. Johnson Sr. was born in Providence, Rhode Island, on July 31, 1922 to Jacob and Lelia Johnson. After graduating from high school, Johnson attended Howard University in Washington, D.C. When World War II began, he was … Read MoreRaymond L. Johnson Sr. (1922-2011)
