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Thunderbolt NEWS April 8, 2016
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Chaplain’s thoughts ...
TUSKEGEE (from Page 6)
Blessed by a touch
It was a chapel event, not unlike other chapel events in that the 302nd Fighter Squadron and a Tech. Sgt. Luther Mitchell Jr.
it featured food as a part of the festivities. During the meal I few years later, in March 2000, the
greeted a couple from our congregation. They were enjoying 301st FS reactivated. Both units be- /XNH$LU)RUFH%DVH+RQRU*XDUGPHPEHUVSUHSDUHWRVWHSR௺WR
their meal, and as I passed behind them I leaned over, placed longed to the 332nd Fighter Group present the colors March 24 at the Tuskegee Airmen Commemora-
my hands on their shoulders, and wished them well with some during WWII. The units have since tion Day ceremony. The commemoration day, which takes place the
innocuous words, which I really can’t recall. In that brief ex- transitioned to the F-22 mission third Thursday of March, is the result of legislation signed into law
change, the wife reached out and gently touched my face. It and are located at Elmendorf Air E\IRUPHU$UL]RQD*RY-DQLFH%UHZHULQDQGLVWKH¿UVWVXFK
was an unexpected gesture, yet a meaningful act that conveyed Force Base, Alaska, and Hollo- law to honor the legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen in the nation.
love and acceptance. With a simple touch a thousand words of man Air Force Base, New Mexico,
blessing and healing were silently spoken. respectively. pened from March 1940 to 1949 2013, former Gov. Jan Brewer
In the book “The Blessing” by Gary Smalley and John Trent, for those who participated in the signed into law Senate Bill 1128
the authors speak of the ancient practice of a blessing being However, the 944th FW still em- Tuskegee Airmen experience, in- that designates the fourth Thurs-
handed down from generation to generation. The application braces the proud tradition of the cluding when the first Tuskegee day in March as Tuskegee Airmen
of this practice is still with us; indeed we can bless others in Tuskegee Airmen, according to Col. Airmen ground crews began train- Commemoration Day in the state
our daily lives. Smalley and Trent list meaningful touch, kind Kurt Gallegos, 944th Fighter Wing ing, the first flying unit, the 99th of Arizona. Currently, Arizona is
words and envisioning a bright future as some of the ways that a commander. Pursuit Squadron, activated, and the only state to have a designated
blessing can be conveyed. As I experienced, a blessing can indeed the first Tuskegee aviation cadets day set aside to honor the Tuskegee
be extended through a meaningful touch. Simple acts such as “Not only do I get to lead the received their pilot wings. In April Airmen.
a warm handshake, a pat on the back, or a hug can bring near 944th Fighter Wing with its strong
miraculous benefits to those we seek to bless and encourage. ties to the Tuskegee Airmen but I
I’m certain my friend had no idea how much she blessed me have served under its flag while
that day. Be assured you are a blessing to others in more ways deployed with the 332nd Fighter
than you know. Indeed, it’s likely you have unknowingly encour- Air Expeditionary Group four times
aged and strengthened someone today. in Iraq,” he said.“Through the enor-
Thanks for your service and sacrifice. mous sacrifices and accomplish-
ments that made them legendary,
Courtesy of Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Larry Fowler these brave Airmen lived up to the
56th Fighter Wing Chapel core values of integrity first, service
before self, and excellence in all we
do. I can assure you that our future
aviators and maintainers will
always remember the ‘Red Tails.’”

Several pivotal milestones hap-

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