List of Illustrations; Preface; Acknowledgments; Part I. The Early Years; 1. My Family and Ancestry; 2. My Early Life in Minnesota; 3. My Love Affair with a Plane; 4. Bubba's Experience in the Military; Part II. The War Years; 5. I Just Wanted to Fly; 6. Flight Training: In the Air at Last; 7. The Transition to War; 8. The Trip Overseas and Commander B. O. Davis; 9. The Air Forces, the P-51, and Ramitelli Air Field; 10. Combat; 11. December 1944; 12. January to February 1945; 13. March 1945; 14. Nuremberg; 15. The March to Moosburg; 16. Liberation; 17. Going Home; Part III. The Postwar Years18. To Stay or Not to Stay; 19. The Future Unfolds; 20. The Korean War; 21. Strategic Air Command; 22. Crises in America and My Decision to Leave the Military; 23. A New Career in Higher Education; 24. Fame; 25. Giving Back; 26. Breaking Par; 27. The Fourth Quarter; Notes; Index.
Summary:
Keep Your Airspeed Up: The Story of a Tuskegee Airman is the memoir of an African American man who, through dedication to his goals and vision, rose through the despair of racial segregation to great heights of accomplishment, not only as a military aviator, but also as an educator and as an American citizen. Unlike other historical and autobiographical portrayals of Tuskegee airmen, Harold H. Brown's memoir is told from its beginnings: not on the first day of combat, not on the first day of training, but at the very moment Brown realized he was meant to be a pilot. He revisits his childhood in Minneapolis where his fascination with planes pushed him to save up enough of his own money to take flying lessons. Brown also details his first trip to the South, where he was met with a level of segregation he had never before experienced and had never imagined possible. During the 1930s and 1940s, longstanding policies of racial discrimination were called into question as it became clear that America would likely be drawn into World War II. The military reluctantly allowed for the development of a flight-training program for a limited number of African Americans on a segregated base in Tuskegee, Alabama. The Tuskegee Airmen, as well as other African Americans in the armed forces, had the unique experience of fighting two wars at once: one against Hitler's fascist regime overseas and one against racial segregation at home. Colonel Brown fought as a combat pilot with the 332nd Fighter Group during World War II, and was captured and imprisoned in Stalag VII A in Moosburg, Germany, where he was liberated by General George S. Patton on April 29, 1945. Upon returning home, Brown noted with acute disappointment that race relations in the United States hadn't changed. It wasn't until 1948 that the military desegregated, which many scholars argue would not have been possible without the exemplary performance of the Tuskegee Airmen.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.