Red Tail Project
Spring 2008 Newsletter:
Delta Pioneers Luncheon Features Col. McGee and Red Tail Project
- By Brad Lang

Graphic Design & Photos by: Dee Siffer
Portrait Artist/Photographer

Twin Navy Veterans inducted into the Broadcasters Hall of Fame in Akron, Ohio     Rudolph Brewington, left, Harry Boomer of WOIO/WUAB-TV in Cleveland, and Ronald Brewington at the Nov. 4 induction.

Rudolph W. and Ronald H. Brewington, who believe they are the only African American twins in broadcasting, were among 21 people inducted into the Broadcasters Hall of Fame in Akron, Ohio, on Nov. 4.

Rudolph Brewington is a former Washington broadcast journalist and talk-show host, and a retired Navy commander who directs LIFELines Services Network, the Navy Department's official quality-of-life Web site run under contract by General Dynamics.

Ron Brewington is the Hollywood correspondent for Radio One/XM's "The Alvin Jones Show" and the Los Angeles interviewer for "The HistoryMakers," the Chicago-based nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving African American history.

Ron Brewington is also a retiree of the U.S. Navy, where he served as Station Manager and News Director at Navy Broadcasting Service Detachments (Armed Forces Radio and Television Service affiliates) at Adak, Alaska; Diego Garcia, British Indian Ocean Territory and the USS New Jersey (BB-62).

Since 2005, Ron Brewington has served as the National Public Relations Officer for Tuskegee Airmen, Inc., coordinating the total press activities for all 50 national chapters of the organization.

The two were born Nov. 2, 1946. The Akron facility is one of several broadcast halls of fame around the country.

Local veteran honored for her work with Tuskegee Airmen

Santa Maria Times, 6 Nov 2007

A longtime Lompoc resident recently received a prestigious award she never expected to be given in her lifetime - the Congressional Gold Medal.

At the Half Century Club Tuesday, retired Air Force Master Sgt. Allie Geraldine “Jeri” Harshaw received recognition for earning the award for her service in support of the Tuskegee Airmen, black fighter pilots who endured racism to serve during World War II. She received the award in August. The award is the top honor given by Congress.

During the 1940s, Harshaw was a physical therapy technician serving the Tuskegee Airmen near Columbus, Ohio. She worked at various Air Force bases nationwide starting in the late 1940s and was transferred to Vandenberg Air Force Base in 1968, where she retired in 1973. She has been a member of the Half Century Club since 1997.

During her career, Harshaw received training in X-ray work and eventually became the first female master sergeant to retire from the Air Force with 30 years of service.

“I didn't know about it (the award) until they gave it to me,” Harshaw said.

On Aug. 10, one of the original Tuskegee Airmen, Arthur Hicks of Vandenberg Village, presented her with the award. He received a Congressional Gold Medal from President Bush in Washington, D.C., on March 29, at which time he was also informed that the same award would be given to Harshaw.

After receiving Harshaw's award in the mail, Hicks presented it to her in a surprise ceremony at the Sheraton Hotel in Burlingame during a convention of her college sorority, Beta Pi Sigma.

“There were about 200 other people there,” Hicks said.

“I was surprised,” Harshaw said. “At least I was one who got one while I was still alive. Most don't get them until they're dead!”

Half Century Club members gathered Tuesday morning to honor the woman and recognize her for her contributions to the military, starting with her enlistment in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps in the 1940s. In addition to her service during World War II, she also served during the Korea and Vietnam conflicts.

Program leader Janet Hartmann said she was proud to have Harshaw as a club member and was happy to honor her.

“I feel very, very honored,” Harshaw said of the golden, coin-shaped award, complete with an engraving that symbolizes her service with the Tuskegee Airmen.

Tuskegee Airmen Honored at CALIFORNIA REALTOR® EXPO 2007

October 11, 2007 01:26 PM Eastern Daylight Time

ANAHEIM, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Two local REALTORS® who served in the famed Tuskegee Airmen unit during World War II will be honored today at the closing luncheon of the CALIFORNIA REALTOR® EXPO 2007 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, Calif. Themed “REALTOR® 2.0: The Next Big Thing,” the EXPO is being held Oct. 9-11.

REALTOR® Claude Davis and REALTOR® Theodore (Ted) Lumpkin will be honored for their service to the nation and the real estate community during the luncheon, which features legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden. State Senator Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana) will present the Airmen with flags flown over the U.S. Capitol.

Davis and Lumpkin were among more than 100 Tuskegee Airmen awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian award from Congress, in the Rotunda of the Congressional Building in Washington, D.C., in March.
Davis is a past president of the Southwest Los Angeles Association of REALTORS® and a past regional vice president of the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.). A bomber pilot in the U.S. Air Corps, Davis, 87, resides in the Ladera Heights area of Los Angeles.

Lumpkin served as an Air Intelligence Officer and is president of the Los Angeles chapter of Tuskegee Airmen Inc. He also serves on the national organization’s board of directors. Lumpkin, 87, resides in the Village Green area of Los Angeles.
Tuskegee Airmen Inc. was formed in 1972 by veterans of the “Tuskegee Experience” during World War II from 1941-1949 to educate the country regarding the combat and stateside records of African Americans during the war. The organization has 51 chapters nationwide.

Leading the way...® in California real estate for more than 100 years, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (www.car.org) is one of the largest state trade organizations in the United States, with nearly 200,000 members dedicated to the advancement of professionalism in real estate. C.A.R. is headquartered in Los Angeles.

