During my travails, I have had the privilege of meeting several of the Tuskegee airmen. The gentlemen in the photo is Mr. Luther Smith of Philadelphia. What a fine gentleman, friend, and outstanding lecturer. Luther was brought down while on escort duty over Austria, and the bailout resulted in some very severe orthopedic damage which he was able to overcome. After the war, he worked as an engineer for General Electric, I believe. I wish him well at tomorrow's inauguration. God bless........ Fix
Gage: A few years back, I was the host of a seminar presented by several Tuskegee gentlemen. I was startled when one of my 'heroes' decided to attend via aid of a walker, Mr. Charles 'A-Train' Dryden. He could hardly ambulate, and was only able to scribble his signature in my book due to a recent stroke. Mr. Dryden, of Atlanta, recently died. The group of airmen included Charles, Luther, Alexander Jefferson [another POW like Luther (although Luther spent much of his time in hospital)], Gene Richardson, and Henry Moore (a B25 groudcrewman). At the end of the presentation which was full of remarkable emotion and warmth, the crowd of about 300 people shouted for more, more, more -they wouldn't let go. The emotion and joy of the crowd was palpable, thick, and I believe the people, many constituting young families with little kids, sensed that here were people who faced more than most can imagine or even endure, and based on their excellence, contributed to where America fines itself today, all for the betterment of our nation. I know my own presentation herein is a bit syrupy, but it is what it is. I take nothing away from any veteran of the era, but these folks were served a double whammy and endured the insults, threats, and hatred with aplomb and equanimity unimagined by most. Fixel
Tuskegee Airman Eugene Theodore Fixel: I am trying to get info on a 2nd Lt Eugene Theodore who got his wings onn 20 Nov 44, SN 083091. He was from Trinidad but I have no other info as to which sqn, aircraft etc he served in. Can you help? regards, Jerome
Hi Jerome ! I don't know if you've seen these sites already but you may gets some clues from here ! Theodore, Eugene G. 44-I-SE 11/20/1944 2nd Lt. 0839091 Port of Spain Trin. Jan J. Safarik: Air Aces Home Page Tuskeegee Airmen Tuskegee Airmen Facts Annie
I got this but I couldn't get it to open up ..... maybe you can ! Eugene G Theodore Birth Date - 9 Nov 1921 Death Date - 31 Dec 2004 Person Full name - Eugene G Theodore Residence Last Residence - Laguna Woods, CA Last Name: theodore, All: eugene
Thanks Annie. Had already checked out the 1st 3 sites. The Eugene Theodore mentioned is another - different place of birth and service number. Many thanks just the same.
Jerome: My pleasure to look into this via the Philadelphia chapter. Give me a few days. Cheerio, Fixel
Jerome: I called up the local chapter of the Airmen and checked many archives. Both sources, aside from including him in the list of flyers, fail to provide any further information. This seems a rather tough one. I will talk with some of the Gentlemen in the next few weeks and will ask them, if by chance, they ever interacted with Mr. Theodore during the war. Sorry. F
Have you tried to get his service records Jerome ? .... his enlistment is here ! NARA - AAD - Display Full Records - Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, ca. 1938 - 1946 (Enlistment Records) Annie
Annie: I did several permutation searches on the NARA site - Enlisted & Reserve Officers listings. The only hit I get On Eugene G Theodore gives a different serial number. I am wondering if the Americans allocate a different SN on commissioning? or maybe the SN given in the book is incorrect or his is one of the many records destroyed in the 1973 fire. Ah well....
