Wings for This Man: Tuskegee Airmen - Narrated by Ronald Reagan (1945)

WWII films: http://thefilmarchived.blogspot.com/search/label/World%20War%20II

The Tuskegee Airmen is the popular name of a group of African American pilots who fought in World War II. Formally, they were the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group of the U.S. Army Air Corps.

The Tuskegee Airmen were the first African American military aviators in the United States armed forces. During World War II, African Americans in many U.S. states still were subject to racist Jim Crow laws. The American military was racially segregated, as was much of the federal government. The Tuskegee Airmen were subject to racial discrimination, both within and outside the army. Despite these adversities, they trained and flew with distinction. Although the 477th Bombardment Group "worked up" on North American B-25 Mitchell bombers, they never served in combat; the Tuskegee 332nd Fighter Group was the only operational unit, first sent overseas as part of Operation Torch, then in action in Sicily and Italy, before being deployed as bomber escorts in Europe where they were particularly successful in their missions.

The Tuskegee Airmen initially were equipped with Curtiss P-40 Warhawks fighter-bomber aircraft, briefly with Bell P-39 Airacobras (March 1944), later with Republic P-47 Thunderbolts (June--July 1944), and finally the fighter group acquired the aircraft with which they became most commonly associated, the North American P-51 Mustang (July 1944). When the pilots of the 332nd Fighter Group painted the tails of their P-47's red, the nickname "Red Tails" was coined. Bomber crews applied a more effusive "Red-Tail Angels" sobriquet. * Wings for This Man (1945), a propaganda short about the Tuskegee Airmen, was produced by the First Motion Picture Unit of the Army Air Forces. The film was narrated by Ronald Reagan. * The Tuskegee Airmen (1996), a film starring Laurence Fishburne, was produced and aired by HBO. * "The Tuskegee Airmen", an episode of the documentary TV series Dogfights, was originally aired on the History Channel on December 6, 2007. * The Tuskegee Airmen (1997) are represented in the G.I. Joe action figure series. * The Wild Blue: The Men and Boys who Flew the B-24s over Germany (2001), a book by Stephen Ambrose, describes the Tuskegee Airmen in a tribute to their achievements. * Hart's War is a 2002 film about a Tuskegee Airman accused of murdering another American serviceman in a German POW Camp * In Aaron McGruder's television series, The Boondocks, a main character and his friend being former Tuskegee Airmen is central to the plot of the episode Wingmen. * Silver Wings & Civil Rights: The Fight to Fly (2004) is documentary that was the first film to feature information regarding the "Freeman Field Mutiny", the struggle of 101 African-American officers arrested for entering a white officer's club. * Red Tail Reborn is a documentary film about the restoration of an airplane that was flown by the Tuskegee Airmen and its use as a flying memorial to them. * Red Tails is a film about the Tuskegee Airmen being developed by George Lucas for release in 2011. * Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009) prominently features the Tuskegee Airmen. One of the Airmen, played by Keith Powell, narrates the group's activities in a stentorian voice ("The Tuskegee Airmen are on the runway once again!"). Another one of the Airmen (Craig Robinson) says to Amelia Earhart (Amy Adams), "A lot of people didn't think we could fly, either ... thanks for clearing the runway for us."

Wings for this Man is a propaganda film produced in 1945 by the U.S. Army Air Forces First Motion Picture Unit about the Tuskegee Airmen, the first unit of African-American pilots in the US military.

The film begins with dramatic footage of aerial combat over Italy, showing an outnumbered American squadron successfully dogfighting a Luftwaffe formation. When the pilots land they step out and are revealed to be black; the narrator emphasises this when he stops to let the pilots speak highlighting their thick dialect.

The picture then tells the story of the Tuskegee Airmen, starting with the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama and the founding of the airstrip near it. The narrator notes that the airmen had to overcome exceeding odds to get the unit created and notes that "there was misunderstanding, distrust and prejudice that had to be cleared away" before the unit could form. A rather standard training/combat/casualty sequence then follows, culminating in the third anniversary celebration of the unit followed by a parade.

While not explicitly mentioning racism the narration does go further than most wartime propaganda stating that "one thing was proved here: that you can't judge a man by the color of his eyes or the shape of his nose" and that "these men were pioneers, and pioneers never have it easy."

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[IceManLikeGervin]

Excellent upload- could have done without hearing Reagan's voice though.lol

[sirthor00]

This is a reminder to me of how politicized things are how that is really a major cause of the constant tensions and problems. If let to evolve I believe in mankind's ability to grow together, add the politics and those who are obsessed with agendas and power and you have a recipe for all the crap we see right now, because the truth is the ruling class need the class division and prejudices to get and keep their power, you can never have equality by punishing one side to give to another.

[justice4all]

All black ppl want is the truth, thanks for upload

[peteymac10]

I love how this news reel tries not to mention race. "The color of his eyes"? lol Love the legacy of them though....

[kerzo23]

The Tuskegee Airmen are on the march once again