When I can agree with Charles Rangel AND Donald Rumsfeld on an issue, it must be important.

And this one certainly is, as a matter of justice and historical honesty.

The U.S. secretary of defense and one of the most prominent members of the Congressional Black Caucus, usually at odds over military matters and just about everything else, are on the same side in an effort to recognize the achievements of the famed Tuskegee Airmen.

The Tuskegee Airmen were an elite group of 450 African American fighter pilots who broke the military's racial barrier in a training program created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1941, the same year the U.S. entered World War II.

Legislation to recognize the Airmen with the Congressional Gold Medal still needs more than 80 votes to achieve a two-thirds passage in the House. The bill was sponsored by liberal Democratic Rep. Charles Rangel of New York and has been endorsed by Bush administration Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. The Senate version has already passed.

According to the House Office of the Clerk, the Congressional Gold Medal was originally meant to recognize those who participated in the Revolutionary War, but "Congress broadened the scope of the medal to include actors, authors, entertainers, musicians, pioneers in aeronautics and space, explorers, lifesavers, notables in science and medicine, athletes, humanitarians, public servants and foreign recipients."

In order to award a Congressional Gold Medal, a bill must be passed by two-thirds of the House and Senate.

At a time when African Americans were not allowed into combat, "the Tuskegee Airmen inspired revolutionary reform in the Armed Forces, paving the way for full racial integration in the Armed Forces," according to Rangel's bill.

These were men my father held up to me as heroes. They were certainly pioneers.

We need to see this honor bestowed while some of them are still left alive.

Posted by: Greg at 12:23 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 322 words, total size 2 kb.