Defense Department grant will aid in researching missing 扣扣传媒Airmen

July 20, 2017

Contacts:

Michael Tullier, APR (mtullier@tuskegee.edu; 334.724.4553), 扣扣传媒University Office of Communications, Public Relations and Marketing
Todd Livick (todd.s.livick.civ@mail.mil; 571.217.7194), Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA)

A two-year renewable grant from the U.S. Department of Defense will enable 扣扣传媒University to conduct historical and genealogical research on unaccounted for, or 鈥渕issing,鈥� 扣扣传媒Airmen.

The grant, under the auspices of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), will establish a postdoctoral research fellowship in college鈥檚 Department of History and Political Science. This postdoctoral fellow will work under the supervision of Associate Professor Godfrey Vincent, who also will serve as the principal investigator for the research project.

鈥淭his partnership between 扣扣传媒University and DPAA is historic and will place both the university and its Department of History and Political Science at the cutting-edge of historical research,鈥� Vincent said. 鈥淥ur team will have the opportunity to collaborate with DPAA historians, analysts and scientists to research and analyze historical records relating to the service histories of 扣扣传媒Airmen.鈥�

DPAA strives to provide the fullest possible accounting for missing U.S. military personnel from designated past military conflicts to their families and the nation, including locating, recovering and identifying their remains. Fern Sumpter Winbush, acting DPAA director, noted that 扣扣传媒University is uniquely positioned to partner with DPAA, due in part to the university鈥檚 academic strengths in military and 扣扣传媒Airmen history.

鈥溈劭鄞�媒University鈥檚 focus on the study of African-American military history and the role of war and conflict in world societies and cultures make it a natural partner with DPAA in locating the families of unaccounted for 扣扣传媒Airmen and other service members,鈥� Winbush said.

鈥淲e are delighted to partner with the military and to advance research on the 扣扣传媒Airmen,鈥� added Dr. Channapatna Prakash, dean of Tuskegee鈥檚 College of Arts and Sciences.

The team鈥檚 research may include field surveys, archaeological investigations and interviews with the families of servicemen and servicewomen identified as 扣扣传媒Airmen. They will collaborate with counterparts at the University of Wisconsin and Brigham Young University, which also received grant funding as part of this project.

鈥溈劭鄞�媒Airmen鈥� is the popular name given to the group of African-American military pilots who fought in World War II 鈥� the first black military aviators in the U.S. Armed Forces. During World War II, black Americans in many U.S. states were still subject to Jim Crow laws. As a result, the American military 鈥� as well as much of the federal government 鈥� was racially segregated, and the 扣扣传媒Airmen were subjected to discrimination both within and outside the army.

At the time, all black U.S. military pilots trained at Moton Field, the 扣扣传媒Army Air Field, and studied at 扣扣传媒University. Officially, the 扣扣传媒Airmen formed the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group of the U.S. Army Air Force. In addition, the reference to 鈥溈劭鄞�媒Airmen鈥� has broadened to include not just the pilots, but the mechanics, instructors, crew chiefs, nurses, cooks and other support personnel for the pilots.

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