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Alva Newte Temple (September 5, 1917 – August 28, 2004 ) was a retired U.S. Army Air Force officer and former African-American fighter pilot with the 332nd Fighter Group's 99th Fighter Squadron (Tuskegee Airmen or "Red Tails") and the 300th Squadron. [1] Temple and his 332nd Fighter Group Weapons pilot team won the U.S. Air Force's inaugural "Top Gun" team competition in 1949.

Alva Temple
Born (1923-07-13) July 13, 1923 (age 101)
Carrollton, Alabama, US
DiedAugust 28, 2004(2004-08-28) (aged 87)
Columbus, Mississippi, US
Resting placeCook-Temple Memorial Cemetery, Pickensville, Alabama
Alma materAlabama A & M University
Occupations
  • Military officer
  • fighter pilot
Years active1943–1962

Early Life, Family

Temple was born on September 5, 1917 in rural Carrollton, Alabama in Pickens County. [2] [3] He was the son of Newte Byrd Temple (1887–1964) and Velma Wright Temple (1888–1973).[4] [5] The third of eight children, Temple’s brothers and sisters were: Virginia Temple Munford (1913–1999); Dorisca Victoria Temple (1915–1919), Andrew Jackson Temple (1919–1988), Kittie Temple Gregory (1923–2003), Ruzzelle Temple Lamar (1926–1990), Raymond C Temple (1928–2010), and Rubye Temple Locke (1933–2013).[6]

As a child, Temple picked cotton to help support his family during the depression.[7] He attended Alabama A & M University, graduating with a degree in Agricultural Education. [8] Temple was married to Lucille Grimes Temple for nearly 60 years.[9]

Military Career, Tuskegee Airmen

At the age of 24, Temple ended his studies at Alabama A & M University and applied for pilot training. Unfortunately, he was rejected because of his race; at the time, the military did not have separate facilities for black pilots. Temple later applied for the Tuskegee Pilot Cadet program. He was admitted, joining the U.S. Army Air Corp. On July 28, 1943, Temple graduated from Tuskegee’s Class 43-G-SE, receiving his wings and commission as a 2nd Lieutenant. He was assigned to the 99th Pursuit Squadron. Temple was described as a “reliable, dependable and unexcitable” pilot “who loved to fly and was always willing to make a mission though he realized the risk involved.” [10] Temple once remarked: “I felt I could fly if given a chance. A lot of people thought I was crazy. They thought I’d be killed, but I didn’t pay them any attention. As long as I could abide by the requirements, I could take care of it.”[11] During World War II, Temple completed 120 missions, with missions in Italy, Germany, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Romania, southern France and the Balkans.[12][13] Temple flew a Red-Tailed P-40 and a P-51 Mustang. He was the Distinguished Flying Cross. Temple served 20 years in the U.S. Army Air Corps and U.S. Air Force, retiring in 1962 as a lieutenant colonel. [14]

Winner of the 1949 "Top Gun Competition"

In January 1949, the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force sent out a directive to each Air Force group requesting their participation in an aerial weapons competition. Four later in May 1949, Temple joined the 332nd Fighter Group Weapons three-member pilot team to compete at the U.S. Air Force's inaugural "Top Gun" team competition held at the Las Vegas Air Force Base (now Nellis Air Force Base.[1] [15][16][17][18][19] A grueling 10-day event, the competition comprised six events: aerial gunnery at 20,000 feet, aerial gunnery at 12,000 feet, dive bombing, skip bombing, rocketing firing, and panel strafing.[15][16] His team lead from start to finish.[15][20] Temple’s team included the 100th Squadron's First Lieutenant Harry Stewart, Jr., the 99th Squadron's James H. Harvey, 99th Squadron's First Lieutenant Halbert Alexander (who served as an alternate pilot), and Staff Sergeant Buford Johnson (August 30, 1927 – April 15, 2017) as aircraft crew chief.[19][21][22] Harvey and his team competed in P-47N Thunderbolts.[19][23] The results and the 3-foot high silver winning trophy (stashed in a Wright Patterson Air Force Base Museum storage area for 55 years) were absent from the Air Force archived until 1995.[1][15] Flying F-47Ns, a variant of the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, Temple and his team won against U.S. Air Force fighter group teams in far more advanced aircraft.[1] His teammate, James H. Harvey remarked: "They knew who won, but did not want to recognize us."[16]

Post Military Career

After his retirement from the U.S. Air Force in 1962, Temple moved to Mississippi and owned and a Gulf Service station, Temple's BP Stations and Radiator Sales on Highway 69 in Columbus, Mississippi.[24] [25] [26] He also became a prominent local and statewide leader. He served seven years as the commissioner for the Mississippi State Department of Natural Resources Committee.[27] In 2004, Temple was an incorporator of the Columbus, Mississippi’s Alva N. Temple Chapter of Tuskegee Airmen.[28]

Death

Temple passed away at his home in Columbus, Mississippi.[29] [30][31] He is interred at the Cook-Temple Memorial Cemetery in Pickensville, Alabama.

