FORT MEADE, Md. (Army News Service, April 20, 2015) -- Seven decades ago, a young, African-American U.S. Army Air Forces Soldier, 1st Lt. Bob Friend, flew bomber escort duty over Germany as part of the 332nd Fighter Group, aka, Tuskegee Airmen.
Today, 93-year-old retired Lt. Col. Friend is still on call, supporting today's Soldiers in whatever way he can.
The name Tuskegee Airmen was given to the all-black fighter and bomber pilots and ground crew who trained at Tuskegee Army Air Field and fought during World War II in the European Theater. Friend was in the 332nd from 1942 to 1945.
What makes the Tuskegee Airmen unique is that the armed forces were still segregated at the time -- as was much of the country -- and the notion of having black fighter pilots was unheard of. Most African-Americans who served, did so in supporting units, not in frontline roles.
In 2013, Maj. Laytonya Carter was an ROTC instructor at Tuskegee University in Tuskegee Alabama. She and several other Tuskegee Airmen visited her cadets and spent time with them, inspiring and motivating them as they began their Army careers.
"It was an exciting time for all of us," said Carter, who is now commander of the 160th Military Police Battalion. "I never thought I'd get the chance to visit with Tuskegee Airmen again."
But she would.
Earlier this month, Maj. Gen. Phillip Churn and about 75 of his officers, including Carter, were at their yearly training brief in Joint Forces Training Base, Los Alamitos, California.
Churn, who is commander of the 200th Military Police Division at Fort Meade, Maryland, found out through one of his former battalion commanders living in southern California that Friend was in the area and would be happy to have lunch with him.
Unfortunately, Churn said he had to decline the invite because of the yearly training brief.
But Churn said he couldn't pass up the opportunity to visit with the Tuskegee Airman, as eight years earlier he said he met with another Tuskegee Airmen and the experience was rewarding and unforgettable.
So Churn invited Friend over for the yearly training brief lunch April 9.
None of the officers were expecting the visit, Churn said. "It was a total surprise for everyone."
Friend spoke for about 45 minutes and took questions from the Soldiers.
Churn said one of the anecdotes Friend gave really stuck with him.
He told the story of how their planes were not as fast as the German jets so they had to find innovative ways in which to engage the German aircraft, Churn recounted. None of the allied forces had jets, just propeller-driven planes which were much slower.
Their solution was to allow the Germans to burn out most of their jet fuel before beginning their attack, Churn said. The German Me-262 Messerschmitt were notorious gas-guzzlers.
Another tactic was to get high above them out of sight and then dive down on the unsuspecting Germans, Churn said.
"Innovation is one of the things the Army talks about today," Churn said, as in the Army Operating Concept, winning in a complex world. "It struck me that it's all about being innovative as leaders in a resource-constrained environment. It's the people, not necessarily the technology, that give Soldiers the edge."
Churn said he's seen firsthand how innovative his Soldiers can be. For instance, one of his battalion commanders wanted to keep his Soldiers more engaged and interested in their monthly training, so he opened up their equipment storage, pulling out vehicles and gear normally used for annual training.
It may seem like something small, Churn said, but morale went way up as did readiness, since the Soldiers now get to use their equipment on a more frequent basis. The battalion commander shared that with the other commanders, he added.
Carter said what impressed her most when meeting Friend was his telling them that Tuskegee University during World War II was multiracial as far as students and faculty. Most think of it as an all-black university. Today, it's still diverse.
So what Friend was saying, is, we're all in the fight together, irrespective of color or other group status, she said.
Lt. Col. James Ryan, chief of Operations, 200th MP Command, said he too was surprised and taken aback by Friend's visit with them.
For Ryan, Friend's visit was especially poignant because he's a military history and aviation buff. Ryan said he's talked to countless World War II aviators, but never a Tuskegee Airman.
During the question and answer with Friend, Ryan asked what types of planes he flew.
Friend said they started with P-39 Airacobras then moved up to the P-47 Thunderbolts and at the end of the war they had P-51 Mustangs.
One of the things Ryan said he didn't know is that some of the Tuskegee Airmen, including Friend, fly bomber escort out of Italy. The 2012 movie, "Red Tails," starring Cuba Gooding Jr. and Gerald McRaney, had them flying out of France -- which some of them did but not Friend.
Incidentally, the movie was named that due to the fact that Friend's squadron flew aircraft with tails painted red. Other squadrons had other colors and one squadron even had checkered tails.
Two of the things that stood out about Friend's meeting with them, Ryan said, is that he has humor and swagger, two of the characteristics he said he's seen in all of the World War II aviators he's met.
"You probably had to have humor to survive the horrific situations they were in," he said. "I think you had to develop a sense of humor or go nuts."
And, Friend's humor has stuck with him.
Ryan related that Friend told them that "'one of the advantages the Germans had was if you shot down a German, that just meant he was going to be late for supper,' since he was flying over home territory and assuming he bailed out safely. 'When we got shot down, we became POWs.'"
Another question Ryan asked is how many air victories he had. "He just kind of skirted the topic and it seemed he didn't want to brag. Fighter pilots tend to downplay their role."
Churn too said Friend downplayed the role he had in winning the war. He said their duty was to support the bombers so they could deliver their payloads. "Bombers won the war. We were just there to support," Churn related Friend's telling.
Churn said he sees a parallel with the Army Reserve being there to support the rest of the Army and the combatant commanders. "It's a total Army commitment. The active force can't do it all by themselves. They also need us as well as the Guard."
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