One of the last surviving Tuskegee Airmen has died.
Brig. Gen. Charles McGee was 102 when he died in his sleep Sunday morning, with his right hand over his heart, his family said.
McGee battled fascism abroad and racism at home, both in the name of serving his country.
He was part of the group of Black aviators in the U.S. Army Air Corps., a precursor of the U.S. Air Force. Collectively they flew more than 15,000 individual sorties in Europe and North Africa during World War II.
“Our task was to keep the air clear of German pilots,” McGee said in a 2020 Air Force video.
Their service earned them medals, and their performance paved the way for integration of the U.S. armed forces, according to History.com.
McGee was a cut above even that. He went on to fly for another 30 years as an Air Force pilot in the Korean and Vietnam wars, for a total of 409 aerial fighter missions — a record that still stands today.
He was as well known for his kindness and mentorship as he was for his patriotism, encouraging young pilots to fly, get an education and excel at whatever they chose, NBC News noted.
“Perceive, Prepare, Perform and Persevere” was his oft-quoted, lifelong mantra, his family said.
“At the time of the war, the idea of an all African American flight squadron was radical and offensive to many,” McGee wrote in an essay for the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. “The prevailing opinion was that blacks did not possess the intelligence or courage to be military pilots. One general even wrote, ‘The Negro type has not the proper reflexes to make a first-rate fighter pilot.’ The Tuskegee Airmen certainly proved men like him wrong.”
“Charles McGee is a remarkable person,” the National Aviation Hall of Fame said in a statement of the man they inducted in 2011. “A legendary pilot and humanitarian. He will be missed, and we are so very, very blessed to have called him friend. Godspeed, Sir. The world is better because of you.”
Former President George W. Bush awarded McGee the Congressional Gold Medal in 2007, and he was recognized at the 2020 State of the Union Address by then-President Donald Trump.
Vice President Kamala Harris paid homage, posting a Twitter video of her phone call to this “American hero” last month on his 102nd birthday, thanking him for his service. U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin also recognized McGee.
“Today, we lost an American hero,” tweeted Austin. “Charles McGee, Brigadier General and one of the last surviving Tuskegee Airman, passed at the age of 102. While I am saddened by his loss, I’m also incredibly grateful for his sacrifice, his legacy, and his character. Rest in peace, General.”
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