The Tuskegee Airmen Honored In Palm Springs

The Tuskegee Airmen were honored like Hollywood stars on Friday in Palm Springs at the annual Palm Springs Air Museum Gala, which this year, was used to put a spotlight on a group of men who changed the U.S. Air Force.

Camera’s and bright-eyed teenagers greeted members of the historic Tuskegee Airmen.

The walk down the red carpet gave visitors an opportunity to take a part in history.

The airmen signed autographs and saluted the mostly young crowd, which today is benefiting from the airmen’s contribution to the U.S. Military.

“One of the greatest accomplishments that we did was we integrated the country — the armed forces,” said Retired Lt. Col. Robert Ashby, a Tuskegee Airmen. “We got rid of segregation and had integration through out the armed forces.”

Ashby spoke just feet away from a P-47 — the same model aircraft he flew while serving with the 477th bomb group from 1944 to 1949.

“That’s a lovable plane there,” said Ashby. “That’s what I call a survivor.”

In total, 10 airmen attended the gala, which was themed Hollywood in the Skies.

All 10 of them signed posters promoting Red Tails — the film inspired by the group of African-American U.S. Army Air Force servicemen during WWII.

Much like the rest of his crew, Retired Lt. Col. Theodore Lumpkin consulted on the film.

In 1944, he was an intelligence officer for the 100th fighter squad in Italy.

“At the time, we didn’t think about history,” said Lumpkin. “We were just thinking about doing our jobs day to day and it added up. Now, it’s a real satisfying feeling to see people appreciate what it is that we did.”

Especially the Desert Hot Springs High School ROTC squad that welcomed the airmen to Palm Springs, he said.

Lumpkin said he enjoyed the movie, and that it brought back a lot of good and bad memories.

Ashby said the same — he just wished the director would have focused more on the history of airmen, rather than the fighting sequences.

“To draw people into the movie, to see something like that, you need to give them a little more excitement and he did that,” said Ashby.

The night ended with the dinner, dance and auction.

The money raised will go to the museum, and to restore a P-51 aircraft, which the museum wants to eventually fly.

All of the Tuskegee Airmen signed the red tail of the plane.