Young pilot completes round-the-world flight

BY ROBERT SAMUELS

It's official -- Barrington Irving is the youngest and first black person to fly solo around the world.

In his plane Inspiration, Irving touched down at Opa-locka Executive Airport at 10:26 a.m. Wednesday. The journey ended 95 days of traversing throughout Europe, the Middle East and Asia, battling weather and fatigue.

But Irving's first struggle was between doubt and his dream. Growing up in Miami Gardens, Irving said he was surrounded by negativity. His peers were getting shot or shooting up and getting arrested. He came from a healthy, God-fearing family -- but thought the only option to succeed was to become a football player.
At 15, Irving found his role model in United Airlines pilot Capt. Gary Robinson. Robinson was black like him, Jamaican like him. He said he felt that if Robinson could fly, he could fly.

At 19, Irving got his pilot's license. And soon he started getting these fantasies about flying around the world. Some of his classmates, Irving said, thought he was a little crazy.

But Irving said he wanted to see the world, and he wanted the world to see that an inner-city youth can accomplish anything with enough determination. Plus, he hoped that one day he would inspire a child to be a pilot, as Robinson did for him.
Eventually, Irving amassed $1.2 million worth of sponsorships and the plane. He took off March 23, and the world followed him on his journeys from Opa-locka.
In Manchester, England, 36-year-old Michael Dennis found Irving's story online. He was so inspired that he said he contacted British newspaper agencies.

''We really need something like this in the UK to inspire our young people away from crime,'' Dennis said. "Ever since I saw a 747 at Dublin Airport when I was a child, I always wanted to be an airline pilot with Aer Lingus but the chances never came to me so I have been inspired by Barrington to study as much as I can on Flight Simulator X and maybe take up flying lessons.''

Retha Boone, director of the Miami-Dade black affairs advisory board, said the organization plans to give Irving its Pillar Award for community service in September.

''The very first time I saw him is when he was ready to take off,'' Boone said. "I saw such confidence and determination. At 23. At 23! When I was 23, I didn't know what I was going to do with my life.''

Former UCSB Basketballer Lowell Steward Receives the Congressional Medal of Honor Hitting the High Note By John Zant Thursday, June 7, 2007

In March 1941, all Lowell Steward wanted was to be able to shake hands with other players at a basketball tournament in Kansas City. But he was not deemed worthy to participate with his team from Santa Barbara State College.

In March 2007, the nation recognized Steward as a worthy citizen, a hero even, and he shook hands with President George W. Bush inside the U.S. Capitol rotunda.

The occasion was the awarding of the prestigious Congressional Gold Medal to the Tuskegee Airmen, those accomplished black fighter pilots in World War II.

Lowell Steward is a war hero, UCSB Athletic Hall of Famer, and is now a Congressional Gold Medal recipient.

George Washington received the first Congressional Gold Medal from the Continental Congress in 1776. Since then, it has been bestowed fewer than 250 times.

"There's nothing higher", said Steward, who accepted the award graciously with his fellow airmen, even though it came very late; too late for their hundreds of comrades who died in combat or from natural causes; too late for him to share it with his wife Helen, who died three years ago.

Steward's home in Oxnard is decorated with memorabilia from his flying days; photos of him on the airfield with his squadron, paintings of their P-51 Mustangs soaring through the clouds and swooping over exploding targets. On a shelf is the Distinguished Flying Cross that Steward earned. He flew 143 missions in the war.

There also are photos of Steward with his college basketball team and a certificate noting his induction into the UCSB Athletic Hall of Fame. He was an all-conference player for the Gauchos in 1941 and ’42, when he was team captain, and he also was a league champion in the high jump and long jump.

"I was a jumper", said Steward, who played center even though he was only 5'11". He was the team's leading scorer and rebounder in the 1940-41 season, when the Gauchos received their first invitation to a postseason tournament. They went to the National Association of Intercollegiate Basketball Championships in Kansas City.

They went with Steward's blessing, and he made the trip with them, even though he would not be able to play since Missouri was ruled by Jim Crow segregation.

Steward could not even step on the floor when the 32 participating teams paraded into the Municipal Auditorium. He was turned away and told to go sit in the rafters with the other colored spectators.

The Gauchos finished in fourth place. San Diego State, a team they had defeated earlier in the season, won the tournament. On the train ride back to Santa Barbara, UCSB's coach Willie Wilton recalled that Steward lay awake through the night, making this mournful humming sound.

Upon his graduation, Steward had a burning desire to prove himself. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps and became one of the first pilots trained for the all-black 332nd Fighter Group at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. He spent 15 months in combat. When Allied forces were landing at Normandy 63 years ago this week, the Tuskegee Airmen were escorting bombers from bases in Italy into enemy territory.

"It was dull, dull, dull", Steward said bluntly last week. The long-range missions were six or seven hours in an airplane.

He had some exciting moments, though, like the time he flew support for the retrieval of an escaped American prisoner in Germany, or the time an 18-inch hole was blasted into his wing over Marseilles. "It was flapping", he said. "I had to fly slow so the plane wouldn't catapult. I landed in Rome.

When he finally made it back home after the war, Steward encountered further racial slights and insults. He forged ahead and became a successful realtor. He's now 88, enough years to fill a piano keyboard, with the highest note coming at last.