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==Death==
==Death==
On October 22, 1953, Williams was killed in the crash of an F-86D.<ref> Sam Gowan (Historian). "The Myth of the Tuskegee Airmen." https://www.sammcgowan.com/332nd.html </ref> He was 37 years old. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery, Sec: 8, Site: 5428-A.<ref> Freedom’s Voice: The Monthly Newsletter of the Military History Center. Volume 6, Number 8 August 2018. http://www.okmhc.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/August-18.pdf </ref>
On October 22, 1953, Williams, stationed at [[Scott AFB]] in [[Illinois]], was killed when his [[North American F-86D Sabre]] crashed after takeoff from Runway 14 in F-86D-20-NA, 51-3029.<ref> Sam Gowan (Historian). "The Myth of the Tuskegee Airmen." https://www.sammcgowan.com/332nd.html </ref> When Williams attempted a northwest turn, he overshot the approach to Runway 36 and tried to land in a nearby cornfield west of Scott AFB. Though Williams almost crash landed successfully, his aircraft struck an electric transformer pole, causing the aircraft to explode on impact. An investigation found that the aircraft's hydraulic elevator control locked up as a result of a misconnection between hydraulic lines.<ref> Flight. "Today in Aviation History." http://flight.org/aviation-history/october-22 </ref> This was the 85th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron's first fatal North American F-86D Sabre loss.http://flight.org/aviation-history/october-22

Williams was 37 years old. He was interred at Arlington National Cemetery, Sec: 8, Site: 5428-A.<ref> Freedom’s Voice: The Monthly Newsletter of the Military History Center. Volume 6, Number 8 August 2018. http://www.okmhc.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/August-18.pdf </ref>


==See also==
==See also==

Revision as of 00:24, 28 July 2021

Yancey Williams (alternative spelling "Yancy Williams")(February 1, 1916 - October 22, 1953) was a U.S. Army Air Force/U.S. Air Force officer and trained fighter pilot with the 332nd Fighter Group, best known as the Tuskegee Airmen or "Red Tails". He was one of 1,007 documented Tuskegee Airmen Pilots.[1][2]

Williams is notable for filing a federal lawsuit against the War Department in 1941 after it had denied the civilian pilot and Howard University senior admittance to the U.S. Army Air Corps based on race.[3] To avoid the lawsuit, the U.S. War Department, leveraging Plessey vs Ferguson's "separate but equal doctrine, created on 99th Pursuit Squadron (later the 99th Fighter Squadron) at Tuskegee Institute to train African American pilots, ground crew and support operations.[4][5][6][7]

Early Life, Education

Williams was born in Louisiana on February 1, 1916.[8] He attended Tulsa's Booker T. Washington High School, graduating in 1932. Williams attended Howard University, majoring in engineering.

"In the late thirties, Tuskegee Airmen training impresario C. Alfred "Chief" Anderson, trained by aviation pioneer Ernest H. Buehl Sr. (1897-1990), started Howard University's Civilian Pilot Training. Williams was one of Buehl Sr.'s civilian pilot students.[9]

Lawsuit Against War Department, Military Service, Tuskegee Airmen

In 1941, Williams, possibly already a Howard University graduate, applied to become a pilot with the U.S. Army Air Corps. On December 13, 1940, the U.S. Army Air Corps summarily rejected Williams based on his race. In response, Williams, fellow college graduate Span Watson and the NAACP filed a federal lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia against the U.S. War Department to force the government to allow Yancey and other "similarly situated" African Americans to train as U.S. Army Air Corps pilots.[10] The complaint named several officials as defendants: Secretary of War Henry Stimson, Chief of Staff Major-General George C. Marshall, Adjutant-General E. S. Adams, Chief of Air Corps Major-General Henry H. Arnold, and Major-General Walter S. Grant, commanding general of the Third Corps Area.

When he initially applied to the [[U.S. Army Air Corps], Williams had achieved or exceeded U.S. Army Air Corps entry and appeals requirements through the following:

  • Completed at least two years of college;
  • Completed the Civil Aeronautics Authority's primary and secondary pilot training;
  • Earned a private pilot’s license
  • Passed an official military physicians' physical examination;
  • Completed all application requisites for cadet appointment;
  • Completed and sent off, on November 20, 1940, an official application, references and other required records to the Third Corps Area's commanding officer;
  • Filed an appeal of his denied application to the Adjutant-General and the Secretary of War, and on December 13, 1940, receiving an final denial based on Williams' race.[11]

Despite initial pushback from the NAACP and other African American advocacy groups[12] that desired total racial integration in the U.S. military, the U.S. War Department, under additional pressure from U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt's executive order, leveraged Plessey vs Ferguson's "separate but equal doctrine, creating the 99th Pursuit Squadron (later the 99th Fighter Squadron). Headquartered at the Tuskegee Institute in Tuskegee, Alabama, the 99th Pursuit Squadron would serve as the primary training and deployment nexus for African American pilots, ground crew and support operations.[13][14][15]<

U.S. Army Air Corps admitted Williams, very likely in a non-pilot role as a 2nd Lieutenant.[16] However, Williams would be a 1st Lieutenant when he finally received his wings as a member of Tuskegee Air Field's Single Engine Section Cadet Class SE-44-J on December 28, 1944.[17]

Little else is known of William's military career. Nonetheless, documents show that Williams participated in an air surveillance project created by President Dwight D. Eisenhower whose presidential term began January 1953, 10 months before Williams' untimely death.[18] At the time of his passing, Williams held the rank of Major in the U.S. Air Force.

