A virtual presentation featuring historian and author Zellie Rainey Orr will discuss the little-known history of America’s Black veterans and first Top Gun pilots.
Attendees are invited to watch the presentation at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, November 15, in the Bard Room at the Morrisson-Reeves Library or via Zoom. In order to view the presentation students, faculty, staff, and community members must register at https://bit.ly/3fLYhz0.
Orr, author of Heroes in War – Heroes at Home: First Top Guns, will tell the untold story of the 332nd Fighter Group, better known as the Tuskegee Airmen, who made history in 1949 as winners of the first Top Gun contest, a gunnery competition that drew top pilots from across the Air Force.
The pilots’ bravery and aerial prowess earned the team a major victory and a trophy. Unfortunately, their win was quietly brushed aside, and their trophy was stored away.
Half a century later, the forgotten trophy was located by Orr after an exhaustive search through the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio.
Yemi Mahoney, chief diversity officer and special assistant to the chancellor at IU East, said the university is co-hosting the event with Morrisson-Reeves Library.
“As we honor the achievements of our veterans, it is important to remember the unsung heroes,” Mahoney said. “The Tuskegee Airmen are the most famous group of African Americans to achieve success in the military. Despite the many barriers they faced, they rose above their setbacks and left an indelible legacy. Zellie Rainey Orr should be applauded because she has fought hard to keep the memory of their accomplishments alive.”
Additionally, IU East will host a Veterans Day Ceremony to honor veterans for their service at 11 a.m. on Friday, November 11, in front of Whitewater Hall at the flagpole. The community is welcome to join the ceremony. Taps will be played by Jason Blough. Mark Stover, a 26-year veteran, will emcee the ceremony.
IU East and Morrisson-Reeves Library have partnered to host events in the past.
“Morrisson-Reeves Library is excited to co-host this event where Ms. Orr shares the long-untold victory of the Tuskegee Airmen,” Beth Harrick, program specialist at Morrisson-Reeves said.
The event is sponsored by Morrisson-Reeves Library and the IU East Office of Diversity and Inclusion.
Original source can be found here.
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