Legacy

During a 2008 Black History Month luncheon, Col. Dave Gerber, the then-14th Flying Training Wing Commander at Columbus AFB, renamed A Street to Alva Temple Road in recognition of Lt. Col. Alva Temple. [32]

In 2012, Temple’s family donated memorabilia from Temple’s personal collection towards the inaugural [[R.E. Hunt Museum and Cultural Center] located at the former site of R.E. Hunt High School, Columbus, Mississippi’s only African American high school until integration in 1971.[33]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Cafe Rise Above. https://cafriseabove.org/alva-temple/
  2. ^ Cafe Rise Above. “Alta Temple.” https://cafriseabove.org/alva-temple/
  3. ^ Find a Grave. “LTC Alva Newte “Top Gun” Temple.”https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/176722402/alva-newte-temple
  4. ^ Find a Grave. “Newte Byrd Temple.” https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/79929253/newte-byrd-temple
  5. ^ Find a Grave. “Velma Wright Temple.” https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/176724923/velma-temple
  6. ^ Find a Grave. “LTC Alva Newte “Top Gun” Temple.”https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/176722402/alva-newte-temple
  7. ^ COLUMBUS AIR FORCE BASE. “Who is Temple?.” Airman John Day, 14th Flying Training Wing Public Affairs. February 27, 2015. https://www.columbus.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/618550/who-is-temple/
  8. ^ Cafe Rise Above. “Alta Temple.” https://cafriseabove.org/alva-temple/
  9. ^ The Los Angeles Times. “Alva Temple, 86; Flew 120 Missions as Tuskegee Airman.” L.A. TIMES ARCHIVES. SEP. 2, 2004. FROM TIMES STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-sep-02-me-temple2-story.html
  10. ^ Charles E. Francis’ “The Tuskegee Airmen: The Men Who Changed a Nation” (2002, revised)
  11. ^ The Los Angeles Times. “Alva Temple, 86; Flew 120 Missions as Tuskegee Airman.” L.A. TIMES ARCHIVES. SEP. 2, 2004. FROM TIMES STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-sep-02-me-temple2-story.html
  12. ^ The Los Angeles Times. “Alva Temple, 86; Flew 120 Missions as Tuskegee Airman.” L.A. TIMES ARCHIVES. SEP. 2, 2004. FROM TIMES STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-sep-02-me-temple2-story.html
  13. ^ The Dispatch. “Ask Rufus: Col. Alva Temple, Red-Tailed Hero of the Sky.” Rufus Ward. May 4, 2019. https://cdispatch.com/opinions/2019-05-04/ask-rufus-col-alva-temple-red-tailed-hero-of-the-sky/
  14. ^ The Los Angeles Times. “Alva Temple, 86; Flew 120 Missions as Tuskegee Airman.” L.A. TIMES ARCHIVES. SEP. 2, 2004. FROM TIMES STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-sep-02-me-temple2-story.html
  15. ^ a b c d Youtube. American Veterans Center. "Tuskegee Top Gun' James Harvey, the First African American Jet Combat Pilot." Interview with James H. Harvey III. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqA1ihi_0MU
  16. ^ a b c The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. "Wall of Honor Level: Air and Space Friend/Dedicated Panel: Tuskegee Airmen - Mr. James H. Harvey, III." https://airandspace.si.edu/support/wall-of-honor/james-h-harvey-iii
  17. ^ Tuskegee Top Gun. http://tuskegeetopgun.com/attitude.php
  18. ^ The American Veterans Center. "Lt. Col. James H. Harvey III." https://www.americanveteranscenter.org/2020/05/tuskegee-airman-james-harvey-the-militarys-first-top-gun/
  19. ^ a b c "Tuskegee's Top Gun." http://www.tuskegeetopgun.com/
  20. ^ Cafe Rise Above. "Harry T. Stewart Jr. https://cafriseabove.org/harry-t-stewart-jr/
  21. ^ Later killed in an F-86 Aircraft accident, while flying over Chelmsford, Massachusetts on March 25, 1953.
  22. ^ Later became a Master Sergeant. Cafe Rise Above. Buford Alvin Johnson. "https://cafriseabove.org/buford-alvin-johnson/
  23. ^ Cafe Rise Above. "Harry T. Stewart Jr. https://cafriseabove.org/harry-t-stewart-jr/
  24. ^ COLUMBUS AIR FORCE BASE. “Who is Temple?.” Airman John Day, 14th Flying Training Wing Public Affairs. February 27, 2015. https://www.columbus.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/618550/who-is-temple/
  25. ^ The Los Angeles Times. “Alva Temple, 86; Flew 120 Missions as Tuskegee Airman.” L.A. TIMES ARCHIVES. SEP. 2, 2004. FROM TIMES STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-sep-02-me-temple2-story.html
  26. ^ The Dispatch. “Ask Rufus: Col. Alva Temple, Red-Tailed Hero of the Sky.” Rufus Ward. May 4, 2019. https://cdispatch.com/opinions/2019-05-04/ask-rufus-col-alva-temple-red-tailed-hero-of-the-sky/
  27. ^ Local History Department at the Columbus-Lowndes Public Library. Social Media Post: “FUN PHOTO FRIDAY: An image of Alva Newte Temple in front of a plane while in Italy around 1944 or 1945.”
  28. ^ State Registration. “Alva N. Temple Chapter of Tuskegee Airmen.” https://www.bizapedia.com/ms/alva-n-temple-chapter-of-tuskegee-airmen.html
  29. ^ The Los Angeles Times. “Alva Temple, 86; Flew 120 Missions as Tuskegee Airman.” L.A. TIMES ARCHIVES. SEP. 2, 2004. FROM TIMES STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-sep-02-me-temple2-story.html
  30. ^ Find a Grave. “LTC Alva Newte “Top Gun” Temple.”https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/176722402/alva-newte-temple
  31. ^ Youtube. “Tuskegee Airman Alva N. Temple given full Military Honors.” Feb 5, 2012. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wa0nGh2XSm4
  32. ^ COLUMBUS AIR FORCE BASE. “Who is Temple?.” Airman John Day, 14th Flying Training Wing Public Affairs. February 27, 2015. https://www.columbus.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/618550/who-is-temple/
  33. ^ The Dispatch. “Hunt Museum ready for Thursday grand opening. Jeff Clark. November 14, 2012.
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