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The Tuskegee Airmen Research Project and Seminar
by John Adelmann

The Airmen Respond

Sadly, most of what we teachers find stuffed in our pigeon holes at school quickly winds up in the circular file, er, recycle bin. But when hand-written envelopes began to appear in my box addressed to "Mr. Tony Culpepper," with return addresses from Airmen whose names appeared on the Colonel's list (and as more students were discovering, in books about the Airmen), I had all I could do to keep from opening them up myself. I thought, those are autographed letters! If not already historicallv significant, they will one day be valuable to historians and collectors.

Tony was soon getting several letters a week, so Tim and I had him pick out a few choice responses to read to the entire class. Tony would go on to get a 50% response to his original mailing, a phenomenal accomplishment. Several respondents even made duplicates of Tony's questionnaire and sent them to other fellow Airmen - a testimony to the willingness of Airmen nationwide to contribute to our body of knowledge.
As Tony leafed through his groaning notebook, everyone sat rapt with attention. "Why would you want to fight for a country that didn't support you?" was one of many insightful questions Tony asked after talking with Joey Burns. "This Airman, a Mr. Watson, he writes that it was his country, and the letters in 'his country' are all capitalized," Tony told his mates, holding the letter in front of him. "He really wanted to prove himself by learning how to fly." Laughing with anticipation, Tony sifted through several pages of the questionnaire and then continued, "Oh yeah, here it is. I asked him what went through his mind when he first soloed at Tuskegee. Mr. Watson says here, 'My only thought was, how in the hell am I going to land this thing in one piece?"' Students who flew with the EAA laughed the loudest on that one. Tony continued, "He said that he is very glad we are doing this research." Here was an actual letter, written by an actual Airman, with actual answers to our questions. No longer depending on secondary sources of information for their study, now the students were making personal connections with the men who made history.

Then Tony dropped a bombshell on all of us. "And Mr. Watson says here in his personal letter to me that he wants to buy a copy of the research when it's done." We had just made our first sale of a book that wasn't even in its final form yet!

Organizing the Material

Reading the Airmen's responses to the class was one thing, but Tony needed to organize the questions and answers to make for interesting reading for a larger audience. At first, he had no clue how to interpret the data, so I took one of the answer sheets (most of the Airmen wrote out their responses on the lines Tony provided), and composed a kind of written interview for his consideration. I explained how he could creatively have the Airmen "speak" as if they were sitting across the table from him. That sole example was all Tony needed. Once again, we saw him fleetingly for morning attendance, and then he was off. When the 230-page book was printed, Tony's individual contribution came in at over 60 pages. Incidentally, I made a contact with William Holton, the historian of the Tuskegee Airmen Oral History Documentation Project at Howard University in Washington, D. C. He was very much impressed with the sample of work Tony sent him. As a result of Tony's diligence and attention to accuracy and detail, Bill Holton has entered all the Airmens' interviews compiled by Tony, as well as our research book, into the national database for the historians of tomorrow to pore over.

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Expanding the Curriculum

As the third quarter got underway in mid-January, Shirley Deppe, Central's art teacher, joined our team. She specifically tailored one of her art classes to focus on creating decorations for the seminar. According to Shirley, the students who signed up for this class really wanted to be there. "They already knew about the Tuskegee project because of the publicity and excitement it was generating throughout the school, and this gave students who otherwise would not have been able to join the research class the chance to become participants and contributors," she told me. "This was something the students were really interested in. They knew early on that they would be in charge, and would be given the responsibility to decorate the ballroom. The timing was perfect because we had just enough days to get these projects done. When we were down to about a week to go, the tension was pretty obvious, but I channeled it to step up the production. Also, I was relieved that I didn't have to know everything about the Airmen in order to make this class a success. It all worked out very well."
Shirley and her students visited the seminar site and came back brimming with ideas. They acted right away and developed an expense budget After all, art supplies cost money. At one point, her class came to our room and made a formal proposal for a little funding. To be honest, Tim and I hadn't included decorations in our original expense projections. However, the after-breakfast, after lunch and after-dinner addresses delivered by members of our seasoned "Tuskegee Airmen Speaker's Bureau" by now had generated well over $3,500 in contributions; the research students had no problem approving a new $200 art budget account. After a brief discussion, the vote was unanimous. "Hey, no problem! We'll make that up by selling a few books," cracked Drew. We all laughed, but not because it was beyond the realm of possibility any more.

