When you see the title "Tuskegee Airmen" do you think about the 1995 Movie produced by H.B.O. which drew millions to theaters across America or kept myriads of people's attention riveted to their television sets? Did you watch the movie more than once? Maybe, you rented the DVD whose holder included this cover art (Wikipedia photo): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tuskegee-airmen-DVDcover.jpg The film was about a popular group of African-American pilots who fought in World War II. Formally, they were the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group of the U. S. Army Air Corps. As the movie ran through its first reel we (the audience) learn that the now famous "Tuskegee Airmen" had to overcome two foes: 1. Socialist Germany 2. Racism within the U.S. military. By the middle of the second reel, I (we) were rooting for them. We cheered as they were sent into action in the skies over Sicily and Italy. Pride filled the hearts of each and every one of us as those "Tuakegee Airman" were deployed as bomber escorts in Europe where they proved to the world they were the warriors of the air, heroes, courageous. Why Have I told you all this? What does it have to do with numismatics? In all, 996 pilots were trained in Tuskegee from 1941 to 1946, approximately 445 were deployed overseas, and 150 Airmen lost their lives in accidents or combat. The blood cost included sixty-six pilots killed in action or accidents, and thirty-two fell into captivity as prisoners of war. The Tuskegee Airmen were credited by higher commands with the following accomplishments: 15,533 combat sorties, 1578 missions One hundred and twelve German aircraft destroyed in the air, another 150 on the ground Nine hundred and fifty railcars, trucks and other motor vehicles destroyed One destroyer sunk by P-47 machine gun fire A good record of protecting U.S. bombers, losing only 25 on those 1578 missions The squadron earned its right to be an integrel part of American history so in 1996, by an Act of Congress the U.S. Mint issued a bronze medal honoring the "Tuskegee Airmen." Here's the page with an image of the medal courtesy of U.S. Mint (to view reverse move to left edge of coin photo: http://www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/medals/?action=medal&ID=23 Hope you enjoyed learning about this imnportant US medal... Clinker
Actually the unit was awarded a gold medal by Congress. Typically when Congress awards a gold medal to a group each person receives one. In the case of the Tuskegee Airmen there were still enough alive to make it fiscally infeasible. So they awarded the gold medal to the group as a whole and each surviving member was given a bronze copy. As with other Congressional gold medals bronze copies were sold to the public to defray the expenses. I do not know if the medals given to the airmen had anything to distinguish them from the ones sold to the public. (since they couldn't be actual gold medals you would think the least they could do would be to goldplate the ones given to the airmen
