Photograph by George Sakkestad
Stanley Harris and his squadron were given a presidential commendation for their service in WWII.
By CRISTY SHAUCK
Before World War II, black men were not permitted to fly planes for the armed forces. In an experiment "designed to fail," a separate flight-training school was set up for blacks near Tuskegee, Alabama. The washout rate at the school was about 50 percent.
During "An Afternoon with the Tuskegee Airmen," an event sponsored by the Sunnyvale Public Library Nov. 24, eight men from the San Francisco chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen shared their experiences with an audience of 200 in Sunnyvale's City Council Chambers.
All agreed they were under incredible pressure. They had to pass the written test at the level of an officer in order to enter as an enlisted man. They endured harassment designed to weed out the weak. And they had to excel in an exemplary manner for "the race."
The pilots didn't lose a single bomber plane they escorted during more than 15,000 sorties.
Knowing he would eventually be drafted if he didn't enlist, retired Capt. Stanley Harris, 77, a Sunnyvale resident, chose flying because "I wanted something exciting, exceptional. And I thought it paid well."
During his 3 1/2-year stint, Harris flew 77 missions, receiving a distinguished service cross. His entire unit was later awarded a presidential commendation.
Harris, one of 450 black pilots who served in Europe and Africa during WWII, flew a P51--a narrow, one-man fighter plane that escorted larger bombers during runs. He made many 300-mile trips over the Alps from Italy to Germany.
After his discharge, Harris married a girl from the old neighborhood. "It seems I've known him all my life," said Juanita Harris, the Sunnyvale librarian who rounded up the airmen for the event.
When he went into the service to become a pilot, Juanita didn't realize her future husband would be putting his life on the line for his country. "I thought it was great. We weren't dating then. I was just a college freshman," Juanita said.
The couple have eight children and 15 grandchildren.
Harris took advantage of the GI Bill and finished college at the University of Minnesota, moving his family to California in 1960. He retired from Lockheed after 30 years as an electrical engineer in 1993.
Although he admitted to involvement in "five or six" engagements, Harris said, "None of mine were exceptional."
Yet, when asked by a member of the audience to talk about his most harrowing war experience, Harris launched into a heart-stopping story: "We broke out of an overcast so thick that we were the only flight of four that got there. We saw what seemed to be a swarm of insects. It was a swarm of planes."
About 60 German planes were coming in from the northeast.
Harris continued: "The unit leader, Wellington Irving, said, 'Drop tanks.' We went into the swarm. I don't know how I came out. Irving never made it. But we must have spread those guys from here to Christmas in every direction."
Although they had shot down his leader, Harris felt compassion for the enemy. He said he believed they were raw recruits in training, just "poor kids" replacing experienced pilots who had already become casualties of war.
What was it like to be a Tuskegee airman? "It was the greatest thing that ever happened to me," said Harris.
For more information about the Tuskegee Airmen, contact Sydney Wolfe at 243-1720.
This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, December 11, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.