ir Field(TAAF). About six
             miles from the fields was the town of Tuskegee. It was very
             hostile toward blacks, especially its sheriff.
             At the TAAF base, very diverse entertainment was
             offered. Musicians such as Louis Armstrong and Lena Horne, other
             celebrities like Joe Louis and the Camel Caravan Orchestra.
             The first trainer plane used by the squadron was the PT-
             17.*4*It was a biplane with unretractable landing gear. The
             instructor rode with the cadet during the first practice, whether
             Before the cadets could earn their wings, they had to
             complete three phases of the training. These were the
             primary, basic and advanced courses. In the primary and basic,
             the cadets would have ground school classroom courses and flying
             lessons. In the advanced, the cadets would concentrate on
             On September 2, 1941, Captain Benjamin O. Davis Jr. became
             the first black man to officially solo an aircraft as an officer
             of the Army Air Corps.*5* A few days after Davis's solo flight on
             December 7,1941, in the midst of class 42C's training, the
             Japanese bombed the US Navy base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. That
             next day the United States declared war, joining allies with
             Great Britain, France, and Russia in the fight against the Axis
             It was not until July 3, 1942 that the fourth class of the
             Tuskegee Institute graduated. The men of this class became the
             cadets that would fill the 99th squadron, which became the first
             black squadron of the Army Air Corps.
             Joining the pilots in the 99th were 14 other officers who
             provided support services and commanded the 35 enlist
             ...