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New Lucasfilm Movie About Tuskegee Airmen (at Wilcox Theatres) Has Vicksburg Tie
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nd Lieutenant Wellington G. Irving, a native of Belzoni and member of the 301st Fighter Squadron, 332nd Fighter Group – the renowned Tuskegee Airmen. I consider myself a student of history. This is one of those historical facts that I didn’t know. I decided to do some research and go pay my respects to a man who gave his life for our country. Wellington G. Irving was born on July 29, 1920. He was born into a pretty horrible existence. His family lived in Belzoni, Mississippi at that time and worked primarily in agriculture. Lots of people – black and white – had the same type of job back in 1920. The Great Depression hit when Irving was nine and his existence only got worse. Irving’s troubles were compounded by the color of his skin. WWII came and Irving went off to serve his country. He graduated from flight training on December 5, 1943, at Tuskegee Army Air Field in Alabama. He was sent to Italy in February of 1944 to serve in the 301st Fighter Squadron, part of the 332nd Fighter Group. Lt. Irving was a “Red Tail.” He piloted a P-51 Mustang fighter. He would never see his family or the shores of the United States again. The following information comes from an article posted on http://www.stltoday.com
On July 18, the 332nd Fighter Group was sent to escort bombers to Memmingen in southern Germany. When the 66 P-51 Mustang pilots arrived at the rendezvous point, the bombers they were to meet weren’t there. The fighter pilots circled the area; when the bombers were spotted, so was a swarm of 30 enemy planes. More than 20 of the P-51 pilots rushed toward the Messerschmitt 109s to break up the attack. The bombers and the rest of the fighters continued toward the target. Near Kempten, Germany, about 25 miles from the target, 30 more enemy planes were spotted. Four of them attacked the bombers, and four P-51 pilots, including Irving, responded. “Approximately half way between the Alps and the target, our lone flight of four dropped back of the bomber formation and enemy aircraft were sighted,” 1st Lt. Joseph P. Gomer wrote in a military report. “Lt. Irving and his wingman, Lt. (Stanley L.) Harris, broke away and Lt. (Gene C.) Browne, my wingman, went into attack an enemy aircraft headed at us.” Irving and Browne were later reported missing. Browne was captured and spent the rest of the war at a prisoner of war camp. Irving was not seen again. “The last time I saw 2nd Lt. Wellington G. Irving was when he was diving on the top of a formation of about 30 FW-190s,” Harris wrote in a military report. “I was on his wing, but in the ensuing mixup I never saw him again.”I searched for a photo of Lt. Irving, who went missing and is presumed to have been killed just eleven days before his 24th birthday. My search returned only one result that I can say definitely contains a photo of Lt. Irving. The group photo below is a picture of his graduating class at Tuskegee Army Air Field. The order of the people in the photo is unknown but it does contain Lt. Irving’s photo. I am sorry to tell you that I cannot find much more information about this American hero. My friend Gary & I went to the Vicksburg National Cemetery this morning to find Lt. Irving’s marker – his remains were never found – and pay our respects. We were aided by one of the Park Rangers, who gave us a map of the cemetery and the number of Lt. Irving’s marker. You can find the marker in Section X which is on the N. Washington side of the cemetery right near the caretaker’s residence and just down the hill from the overlook pavilion. The marker number is 17547. Gary and I spent a few minutes on this damp day with the brisk wind coming in off the river honoring this man we never had the chance to know. His sacrifice – and the sacrifice of so many others – helped to ensure that we live with the freedoms that we do. It’s a shame that he died in the service of our country, but there is a small part of me that is thankful that he didn’t have to come back home as an American hero only to have to fight for rights from the country he gave his life to defend. I will be attending a showing of Red Tails this weekend with my wife, Gary and maybe some other friends. I’ll be sure to let you know what we think about the movie. I hope to hear that you took the chance to see it! I can already tell you what we think about, Lt. Wellington G. Irving and the rest of the Tuskegee Airmen. We are thankful for their service, for their sacrifice and their willingness to stand up for a country that wouldn’t do the same for them. In my opinion, that really defines what a HERO is all about!
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