Major Carrol Woods, a Tuskegee Airman and former Prisoner of War spoke to one of our research seminars today, and I was fortunate to be able to listen.  Major Woods presented a matter-of-fact commentary on his experiences growing up on the farm near Valdosta, Georgia.  He talked about his early years in the Army and how he earned the right to compete for his flying wings.  His class started with 63 cadets.  When they graduated, there were 22–and he was one.  He was proud to earn his wings.

Major Woods downplays his role in history.  When asked if he knew what kind of history he was making, he said no.  He was having fun and enjoying flying.  He did mention a few hair-raising flights where he said he wasn’t flying the plane; other people think he’s joking when he says that, but he maintains he’s serious.  I believe him.  Sometimes, you come through situations you just wouldn’t have made it through on your own, and you accept a higher power took over.

He’s very low-key about the effect segregation had on him.  He said his parents raised him to know how to cope with it–much as I believe black parents still raise their children to know how to handle various situations.

To catch a glimpse of how it affected him, I had to read between the lines.  The first instance was when he related how things were when he was returning to the United States after his Prisoner of War experience.  Everyone was together on the boats and on the train to DC, yet when they arrived in DC, the blacks went to their separate rail cars, and the whites went to theirs.

The other instance was clearer, and it’s the thing that always bothers me.  Black men fought for this country and its freedom.  Some died.  Some were maimed, and some were taken Prisoner of War, yet they were considered second class citizens and unworthy of full citizenship.  Major Woods said we’ve come a long way from those days–night and day, but still, when men fought for their country and weren’t…

This is where the audience knew the depth of Major Woods’ feelings for what transpired in this country’s past, and, I suspect, to some extent what happens today.  Whenever he can, he shares his experience with military and school groups.  We’re losing more Tuskegee Airmen every day.  I feel fortunate I’ve been able to meet and hear the stories of five so far in my career.