In March 1942, Life magazine published an article about the newly incorporated Tuskegee Airmen. For 10 cents, readers could buy the issue that included photos of the elder DeBow.
A sign of the times, the article, in part, read: "White instructors of the 99th agree that their Negro charges, by virtue of exceptional eyesight, courage and coordination, will prove crack combat pilots. Upon their performance and promise hang the hope of additional thousands of aspiring Negro fliers throughout the land."
Capt. William DeBow is the son of Lt. Col. Charles H. DeBow Jr., a member of the first graduating class of five Tuskegee Airmen. DeBow holds a copy of Life Magazine from March 23, 1942, that has a story about the Tuskegee Airmen. His father flew combat missions during World War II.
The 99th was deployed overseas to fight in the European theater. After 52 missions aboard a P-51 Mustang, Charles DeBow was injured and lost his flight status. When he returned home, and after the war ended, the young lieutenant colonel married and continued his education and eventually worked as a high school teacher and university professor in Indiana.
1918 - 1986 (68 years)