The Tuskegee Airmen

I enjoyed this film a lot, both for the drama and the action. I watched it on the History Channel where scenes from the film were intercut with commentary from surviving Tuskegee airmen. It made the film that much more fascinating.

As one of the other reviewers mentioned, there is one scene where a pilot sinks a German destroyer using only this guns. This is a true event. From the "Tuskegee Airmen" site: "The 332nd Fighter Group also distinguished themselves in June 1944 when two of its pilots flying P-47 Thunderbolt aircraft discovered a German destroyer in the harbor at Trieste, Italy. One of the pilots, Lieutenant Gynne Pierson of the 302nd Fighter Squadron, using only the aircraft's 50-caliber machine guns, strafed the destroyer, causing it to explode and sink."

The statement that the 332nd did not lose a single bomber to enemy action is also true. To qualify that, some of the bombers were lost in other ways, but never to enemy planes. In fact, under Benjamin O. Davis' command, the group flew more than 15,000 sorties against the Luftwaffe, shot down 111 enemy aircraft, and destroyed another 150 on the ground, while losing only 66 of their own aircraft to all causes.

I am not sure they shot down the FIRST German jet, but they did receive a citation after shooting down some German jets. Again, from the TA website: "The 332nd Fighter Group received the Presidential Unit Citation for its longest bomber escort mission to Berlin, Germany, March 24, 1945. They destroyed three German ME-262 jet fighters and damaged five additional jet fighters without losing any of the bombers or any of its own fighter aircraft to enemy aircraft."

Although there were no "aces" that came from the 332nd, this was probably because pilots were told not to pursue German planes for the kill once the planes were far enough away that they no longer posed a danger to the bombers.

The Tuskegee airmen who commented on this film said that the racism they encountered in real life was much worse than was depicted in the film, but much of the rest of the film was realistic.

I found it especially interesting that Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. (played by Andre Braugher) was depicted in this movie. He was a real person who was one of only two black line officers in the U.S. Army at the time--the other was his father. He was one of the first recruits trained at Tuskegee and received his wings in March 1942, after becoming the first black officer to solo an Army Air Corps aircraft. After flying in the Mediterranean, he returned to the US, and took command of the 332d Fighter Group. Eventually, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. Following the War, he commanded the 477th Composite Group and the 332d Fighter Wing. In 1953 he again saw combat when he assumed command of the 51st Fighter-Interceptor Wing and flew the F-86 in Korea. With his promotion to brigadier general, Davis became the first black man to earn a star in the US Air Force. He retired as a lieutenant general in 1970, and died in 2002, ironically on July 4, at age 89.

I am an American History teacher and I really appreciate this film. While for me, I prefer some of the documentaries featuring the actual airmen, this is a great movie for teens and adults (despite the LARGE amount of swearing you'll hear throughout the film). It takes the true story of these pilots and creates a a fictionalized story--changing names as well as taking a bit of a creative license in telling the story. However, in spirit it is very accurate and is an excellent history lesson. What I particularly like is how blunt and directly it deals with prejudice--it doesn't pull punches or take the politically correct route.

The movie itself is well-written, directed and acted. In fact the film has an excellent ensemble cast--complete with some famous names (such as Lawrence Fishburn and Cuba Gooding) and lots of faces you'll recognize from TV and movies.

Another HBO Production about the Black-American experience that I STRONGLY recommend is MISS EVERS' BOYS. Once again, top-notch production values and an important film for our history.

NOTE: The DVD for this film is pretty poor. While all the content of the movie is there, there is little else. A documentary about the pilots and other background information is conspicuously absent. It's a real shame.

I love these World War II docudramas, and no one does them better than HBO. They take an important, but little known piece of the war, the focus on an individual, a group, or an action, where heroism, personal fortitude, or some other extremely admirable qualities have prevailed, but sadly overlooked, and build a story around the theme.

They get some great actors, many who have some sort of direct or distant connection to the cause, to contribute. The Tuskegee Airmen loads Larry Fishburne, Cuba Gooding Jr., Courtney B. Vance, Allen Payne, Malcolm Jamal Warner, and Andre Braugher all onto the same plate, and there's plenty of room for great performances from each of them.

The story is a little predictable, a little melodramatic, but no less inspirational.

After you see Tuskegge Airmen check out another HBO movie in this vein (Against the Wall, Rat Pack, Stalin, And the Band Played On, Citizen X, Gotti, Indictment:The McMartin Trial, When Trumpets Fade are some examples) once a week, it's educational, and tonic for your soul.

I was 17 years old when I first saw this movie on HBO. I was enthralled by WWII history already at this point. This movie opened my eyes to a whole other area of history that was missing in the history books of the small 99.5% white town I grew up in. The challenges these hero's faced just to serve their country they so loved while a good percentage of the country loathed them is deserving of a decoration in and of itself. This is mostly what the movie focuses on. However, the record of the men of 332d is second to none; no other unit in WWII could boast that while escorting, they never lost a bomber. John Lithgow also plays a good bit-part in the movie. He is a much better actor than I because I could never play a part where I had to utter such bigoted garbage as he did in this movie. Laurence Fishburne and Andre Braugher deliver stellar performances as Hannibal Lee and the great military leader Benjamin O. Davis. This film is a definite must see for any WWII history fan and a great movie for everyone else. Too bad it was never released in the box office I think it would have faired well.

This is a movie that should be viewed by all Americans interested in seeing a slice of Americana which has for so long been ignored. Most will identify with the raw emotion evoked by the plight of these brave and talented men. Black Americans will be moved to tears as we are reminded of what those trailblazers overcame so that future Black soldiers, airmen and every day citizens could take their rightful place in American society, proud of their past and heritage. We all owe a debt of gratitude to the Tuskegee Airmen. This movie makes it clear why.