Thursday, November 15, 2007

Movie review and premiere event coverage: Flying for Freedom

The term "living legends" really does apply in relation to these guys.

By John P. Meyer

Stitched image results in a stage full of Tuskegee Airmen and associates

I was honored to be invited to attend the premiere screening Wednesday evening (Nov. 14) of the documentary Flying for Freedom - Untold Stories of the Tuskegee Airmen, which event (held at Dallas' Frontiers of Flight Museum) was highlighted by the attendance of more than a dozen original Tuskegee Airmen (along with wives and associates). Also on hand were the filmmakers and distribution team from AMS Production Group, who are producing a series of short films under the header "Black History Uncovered." There was even a red carpet on hand, this being the first-ever showing of the movie with its stars in attendance. Champagne, wine and finger foods added to the air of conviviality; handshakes and friendly introductions were the rule of the evening.

For those unfamiliar with the saga of the Tuskegee Airmen, they were a group of African-American fighter pilot enlistees who - to borrow the words of Professor Roger Cram of Hiram College - "fought for the right to fight for their country," even when their countrymen regarded them as second class citizens or - worse - not citizens at all. Tuskegee-trained black airmen (including pilots and ground crew) went on to serve with distinction in the 332nd Fighter Group of the 15th Air Force in the Italian campaign, where they racked up the amazing record of not losing a single bomber under their escort to German fighters.

The hour-long film devotes itself to a history of the establishment and progress of the Tuskegee program, which was championed by Eleanor Roosevelt in its initial stages; the first lady actually rode along with one of the first Tuskegee flight-certified pilots and was photographed doing so, which must have shocked the shorts off some folks at the time. The program follows the progress of the men as they faced varying degrees of resistance (in some cases by their white commanding officers) to their advancement into the combat arena.

There's a sobering narrative related by Alexander Jefferson, who was shot down in his P-51 Mustang and ended up in a German prisoner of war camp for eight months; the sobering part has to do with the fact that he remembers being treated with greater fairness and dignity by his German captors than he was by his white brothers-in-arms back home in the U.S. As Jefferson puts it, "they treated me like an officer and a gentleman." When he returned to the U.S. and disembarked from the troop ship, he was directed into the separate line for "n***ers."

Post-war events came to a boil when black Tuskegee-trained officers of the 477th Medium Bomber Group, stationed at Freeman Field, Indiana, attempted to enter the Freeman Field Officers' Club after they had been banned from the facility and 103 of them were arrested, charged with insubordination and threatened with court martial. While most of the men had their court martial proceedings dismissed, one airman - Lt. Roger "Bill" Terry - was convicted of the charges levied, but his conviction has since been overturned and his record cleared, along with all others charged in the event.

Professor Roger Cram holds forth

Partially in recognition of the demonstrated outstanding performance of the Tuskegee Airmen, President Harry Truman in 1948 enacted an executive order which resulted in the integration the armed forces of the United States of America. In 2006, surviving Tuskegee Airmen were awarded Congressional Gold Medals in a ceremony presided over by President Bush in the Capitol Rotunda. (According to one Airman/wag, it was "the best thing he's done during his administration.")

If the post-screening Q/A at one point turned into something of a grandstanding opportunity for Professor Cram, no one much minded - Cram (who is quoted frequently in the course of the filmed narrative) has taken the story of the Tuskegee Airmen as a springboard to demonstrate the power of passive excellence and group leadership dynamics to his students. (For the record, Dr. Cram is an associate member of the Tuskegee Airmen North Coast Chapter and serves on the scholarship committee of the National Tuskegee Airmen; perhaps more to the point, it's clear that the Airmen hold him in the highest regard.)

Photo by John P. Meyer

Col. (Ret.) Lloyd McKeethen and his wife, Rose. Lloyd McKeethen was the last of the 992 pilots who trained at Tuskegee to retire from active duty after 30 years of service spanning WWII, the Korean War and the Vietnam War.

In response to a question from an audience member as to what single thing we should tell folks who'd never heard of the Tuskegee Airmen, one of the veterans answered: "Just Google 'Tuskegee Airmen.' " Even now, these guys are still cutting edge.

It was an honest-to-God thrill to see these brave Americans up on the stage bantering back and forth like they'd just stepped off the tarmac; one got the feeling they'd have been happy to continue reminiscing and fielding questions from the enthusiastic audience for hours on end, but fortunately cooler minds prevailed; after all, the whole crew was scheduled to screen the film again at El Centro College the next morning.

DVD copies of Flying for Freedom can be purchased here; $5 of the price of each unit goes to Tuskegee Airmen Inc.

Related stories

• Video interview: WWII triple-ace Bud Anderson at Dallas’ Frontiers of Flight Museum (April 8, 2009)
• Texas Black Film Festival 2008: day one report (Jan. 31, 2008)
• North Texan profile: Marvin Krieger - man of many parts (Jan. 1, 2008)

See more stories in:

• Arts > Movies / Film > Independent Films