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Tuskegee Airmen to Attend Inaugural

Invitation recognizes their contribution to historic event

By Ambreen Ali, Newser User

Posted Dec 10, 2008 6:22 AM CST

(Newser) – The Tuskegee Airmen of WWII have been invited to the inauguration of the nation's first black president, the New York Times reports. Barack Obama has acknowledged his debt to the elite all-black force, whose heroes fought for a country that discriminated against them. Now in their 80s and 90s, it's unclear how many of the roughly 330 surviving members can make the trek to Washington.

"I didn’t believe I’d live long enough to see something like this," says a Tuskegee fighter pilot who flew missions over Italy. “I would love to be there, I would love to be able to see it with my own eyes.” Another called Obama’s election the "culmination" of their struggles.

[Images (3)]

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Lt. Col. John Mulzac holds his Congressional Gold Medal and a portrait of himself as he describes his days as a Tuskegee Airman. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

An Air Force veteran of the Korean War shakes hands with a surviving member of the Tuskegee Airmen who were presented with Congressional Gold Medals last year. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds)

The airmen will watch the nation's first black president be inaugurated, an event few thought they'd live to see. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

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Even the Nazis asked why they would fight for a country that treated them unfairly. - George W. Bush

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Tuskegee Airmen to Attend Inaugural