MEDIA CONTACT: Andrew LaPlant
561-297-3022, alaplant@fau.edu

Tuskegee Airmen to Speak at FAU Distinguished Lecture Series on American Presidency

BOCA RATON, FL (February 10, 2005) - In honor of Black History Month, members of the Tuskegee Airmen will speak at Florida Atlantic University as part of FAU's Distinguished Lecture Series on the American Presidency. Speakers, who include Richard Rutledge, Elridge Williams and Pierre Henry, will speak of their adventures in their roles as Tuskegee Airmen.

The lecture will be held on Thursday, February 24 at 9:45 a.m. on FAU's Jupiter campus at the Abacoa Crown Theater, 4688 Main Street, Jupiter and at 6:30 p.m. at FAU's Boca Raton campus, Lifelong Learning Auditorium, 777 Glades Rd.

The term Tuskegee Airmen is used to describe African American fighter pilots of the 99th Pursuit Squadron later incorporated into the 332nd Fighter Group, who fought during World War II in the U.S. Army Air Corps that were trained at Tuskegee Army Air Field, Tuskegee, Alabama. The 332nd Fighter Group escorted bombers over Europe in over 200 missions and never lost a plane.

Rutledge, who enlisted in 1941 and was sent to the Tuskegee Air Field, was part of the famous 332nd Fighter Group under the legendary Black Brigadier General Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. He also served in North Africa in 1943, was promoted from private to sergeant and became one of the first African Americans to be commissioned in the U.S. Army Air Corps as a warrant officer. After the war, Rutledge went to college at NYU and Brooklyn Law School. Following a 34-year career in private law practice, he was elected to the New York Courts and eventually served as a judge on the New York Supreme Court.

Williams attended the Army Air Corps School in Miami Beach as the only black person in his unit. After graduating as a second lieutenant, he was assigned to the Tuskegee Army Air Field and served as a Tuskegee Airman from 1942 to 1949. Williams rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel. Following his military career, he served as director of personnel for Miami Dade County Public Schools.

Henry served in the U.S. Air Force in Korea, Japan, Germany and England and was part of the Tuskegee Airmen. After his military career, he became an insurance agent for Metropolitan Life and volunteered with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and for the administration of President George H. W. Bush.

The cost for the lecture series is $55 for Lifelong Learning Society members, $75 for non-members and $10 for each individual lecture. Seating is limited. For more information on the series at Boca Raton, call 561-297-6902. For more information on the series in Jupiter, call 561-799-8547.

-FAU-