Tuskegee Legends Honored At Bloom High School

Flashes from cameras were going off, a line of photographers were trying to get the best angle to shoot these heroes. You'd think you were at a red carpet event.  

Friday, welcomed back two heroes whose history was recently re-imagined in the new movie Red Tails. Louis Irons and Lawton Wilkerson, both 1944 graduates at Bloom, were given the star treatment by the Bloom Afro-American Club and students alike. " 

Lunch and awards were given to the alumni and Tuskegee Airmen inside the Dr. James Steckel Library.

"We're getting the celebrity treatment", said Dr. Irons as he posed for a photo with Chicago Heights Mayor David Gonzalez. 

Irons' best buddy, Lawton Wilkerson couldn't have agreed more.

"It has been a pleasure to speak to some of the Bloom students," Wilkerson said. "They seem greatly interested in the history of the Tuskegee." 

A few Bloom students and members of the Bloom archives filled the front trophy case with momentos from the days of Irons and Wilkerson. Senior photos smiled back at the faces, now 60-plus years more mature.

Yearbook photos of Wilkerson saved moments of Bloom history from a past forgotten by some. The state trophy Irons won as he took part in track during World War II was brightly shining through the case.  

"Bloom is still going strong," said Wilkerson. "It has improved as the years have gone on. It's a pleasure being back here."

The Bloom NJROTC escorted the men down the school hallways, each man bringing up a memory or two of his time at the school.

"I'm happy to be roaming these hallowed halls again," added Wilkerson. "It's a lot different today from what it was then."

As the men settled in their chairs inside the Workman Auditorium, the lights grew dim. Hearing the sounds of airplanes, the Red Tails movie trailer appeared on the stage in the auditorium. Some would say Irons and Wilkerson resembled the men on the big screen: proud to be black, proud to fly, proud to fight for their country.

"The movie was great," Wilkerson said. "I got a chance to meet Cuba Gooding Jr. and George Lucas. It was a thrill. The movie was entertaining, not a documentary. Everything in Red Tails was not historic, (but) it was based on history. We all made history. It took ten people on the ground to keep one man in the air, the movie didn't show that."

The men would appear later on the stage and share their personal stories. They were not part of the 99. But they were Tuskegees and proud of it.

. He gave a history lesson to the students attending the program. 

Both Irons and Wilkerson were given awards from Bloom. Both were grinning ear to ear, like they received an Oscar. Filled with pride, Irons ended his story by telling the crowd, "Today my bucket list is full."

Welcome home, Tuskgees!