DVR'd a show called "Red Tail Reborn" that was on PBS a couple of nights ago, and just had a chance tonight to sit down and watch it. It's about the Tuskegee Airmen, a story that's long been close to my heart, and a P-51C that had been restored in their honor.
15 or 20 minutes in, one Doug Rozedaal appeared on screen, with footage of his beautiful F1 Rocket interspersed through his interview. I thought I recognized the name, and ran a quick search here on the VAF forums. Sure enough it's our own "B25flyer" (which makes sense after you see "Red Tail Reborn").
Anyhow, as I said before, the story of the Tuskegee Airmen has always been special to me, and this show did a good job of presenting some of the Tuskegee background before delving into the aircraft restoration. I've looked high and low on Amazon.com, and can find very little written about the Tuskegee Airmen. There are a couple of books by a couple of the 332nd FG veterans, but little in the way of what I would expect for a subject of such historical importance as this. I can't believe nobody has made a film about the subject or written a good Stephen Ambrose-style book about it.
As an aside, you can imagine how difficult it was for me to find a way, in words a seven year old would understand, to explain to my son what the show was about, and why the Tuskegee Airmen had to train and serve separate from white pilots. I settled on telling him that at that time, many people in our country had very wrong ideas about other people just because their skin was a different color. He looked at me with a puzzled face and said "That just doesn't make any sense. Why would they think that?" Out of the mouths of babes.
I was excited to learn through the show that the restored P-51C was intended to be used as the flying centerpiece of a traveling education exhibit that would teach airshow goers about the Tuskegee Airmen. Don't want to give too much away in case some of you get a chance to see the show, but the aircraft was pretty much destroyed in a 2004 crash that fatally injured pilot Don Hinz.
The Minnesota wing of the Commemorative Air Force has taken up the herculean task of once again rebuilding the airplane. You can track their progress here: www.redtail.org, and donate to the cause if you desire. They'll soon be getting a donation from me.
And when I do get my RV built someday, it WILL have a red tail.
15 or 20 minutes in, one Doug Rozedaal appeared on screen, with footage of his beautiful F1 Rocket interspersed through his interview. I thought I recognized the name, and ran a quick search here on the VAF forums. Sure enough it's our own "B25flyer" (which makes sense after you see "Red Tail Reborn").
Anyhow, as I said before, the story of the Tuskegee Airmen has always been special to me, and this show did a good job of presenting some of the Tuskegee background before delving into the aircraft restoration. I've looked high and low on Amazon.com, and can find very little written about the Tuskegee Airmen. There are a couple of books by a couple of the 332nd FG veterans, but little in the way of what I would expect for a subject of such historical importance as this. I can't believe nobody has made a film about the subject or written a good Stephen Ambrose-style book about it.
As an aside, you can imagine how difficult it was for me to find a way, in words a seven year old would understand, to explain to my son what the show was about, and why the Tuskegee Airmen had to train and serve separate from white pilots. I settled on telling him that at that time, many people in our country had very wrong ideas about other people just because their skin was a different color. He looked at me with a puzzled face and said "That just doesn't make any sense. Why would they think that?" Out of the mouths of babes.
I was excited to learn through the show that the restored P-51C was intended to be used as the flying centerpiece of a traveling education exhibit that would teach airshow goers about the Tuskegee Airmen. Don't want to give too much away in case some of you get a chance to see the show, but the aircraft was pretty much destroyed in a 2004 crash that fatally injured pilot Don Hinz.
The Minnesota wing of the Commemorative Air Force has taken up the herculean task of once again rebuilding the airplane. You can track their progress here: www.redtail.org, and donate to the cause if you desire. They'll soon be getting a donation from me.
And when I do get my RV built someday, it WILL have a red tail.
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