Mammy Two-Shoes and the Tuskegee Airmen — The Red Tails Who Won the War Twice

The 332nd Fighter Group, known as the 'Red Tails' for painting their aircraft tails red in red paint, was composed of African-American pilots who trained at Tuskegee Army Air Field in Alabama. The pilots faced segregation from their own country — they couldn't eat at restaurants near their training base, couldn't use the same facilities as white soldiers, and were initially deployed only to 'protect' Allied bomber crews who often resented being protected by black pilots. On missions over Italy and central Europe, the Red Tails escorted B-17 and B-24 bombers over Nazi Germany and lost fewer bombers than any other escort group. They flew over 15,000 sorties and destroyed 261 German planes. Despite their record, the medals came late: many received their Distinguished Flying Crosses at a single White House ceremony in 2007 — over 60 years after the war ended.