Charles Edward McGee (1919 - 2022)

Born 7 Dec 1919 in Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio, United States

Ancestors

Died 16 Jan 2022 at age 102 in Bethesda, Maryland, United States

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Biography

Charles McGee is Notable.

Descendant of Morris Basey. Morris was a private in the 17th Regiment, United States Colored Infantry, United States Civil War.

Brig. General Charles McGee served as a US military pilot during World War II. He was one of the “Documented Original Tuskegee Airmen.” The Tuskegee Airmen were known for heroic combat service in support of Allied Forces in the European Theater. They served with the 332d Expeditionary Operations Group and the 477th Bombardment Group, both largely Black units of the United States Army Air Forces.^[1]

Charles McGee, son of Lewis Allen McGee and Ruth Beatty, was born in 1919. He died on 17 January, 2022.^[2]

As remembered by Mark Phelps January 20, 2022 in AvWeb:

The Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor on McGee's 22nd birthday, Dec 7, 1941. His life at that point had been spent mostly in the North, in Cleveland, Chicago, even Keokuk, Iowa. His father was a minister, and though McGee didn't consider himself to have been well-to-do, he didn't recall his childhood during the Great Depression as needy. 'I was also fortunate that my parents and grandparents stressed the importance of a high school and college education' he said.

McGee told me he didn’t remember much in the way of overt racism growing up. He graduated from Du Sable High School in South Chicago in 1938, and went to work in the Civilian Conservation Corp in northern Illinois to help finance an engineering program at the University of Illinois, beginning in 1940. For extracurricular activity, he joined of the Reserve Officers Training Program (ROTC) and was a member of the Pershing Rifles there.

War was in the air, and word buzzed through the Black community that an experimental Army squadron of negro aviators was being formed. Though he had never flown, McGee was intrigued, especially when he learned that recruiters were looking for mechanics, crew chiefs and even pilot candidates. With his engineering background, he thought he might have a chance to get in on a good thing. Then, while riding with his family to sing at a church in Chicago on his birthday, word came over the radio that the United States was no longer on the sidelines. The “what-ifs” had been answered. McGee applied for a pilot’s slot, passed the exams in April 1942 and on October 27, he was sworn into the reserves. A few weeks later, he got the call to report to a small town in Alabama named Tuskegee.^[3]

He married his wife, Frances on October 17, 1942.

On June 30, 1943, he’d earned his silver Army Air Forces wings, and he had his first flight in a Curtiss P-40 fighter on July 6, 1943. Less than five months from fledgling trainee to solo pilot-in-command of a V-12-powered bird of prey.^[3] His unit was 332nd Fighter Group.

Col. McGee continued to a full career in the US Air Force, fighting in Korea and Vietnam. In all, he flew more than 400 combat sorties. He retired in 1973.^[3]

Honors

McGee was recognized for his combat and military service with a number of military decorations, including: Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster, Distinguished Flying Cross with two oak leaf clusters, Bronze Star Medal, Air Medal with 25 oak leaf clusters, Air Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster, Army Commendation Medal, Presidential Unit Citation, Korean Presidential Unit Citation, Hellenic Republic World War II Commemorative Medal, along with many related campaign and service ribbons.[13] George W. Bush and the U.S. Congress collectively awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, the nation's highest civilian award, to McGee and all other surviving and deceased Tuskegee Airmen.^[1]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Wikipedia contributors, "Charles McGee (pilot)," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_McGee_(pilot)
2. ↑ McFadden, Robert D. (2022). Charles E. McGee, Tuskegee Airman Promoted by Trump, Dies at 102. For the New York Times, 16 January 2022. Accessed via the New York Times
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} Mark Phelps, AvWeb Insider Online, Gen. Charles McGee: A Remembrance. https://www.avweb.com/insider/gen-charles-mcgee-a-remembrance

See Also: [13] Shepherd, Nick (December 6, 2021). "Day before turning 102, Tuskegee airman gets red carpet at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved January 16, 2022.