Death

On October 22, 1953, Williams, stationed at Scott AFB in Illinois, was killed when his North American F-86D Sabre crashed after takeoff from Runway 14 in F-86D-20-NA, 51-3029.[19] When Williams attempted a northwest turn, he overshot the approach to Runway 36 and tried to land in a nearby cornfield west of Scott AFB. Though Williams almost crash landed successfully, his aircraft struck an electric transformer pole, causing the aircraft to explode on impact. An investigation found that the aircraft's hydraulic elevator control locked up as a result of a misconnection between hydraulic lines.[20] This was the 85th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron's first fatal North American F-86D Sabre loss.http://flight.org/aviation-history/october-22

Williams was 37 years old. He was interred at Arlington National Cemetery, Sec: 8, Site: 5428-A.[21]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Tuskegee Airmen Pilot Roster". CAF Rise Above. CAF Rise Above. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  2. ^ "Tuskegee Airmen Pilot Roster". CAF Rise Above. CAF Rise Above. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  3. ^ Yancey Williams Vs. Henry L. Stimson, Civil Action No. 9763, (Suit on behalf of himself and on behalf of other qualified Negroes...for admission to Civilian Pilot Training Program), District Court of the US for the District of Columbia, November 18, 1941.
  4. ^ NORTH COAST CHAPTER OF THE TUSKEGEE AIRMEN CLEVELAND. "HISTORY OF THE TUSKEGEE AIRMEN: Legacy of the Red Tail." https://www.ncctacleveland.org/history/
  5. ^ Pre-Tuskegee. http://www.spiritof45.org/Tuskegee%20Exhibit.pdf
  6. ^ Connecticut Explored. "Tuskegee Airman: “I Wanted to Fly.” AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY, WAR STORIES. Eileen Hurst. Connecticut Explored, Fall 2011. https://www.ctexplored.org/tuskegee-airman-i-wanted-to-fly/
  7. ^ Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site
  8. ^ North Tulsa Magazine. "great discoveries.." https://northtulsamagazine.com/education
  9. ^ Lest We Forget: African American Military History by Historian, Author and Veteran Bennie McRae Jr.. "C. Alfred "Chief" Anderson: The Most Famous Black Aviator in America. John Sherrer. Originally published in the November, 1976 edition of Pride Magazine, Dayton, Ohio.
  10. ^ Yancey Williams Vs. Henry L. Stimson, Civil Action No. 9763, (Suit on behalf of himself and on behalf of other qualified Negroes...for admission to Civilian Pilot Training Program), District Court of the US for the District of Columbia, November 18, 1941.
  11. ^ Indianapolis Recorder. 25 January 1941. https://newspapers.library.in.gov/?a=d&d=INR19410125-01.1.1&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-------
  12. ^ Including the National Airmen’s Association.
  13. ^ NORTH COAST CHAPTER OF THE TUSKEGEE AIRMEN CLEVELAND. "HISTORY OF THE TUSKEGEE AIRMEN: Legacy of the Red Tail." https://www.ncctacleveland.org/history/ Pre-Tuskegee. http://www.spiritof45.org/Tuskegee%20Exhibit.pdf
  14. ^ Connecticut Explored. "Tuskegee Airman: “I Wanted to Fly.” AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY, WAR STORIES. Eileen Hurst. Connecticut Explored, Fall 2011. https://www.ctexplored.org/tuskegee-airman-i-wanted-to-fly/
  15. ^ Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site
  16. ^ Freedom’s Voice: The Monthly Newsletter of the Military History Center. Volume 6, Number 8 August 2018. http://www.okmhc.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/August-18.pdf
  17. ^ CAF Rise Above. "Tuskegee Airmen Pilot Roster." https://cafriseabove.org/the-tuskegee-airmen/tuskegee-airmen-pilot-roster/ . This data derives from CAF Rise Above's research project compiling data from Tuskegee Airmen historians including the Air Force Historical Research Agency.
  18. ^ CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL TO THE TUSKEGEE AIRMEN, Public Law 109-213, 109th Congress. "An Act - To award a congressional gold medal on behalf of the Tuskegee Airmen, collectively, in recognition of their unique military record, which inspired revolutionary reform in the Armed Forces. <<NOTE: Apr. 11, 2006 - [H.R. 1259]."
  19. ^ Sam Gowan (Historian). "The Myth of the Tuskegee Airmen." https://www.sammcgowan.com/332nd.html
  20. ^ Flight. "Today in Aviation History." http://flight.org/aviation-history/october-22
  21. ^ Freedom’s Voice: The Monthly Newsletter of the Military History Center. Volume 6, Number 8 August 2018. http://www.okmhc.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/August-18.pdf
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