POST SCRIPTS

with The Associated Press. And the group's losses may have been much greater, he said.

I suppose it's important to keep the facts straight for historical accuracy but in this case isn't the larger issue of being first more important? The Tuskegee Airmen were the first black fighter pilots, they served with remarkable distinction, they served when others thought they shouldn't be given the opportunity or couldn't get the job done, and they may have ultimately done more for civil rights than legislation ever could.

With nearly 1,000 pilots and as many as 19,000 support personnel ranging from mechanics to nurses, the group was credited with shooting down more than 100 enemy aircraft and -- for years -- with never losing an American bomber under escort.

Daniel Haulman of the Air Force Historical Research Agency in Montgomery said the group's combat mission reports clearly show that U.S. bombers were lost while being escorted by Tuskegee Airmen:

One mission report says that on July 26, 1944: "1 B-24 seen spiraling out of formation in T/A (target area) after attack by E/A (enemy aircraft). No chutes seen to open."

A second report, dated Aug. 31, 1944, praises group commander Gen. Benjamin O. Davis Jr. by saying he "so skillfully disposed his squadrons that in spite of the large number of enemy fighters, the bomber formation suffered only a few losses."

A third report says that on Sept. 12, 1944: "10 Me-109s attacked the rear of the bomber formation from below and left one B-17 burning, with 6 chutes seen to open."

Segregation meant that these airmen (1000 of them) were supported by 19,000 black servicemen and women. The Tuskegee story is about more than the remarkable record, accurate or not; it's about the legacy of those who stepped forward and against tremendous odds...WON. They won for their country and they won for the future opportunities of those who followed in their footsteps.

Read the article HERE.