As part of our Black History Celebration, the Boston Celtics honored America's first black pilots, bombardiers, navigators and support personnel who trained and fought during World War II. The world-renowned "Tuskegee Airmen" are the most exceptional military aviators who distinguished themselves in combat, flying numerous bomber escort missions in the European theatre from 1944 through 1946 without losing any bombers to enemy attack.

These American heroes successfully fought two wars - a battle against enemy attack overseas and a battle at home to integrate the armed forces. The airmen's heroic, successful and persistent fight pioneered civil rights before the Civil Rights Movement ignited in the mid-1950s. The outstanding success and courage of the Tuskegee Airmen was a contributory factor in President Harry S. Truman's signing Executive Order 9981 in 1948. The order officially ended racial segregation in the U.S. armed forces, which went on to become a model of racial integration.

The following original Airmen were with us on Wednesday February 4: George Giddings, John Roach, Charles Diggs, Harvey Sanford, and Willis Saunders, Jr.

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