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Although, not at the same time, My Dad has what he calls the
we didn’t do that. four Ps for people that want to
get interested in something,
PP: particularly if you’re younger.
The thing I love about this But, of course, if you want to
is that your Dad was part of start something, it doesn’t
something that not only helped matter your age.
you to pursue your dreams but
all black Americans to be better First, he talks about PERCEIVE.
able to pursue theirs. Your Dad You have to know what your
and the men he served with dreams are. What do you want
had to go through such horrible to do? What do you want to be?
treatment, especially upon A photographer? A buyer? A
returning to the US. The TA had mermaid?
completed their missions and
came home to be treated worse The second thing is to
than prisoners of war. PREPARE yourself. Learn as
much as you possibly can about
RM: the field that interests you.
Actually, the blacks that were
in the war and were POWs, The third is to PERFORM.
especially the pilots, said they Do your best and give 100%.
were treated better by the If you aren’t given everything
Germans, as a POW, than they in what you’re trying to do,
were at home before they left you’re only hurting yourself. By
for the war. performing, it takes your dream
further than you, potentially the
In fact, one of the questions community and the country,
that German authors ask them and everything else. So yeah,
is, ‘Why would you want to fly whatever you’re interested in,
and fight and possibly give your give it your all.
life for a country that hates you
and doesn’t want you there The last thing to do is
in the first place? So I always persevere. Don’t let anybody
Village Sales President Award Winner Photo: Ron Mcgee, RAM Visions found that very interesting. tell you that you can’t do it. My
Dad’s division was told they
across a space to do that. discrimination during a time The Army made it policy to use civil rights movement, which PP: couldn’t do the things they
But other than that, I knew of pervasive segregation and them (blacks) to clean latrines, turned in later to Martin Luther That’s a very telling question—a did, that there was no way it
what I wanted to get out of it Jim Crow laws, they prompted cook, drive a truck, you know, King and further civil rights very insightful question alluding was possible. And you know
before I shot. You have to pre- social change. What kind of that type of stuff. But nothing movements. to what they endured. what, they persevered. My Dad
think exactly what you want significance has this part of else. Nothing technical. and the rest of the airmen
because there’s not the ability your upbringing had in your When I was a kid growing up, I RM: persevered, and they proved
to communicate with them nor life? Not only did they succeed in wanted to fly commercially. And You know, if they hadn’t everyone wrong. So, don’t ever
the freedom to move around their training, but they also my Dad could have told me at succeeded, I probably wouldn’t quit.
them. So, you have to place RM: have the best record of any air the time, ‘Well, you better pick be doing the photography or
them where you want before Dad and I both flew in the escort unit during World War something else because there flying. So they call it a double PP:
you even start. Air Force, but he is one of the II. And that eventually led to are no commercial pilots.’ They victory because it was a military I like that. I like that a lot! Very
original TA. It is just amazing several policy changes in the didn’t have black commercial victory and a social justice inspirational. You and your Dad
PP: what they accomplished. They military. pilots until 1964 when the first victory. are evidence that pursuing
I’m going to wrap it up. But opened doors, particularly one was hired. So that’s why my your dreams is possible, even
I do want to go into a little the Army and Air Force, First of all, it led to the father stayed in the Air Force. My Dad always says ‘I hope that in an impossible world riddled
bit of your background that’s government and military. integration of the Air Force He did 30 years in the military there’ll be a day when we could with war and social injustice. So
not photography. Your Dad Because of their success, they under Truman. Then, of course, and flew in fighters in all three stop labeling people,’ And it has don’t ever quit and persevere!
is Brigadier General Charles were early inspirations in the people began to think….’Oh, wars; World War II, Korea and nothing to do with disrespect
McGee, the oldest living civil rights movement. wait a minute. You guys are Vietnam. for your heritage. ‘I want just to Thank you for your time today,
Tuskegee Airman (TA). The working side by side? What’s be an American, not an African Ron! Also, thank you to you and
Tuskegee Airmen have a place At the time, it was thought that going on here? And everything I went into the Air Force and American, because they don’t your Dad for your inspiration
in history for being the first blacks couldn’t be trained to fly, is still working?’ So that kind was a pilot also. We both say that you’re Italian American and service! It was a true honor
African-American military that they didn’t have the brain of led to the fact that maybe, flew F-4 Phantom fighter jets or Polish American.’ and a pleasure to talk with you
aviators in the US during World capacity, from a study done by you know, perhaps you can do in Vietnam, the same type today!
War II. Despite experiencing a General Office in the 1920s. the job. This led to the early of airplane in the same war.
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