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During World War II, Charles McGee's 332nd Fighter Squadron never lost a bomber to enemy fighters in more than 200 bomber escort missions - a feat unequaled in U.S. military history.
But upon his return to the States, McGee wasn't welcomed as a war hero. Like most African-Americans of the era, he faced racism and segregation. He couldn't eat at many restaurants or sleep at most motels. His family couldn't even accompany him on his first post-war military assignment because no one would rent or sell him a house. The treatment was a hard pill for McGee to swallow after putting his life on the line as a member of the famed Tuskegee Airmen, the nation's first African-American fighter pilots.
"During World War II, blacks were treated better in Europe than in the States," he says. "In Europe, we could go anywhere and do anything without experiencing blatant racism. Black soldiers enjoyed Europe because they weren't treated as inferior."
Through the years, McGee has shared his experiences with audiences across the nation as president of Tuskegee Airmen Inc., an organization dedicated to preserving the heritage of the African-American pilots and providing a pathway for future minority aviators.
The silver-haired hero, who retired from the Air Force in 1973 at the rank of colonel, captivated students with detailed descriptions of planes and their capabilities and intimate facts about important events. The Tuskegee Airmen, so named because the men were trained at an airfield near Tuskegee, Ala., only in recent decades have been recognized for their military accomplishments and bravery.
"When I entered the military, blacks were thought to have smaller brains than whites and lack the moral character and leadership characteristics needed to fly," McGee says. "The Tuskegee Airmen destroyed those myths and proved that talent doesn't consider skin color or national origin."
After WWII, McGee went on to serve in the Korean and Vietnam wars and in 1972 became the first African-American to take command of a stateside Air Force wing and base when he was chosen to lead Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base in Belton, Mo.
The Templeton Scholars say they were enthralled to hear about McGee's experiences.
"I had already known about the Tuskegee Airmen, but Col. McGee gave me a different insight," says Regis Saxton, a criminology major from Richmond Heights, Ohio. "The things he endured make me realize how much easier I have it now."
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Sharing the Tuskegee tale
This past spring, he told his story to Ohio University's Templeton Scholars. The scholarship program, now in its second year, is designed to attract exceptional minority students to campus. In preparation for his visit, students read "Tuskegee Airman: The Biography of Charles E. McGee" by McGee's daughter, Charlene Smith, associate dean for administration and finance at Ohio University's College of Osteopathic Medicine.