Shirley's students decided to make large cardboard silhouettes of Red-Tailed P-51 Mustangs which they hung like mobiles from the ballroom ceiling. These artworks became genuine historic souvenirs for seminar attenders who asked permission to take them down at the end of the evening for the Airmen to autograph. The art class also designed the placards that helped identify the student work that was going to be displayed on tables, and the ballroom walls were draped with 450 soldier silhouettes and 850 medals to graphically represent what the Airmen had accomplished as a group. The students' coordinated artistic contribution made an impressive, unified statement for the entire evening. Thanks to Shirley’s hard work, the ballroom looked absolutely fabulous.

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Blending English and History

The research book was evolving into something more than just a recitation of the Airmen's wartime exploits. The students wanted to tell the whole Tuskegee story, including what race relations in America were before and during the war; what Hitler's racial policies were, and how disturbingly similar they were to what was being practiced in the States; what is the Confederate Air Force; and what it was like to fly with the EAA, to list just a few topics. But writing to be read is easier said than done.

Tim deserves the credit for being tenaciously committed to the “joy of drafts and revision." Not everyone in the class possessed outstanding composition skills, and for some students, the specter of red-ink comments on their drafts was downright discouraging. On some days, a few students wanted Tim's head on a pole, but he was able to convince one and all that we weren't writing this research book for ourselves; it was being written to tell the story of the Tuskegee Airmen, and everyone wanted to get it right.

As Tim saw it, "It is my job as a teacher of writing to assist the students in discovering their 'voice' and then giving them an audience to whom they can speak. The Tuskegee Airmen Research Project enabled me to do both. As the students uncovered information about these little-known war heroes, they developed a desire to let others know what they were finding. The students wanted to be sure that their written words were precise and accurate. Because they had made personal connections with the Airmen, their writing was rich with emotion. To get students to write, they must believe they have something to say; there was plenty to say about the Tuskegee Airmen."

When the time came to decide what the research book cover would look like, the class discussion was spirited and lengthy. Everyone seemed to have a point of view, and Tim and I were determined to hear everyone’s voice. We studied the titles of other books written about the Airmen, and then came up with The Tuskegee Airmen: Victory at Home and Abroad. It had a special ring to it. And it was ours.

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Seeing it Through

With just under a month to go, our Tuskegee account had mushroomed to a whopping $4,800 to the good. Chris and Tony teamed up to do a live interview on local radio. A video crew from Iowa Public Television returned to continue working on a feature story for the weekly show called "Living in Iowa." At this point in the year, the sight of TV cameramen and reporters at our school hardly raised an eyebrow any more.

The Telegraph Herald's weekly teen page, called "The Alt," published an article by Central's Amanda Greve and Tiffiny Green who wrote about the Airmen on the Thursday before the seminar. Titling their story "Beating the odds," Miss Amanda and Miss Tiffiny gave their readers a synopsis of their research project, a preview of what the Monday night seminar would be, and set forth the invitation to attend:

"Our Central family would like to invite you to attend this unprecedented event. In the Tuskegee Airmen Research Project, we are not only reliving history, we are making history. Come to the seminar. You might be surprised at what the Airmen and the Central students have accomplished."

Everything that seemed so impossibly out of reach just a few short months ago, now was within our grasp: the Airmen were coming. The public was behind us. The research books were printed, collated and bound. We had enough money to stuff a Mustang cockpit. Just like the Airmen, the students overcame the obstacles, and indeed had "arrived." We were feeling pretty good.

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The Tuskegee Airmen Arrive in Dubuque

Airman Joe Gomer's flight from Minneapolis arrived on Friday, February 20, about 4 PM. Russ Lewis, Chris Coffinan, Tom Kelly and Drew Brashaw were at the airport to meet him, as were the local media types, plus a reporter and photographer for the Des Moines Sunday Register. "I’m so excited about this project," gushed Chris to the local TV reporter. "I'm going to be the master of ceremonies for our Tuskegee Airmen public seminar which will be at Loras College on Monday night from 6 to 9:30 PM. I've never been so enthusiastic about anything in school like this." Way to go, Chris! He didn't miss a beat, and got in a free plug for the seminar to boot. His enthusiasm stemmed from the fact that he had worked very hard, maintained his focus, and learned from his mistakes. And he saw all of it paying off, big time.

