W.Pa. doctor honored for WWII service with Tuskegee Airmen

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A former fighter pilot with the legendary Tuskegee Airmen of World War II was honored at the H.J. Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh for his service.

Dr. Harry Lanauze said he’d never flown before joining the Army Air Force in 1943, but he still recalls his first solo training flight.

“All of a sudden, My God, I’m up here by myself!” said Lanauze, 86, who still sees patients at his medical practice.

The Tuskegee Airmen were the first group of black pilots, navigators and support staff in the military, and their success in fighting Nazi and Axis airmen helped break down racial barriers in the military, and in society. Blacks weren’t allowed to fly in the military before 1940.

Regis Bobonis, a historian who helped document that the largest contingent in the Tuskegee Airmen came from western Pennsylvania communities, said the success of the unit inspired many black people.

“It provided them with instant heroes. People were talking about it,” he said, since some military leaders had openly doubted that blacks could succeed as combat pilots.

The Tuskegee Airmen saw heavy combat over North Africa, Italy and Germany, often facing the best German pilots.