Retired Lt. Col. Herbert "Gene" Carter, shown in an artist's rendering, died Nov. 8, 2012. Carter was a member of the original cadre of the 99th Fighter Squadron, theTuskegee Airmen. Carter and his squadron broke the bonds of discrimination and the adversities of separatism with their achievements during World War II. (Illustration courtesy of Air Command and Staff College Gathering of Eagles Foundation)
Retired Lt. Col. Herbert "Gene" Carter, one of the original Tuskegee Airmen who flew in the famous Red Tail squadron during WWII, signs personal items and memorabilia after the ceremony. Carter died at 93, on Nov. 8, 2012. (Air Force photo/Bud Hancock)
Retired Lt. Col. Herbert E. Carter congratulated Airman on his reenlistment at Moton Field in Tuskegee, Ala., Oct. 11, 2008. Carter is one of the original members of the Tuskegee Airmen and was on hand for the opening of the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site. Carter died on Nov. 8, 2012 at age 93. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Christine Jones)
11/13/2012 - TUSKEGEE, Ala. (AFNS) -- Retired Lt. Col. Herbert Carter, 93, one of the original Tuskegee Airmen, died Nov. 8 at East Alabama Medical Center in Opelika, Ala., according to Tuskegee Mayor Johnny Ford.
Carter was a member of the original cadre of the 99th Fighter Squadron, the first black aviatiors in the U.S. military.
Born on September 27, 1919, in Amory, Miss., Carter enrolled at Tuskegee Institute, Ala., with plans to become a veterinarian.
"I wanted to be a pilot for a completely different reason than the Air Corps," said Carter in October. "At Tuskegee, I was majoring in animal science. My plan was to finish and take veterinary medicine. I would get my private license, go out to Texas, and practice my veterinary medicine, flying from ranch to ranch tending the animals. I did not know that the Air Corps was going to bite me."
In the 1940s, African-Americans were prohibited to serve in combat areas of the Army Air Corps. Solely based on their race, they were deemed unfit both physically and mentally to fly. This, however, intrigued Carter.
"That was not only an insult, that was a dare," said Carter. "It was the fact that we had been told that we did not have the smarts or the ability to operate something as complicated as an aircraft."
Taking the dare, Carter obtained his private flying license while enrolled in Tuskegee Institute. Then, he applied for a newly formed program in which the U.S. Army Air Corps would train black men to become pilots.
Upon earning his pilot wings, Carter was sent overseas as the engineering officer with the original 99th Fighter Squadron. His unit, and other squadrons of the 332d Fighter Group, compiled an outstanding record of performance in tactical air and ground support of allied armies. Carter himself flew 77 combat missions and 200 tactical air-ground Allied support missions over North Africa; Sicily and Italy, crash-landing only once.
Despite the stresses of military life, Carter remained with the newly formed Air Force even after the war ended.
"The pleasure that I got out of flying with the Air Corps made me volunteer for regular service, and I stayed in for 27 years," he said.
He retired as a lieutenant colonel in 1969 and became associate dean for student services at Tuskegee University and served in several other important capacities during his time there.
With their contribution to the war effort, Carter and his fellow Tuskegee Airmen shattered the widely held myth that blacks were not capable of serving their country in the arena of flight.
Ford said Carter was a local and a national hero and has ordered all U.S. flags in Tuskegee to be flown at half-mast for Carter, "who so valiantly fought fascism abroad and racism at home, and of whom all in Tuskegee are so justly proud."
The funeral service is slated for Nov. 15, at the campus chapel of Tuskegee University.
Editors Note: Changes have been made to the article Nov. 14, 2012.
(This article was written with quotes from an Air University Public Affairs article)
Comments
11/13/2012 2:42:19 PM ET Check your facts folksThe most widespread Tuskegee myth claims that the Tuskegee airmen neverlost a bomber to enemy fighters during escort missions.Dr Daniel L. Haulman Chief of the Organizational Histories Branch of theAir Force Historical Research Agency who published in October 2011 a30-page study entitled Nine Myths about the Tuskegee Airmen.His research concludes that 27 bombers were shot down by enemy fighterswhile they were under the protection of the Tuskegee airmen. During thesesame missions even more bombers were shot down by enemy anti-aircraft firebut these losses are not taken into account as they were unrelated to theTuskegee airmen's performance as escort fighters.This does not discount the contributions these great Americans made but theresponsible journalism is necessary.