Speaking about the Airmen to Register reporter Charles Bullard, Tom Kelly said, "They've definitely become my role model.” Tom had been in the class during the first quarter, and had graduated at the end of the third quarter. He was leaving for the Marines the day after the seminar. He continued. “When I feel down in boot camp, I'm just going to start thinking of them and I’m going to try to persevere just like they did." Through their study of the Tuskegee Airmen, the students' lives had been forever changed.

The rest of the Airmen arrived on Saturday afternoon, and many of the students were on hand to welcome them at the airport, as were several Central teachers, and more than a few local citizens who had been following our exploits from the get go. By now, the students had pictures of all the Airmen and knew them on sight. While they and their guests mingled in the airport lobby, I went away by myself in a corner and wept. In my wildest imaginings just five months ago, never could I have expected that all of this would be coming together so perfectly. All the Airmen were here. The research book was completed, and it was impressive. All the expenses were covered. The Red Tail Project account continued to grow. The students were, to say the least, engaged. The public was behind us. It was simply overpowering.

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An Overflow Crowd

No one had any idea how many people would show up at the Marie Graber Ballroom at Loras College. Our Iowa winter had been unseasonably warm; storm clouds threatened rain. And Monday night seemed a bit odd to stage an event such as this, but it's what we were offered back in September, so we took it. The doors opened promptly at 6 PM, and the crowd began to file in. The purpose of the display tables in the ballroom was to have the students share their experiences in an informal setting with the general public for about an hour before the actual seminar began. While everyone was nervous about facing the public, no one backed away from the task. These kids knew what they were talking about. Now they were the experts. Folks were coming to hear them.

Before long, most of the seats were taken, but folks kept arriving. In one corner of the ballroom sat James Flynn, a quiet young man who decided to tackle a rather challenging, technical study of the different types of aircraft flown by the Allies and the Nazis during the war. Never one to initiate a conversation in class, Mr. James nevertheless would respond thoughtfully to anything you asked of him. As the crowd grew ever larger, he appeared a little forlorn, alone in a sea of humanity, sifting behind his table with the sign that advertised, "Combat Aircaft of World War II," I decided to move in his direction. Someone intercepted me to ask where the electrical outlets were, and by the time I resumed my route to James, he had an audience of several people beginning to gather around his display. I just stood and watched. When he rose from his chair, flashed a smile and began gesturing pilot-style with his hands, I knew he wouldn't need any help from me.

The television klieg lights and the din of the crowd gave the place an expectant rally atmosphere. Present in the crowd were long-time residents of Dubuque who came to say hello to the hometown boy-made-good, Bob Martin; bomber crew veterans who came to say thank you to the men who escorted their planes to the targets and back; students from the University of Wisconsin, Platteville; students from most of Dubuque's high schools and colleges; proud family members who marveled at what their Central students had accomplished; and former GIs and aviation buffs who wanted to shake the hands of the men who flew P-51s across Europe.

As the time approached to gavel the assembly to order, every seat was filled. Five hundred chairs had been set up; at least two hundred more were brought in from other areas of the building. By the time the formal program finally began, the standing portion of the crowd was ten deep. Loras College officials later estimated the audience at nearly 900 people. That's more than four times the number of students in our entire school. At precisely 7 PM, Master of Ceremonies Christopher Coffman made his way to the podium to open the formal portion of the proceedings. The crowd noise ended abruptly. "Ladies and gentlemen, we welcome you this evening to Central Alternative High School's Tuskegee Airmen seminar," he began proudly. "We have done a lot of hard work, and we are ready to tell you what we have learned.” You said it, brother.

After a few welcoming comments by our principal and other Loras College representatives, the students, reading from well-thought out and profoundly moving speeches, introduced the Airmen and the Red Tail Project director. Each guest received a standing ovation as he took the podium and after concluding his remarks. Lee, Luther, Bob, Joe and John all praised the students for their tremendous effort in researching and presenting the Tuskegee Airmen story to the public. Each Airman shared personal wartime experiences of discrimination and combat success, and then declared that they were not bitter, but became stronger individuals for having gone through the experience. An animated John Schuck predicted, "With a little bit of luck and God's will, the Red Tail Mustang will visit Dubuque sometime during 1999." Everyone cheered. Red Tail Mustang will visit Dubuque sometime during 1999." Everyone cheered.

Part 4 The Community Responds