Celebrated Tuskegee Airman Charles McGee dies at 102

WASHINGTON (AP) — One of the last surviving Tuskegee Airmen, Brigadier General Charles McGee, who flew fighter combat missions over three wars, has died.

A family member says McGee died on Sunday at age 102 at his home in Bethesda, Maryland. The Tuskegee Airmen is the nickname of the first African American unit to fly combat airplanes in World War II. McGee was among more than 900 men who trained in rural Alabama after the Army Air Corps was forced to admit Black pilots.

McGee went on to fly combat missions in World War II as well as the Korean and Vietnam wars.

PHOTO INFO –  Retired U.S. Air Force Brigadier General Charles McGee, center, a decorated veteran of three wars, receives a congratulatory send off after visiting with 436 Aerial Port Squadron personnel at Dover Air Force Base to help celebrate his 100th birthday in Dover, Delaware, Friday, Dec. 6, 2019. McGee, one of the last surviving Tuskegee Airmen who flew 409 fighter combat missions over three wars, died Sunday, Jan. 16, 2022. He was 102. (AP Photo/David Tulis, File)

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