The Tuskegee Airmen helped pave the way for desegregation in the military, and one of their last surviving members has passed away, with Markham resident Oscar Lawton Wilkerson dying earlier this year at the age of 96.
Wilkerson was a member of an elite group of pilots who rose to prominence during World War II. They were best known not just for their heroics, but also for challenging the stereotypes that had kept Black Americans from serving as pilots in the armed forces.
Ken Rapier is head of the Chicago DODO Chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen. He’s also Oscar Wilkerson’s good friend.
“A lot of time people say the Tuskegee Airmen, that is Black history – they are United States history – they are the history of America,” said Rapier. “It is a great loss to everyone, because he had so much to offer.”
Wilkerson graduated from Bloom Township High School in Chicago Heights in 1944. He joined the Air Force that same year - then moved to Tuskegee, Alabama, for training.
He was assigned to the 617th Bombardment Squadron. After the war, his job options were limited.
He would go on to work as a bus driver and as a freelance photographer, also having a career as a radio host at WBEE and WMAQ-AM. But his true passion lay in going to schools and churches, sharing his story with young people.
Local
He died Feb. 8th -- a day before his 97th birthday.
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