NARRATIVE: In July of 1942, Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin O. Davis Jr. was named commander of the first all-Black air unit, the 99th Pursuit Squadron. The “Tuskegee Airmen” was the first and only group composed of all African American fighter pilots, navigators, bombardiers, mechanics, instructors, crew chiefs, nurses, cooks and other support personnel. These dedicated individuals conducted themselves with distinction during the era of Jim Crow. They fought a battle on two fronts, one overseas to combat the Axis powers and one at home to conquer segregation and racial oppression.