100-Year-Old Tuskegee Airman Honored By Montgomery Co. Council

BETHESDA, MD — Charles E. McGee, a 100-year-old Tuskegee Airman and Bethesda resident, was honored for his service to the United States and commitment to racial equality in the armed forces.

At Tuesday's council session, Montgomery County councilmembers Will Jawando and Craig Rice presented the decorated war veteran with a proclamation, praising his progress in breaking barriers for those who had faced racial discrimination on the battlefield.

"On the county council, we have the opportunity...to give a lot of citations recognizing many incredible people. But I'd dare say that today is gonna rank among the highest honors that we have had as a body," Jawando said during the the proclamation ceremony. "There's nothing we can say here today to honor you enough and thank you for what you went through on behalf of our country."

Brig. Gen. McGee served in three wars, flew 409 combat missions, and helped defeat the German Luftwaffe in World War II as a member of the famous Tuskegee Airmen.

Prior to World War II, the military believed that African Americans did not have the capacity to fly planes. African American servicemen only began receiving flight training in 1941.

In 1943, McGee was among the first African American pilots to graduate from the Tuskegee Institute — the Army's segregated flying training facility in Alabama. As a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, McGee not only helped win World War II, but was partially responsible for the eventual integration of the U.S. armed forces.

"You forged the way and made it possible for young men like me to dream about doing the same things that you did," Rice, a member of the Civil Air Patrol, said. "You forged that path and that is something that you just don't understand how it has impacted so many people and opened up so many opportunities."

"When I was down at Corpus Christi, Texas, flying A-4s and A-6s, I can tell you that folks knew and understood about the Tuskegee Airmen and what they did to make that possible for people like myself. So for that, sir, not only are we deeply indebted for the service that you gave to our country, but for changing the paradigm...I am really grateful for you and for all that you have done for all the aviators who follow in your footsteps," Rice said.

McGee thanked the council for the proclamation.

"Thank you isn't enough but it's the words we use always. Life has been a blessing for me," McGee said. "I often ask why me, how me, and I have not found the answer.

"I am proud to stand for the more than 900 pilots and the more than 14,000 people that supported us when our country needed the help and when there were so many who said, 'you cant do it,'" the centenarian said, adding: "That keeps me out of the rocking chair today because that same message and the value lessons are good for the young people of today who are America's tomorrow. We need to stop telling them they can't do something and lead them in the direction that will allow us very shortly to put a woman on the moon and somebody on Mars."

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