The Color of Courage

The Tuskegee Airmen began as a WW II experiment in integrating African-American soldiers into the cockpits of combat aircraft. Many in the white command structure of the armed forces of the time thought this was a foolhardy idea because they thought that these men had neither the mental capability to learn to fly or the courage needed in combat. Were it not for orders from President Roosevelt himself, one of the greatest stories of WW II would have never been written.

Known by the bright red tails their airplanes were painted in, the Tuskegee Airmen went on to achieve such notable success in the skies over Italy and Europe that bomber squadrons commanded by white officers would often request that the unit specifically be used to escort them through the dangerous skies above Germany.

In this painting, one of the Tuskegee Airmen flying his red-tailed Mustang, gives chase fast and low, in pursuit of a German Focke-Wulf 190. The Red Tails, destroyed close to 300 enemy aircraft and had the lowest bomber escort loss rate of any American air unit during the war.

“The Color of Courage” is available as a Limited-Edition print on archival paper and as a larger Artist Masterwork on canvas.