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The last living Tuskagee Airman combat pilot has passed


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Posted

Damn, dude flew combat in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Hardy_(Tuskegee_Airman)

By early 2025, Hardy, along with 1949 Top Gun winner James H. Harvey, III, and Dr. Eugene J. Richardson, Jr. were among the last surviving members of the Tuskegee Airmen and the last three surviving members that graduated from Tuskegee AAF as single-engine fighter pilots. A P-51D serial number 44-72035 was restored in England to the markings of "Tall in the Saddle", the aircraft that Hardy flew in combat and it still flies at airshows there.[22]

With the death of LtCol. Harry T. Stewart, Jr., USAFR (ret.) on February 2, 2025 at the age of 100, LtCol. Hardy, USAF (ret.) was the last surviving member of the original Tuskegee Airmen who flew combat missions overseas as a single engine fighter pilot during World War II. He flew with the 99th Fighter Squadron of the "Red Tails" of the 332nd Fighter Group based at Ramitelli AB, Italy. ;[23] Col. James H. Harvey, III, USAF (ret.) age 102, as well as second lieutenant Dr. Eugene J. Richardson, age 100, are also alive as of September 2025, but they did not serve in combat during World War II.

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Posted

Wouldn't it be cool if the Commander in Chief had something nice to say about this American Hero?    

 

I know...it would also be cool to fuck a young Angie Dickinson.

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Posted

I really don’t have the words to express gratitude. I cannot imagine such heroism while being treated so indescribably poorly based upon race.

We did not deserve these men.

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Posted
7 minutes ago, tigol said:

I really don’t have the words to express gratitude. I cannot imagine such heroism while being treated so indescribably poorly based upon race.

We did not deserve these men.

I'm not old enough to have been subjected to an actual draft, or even to feel the pressure to join.  I honestly can't wrap my head around the intersection of patriotism, stress and fear these guys experienced.  Ultimately, anyone who served in those environments should be praised, no matter how they arrived there, but holy shit, some went through more than others.

Posted
8 minutes ago, Macanudo said:

If you've never seen a P-51 up close and personal you should.   

Now imagine you're flying that while being shot at by an angry German.  

When the boy was in his "let's go to lots of airshows" stage, we....went to lots of airshows. The wife got dragged along to some.  We were at one in San Antonio when a P-51, with that RR Merlin engine cranking, did a high-speed pass in front of us.  Even my wife commented "damn, that sounds sexy."  She ain't wrong.

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Posted (edited)
2 hours ago, tigol said:

I really don’t have the words to express gratitude. I cannot imagine such heroism while being treated so indescribably poorly based upon race.

We did not deserve these men.

Yes we did. Coming behind them was the integrated military. They paved they way. 

Honor them. Respect them. 

 

Edited by InkaUtexas
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Posted

I was around 10 years old and my dad played on a softball team that did a fair amout if travel on weekends for tournaments when we lived in Oregon.   We were at a sports complex near Boeing Field, south of downtown Seattle.  The team was in between games so we were sitting in some bleachers watching another game and eating something.   Planes were occasionally taking off and landing in the distance.  Eventually, I could hear something coming toward us.   

Now, keep in mind, 10 year old Macanudo was a huge WWII nerd.   I mean, I still am but I was then too.  

I realized what was coming at us and I jump up, screaming that a P-51 is flying right at us.   They're looking at me like the crazy-eyed 10 year old that I was.  The Mustang comes at us low, barely above tree level and then blows over us at 350+ MPH, waggles it wings, banks up in an aileron roll then heads out over Puget Sound.  My dad pats me on the back and says with a smile "Bet you didn't expect to see that today!" 

It's still one of the coolest things I have ever seen in person.  

 

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Posted
1 minute ago, Macanudo said:

I was around 10 years old and my dad played on a softball team that did a fair amout if travel on weekends for tournaments when we lived in Oregon.   We were at a sports complex near Boeing Field, south of downtown Seattle.  The team was in between games so we were sitting in some bleachers watching another game and eating something.   Planes were occasionally taking off and landing in the distance.  Eventually, I could hear something coming toward us.   

Now, keep in mind, 10 year old Macanudo was a huge WWII nerd.   I mean, I still am but I was then too.  

I realized what was coming at us and I jump up, screaming that a P-51 is flying right at us.   They're looking at me like the crazy-eyed 10 year old that I was.  The Mustang comes at us low, barely above tree level and then blows over us at 350+ MPH, waggles it wings, banks up in an aileron roll then heads out over Puget Sound.  My dad pats me on the back and says with a smile "Bet you didn't expect to see that today!" 

It's still one of the coolest things I have ever seen in person.  

 

Um, hence your signature? I noticed it is not a 47

Posted
18 minutes ago, Macanudo said:

I was around 10 years old and my dad played on a softball team that did a fair amout if travel on weekends for tournaments when we lived in Oregon.   We were at a sports complex near Boeing Field, south of downtown Seattle.  The team was in between games so we were sitting in some bleachers watching another game and eating something.   Planes were occasionally taking off and landing in the distance.  Eventually, I could hear something coming toward us.   

Now, keep in mind, 10 year old Macanudo was a huge WWII nerd.   I mean, I still am but I was then too.  

I realized what was coming at us and I jump up, screaming that a P-51 is flying right at us.   They're looking at me like the crazy-eyed 10 year old that I was.  The Mustang comes at us low, barely above tree level and then blows over us at 350+ MPH, waggles it wings, banks up in an aileron roll then heads out over Puget Sound.  My dad pats me on the back and says with a smile "Bet you didn't expect to see that today!" 

It's still one of the coolest things I have ever seen in person.  

 

I don't think I've ever seen one in flight, but that engine has to be incredbly loud, right?

Posted (edited)
17 minutes ago, InkaUtexas said:

Um, hence your signature? I noticed it is not a 47

It is indeed a 51.   The 47 is a beautiful beast in it's own right.   

EDIT, Jimmy it is loud but a there is something incredible about a 1,500 HP machine.  There's nothing else like it.  

Edited by Macanudo
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Posted
2 minutes ago, Macanudo said:

EDIT, Jimmy it is loud but a there is something incredible about a 1,500 HP machine.  There's nothing else like it.  

Yeah, this year will be my first at COTA for F1, but I saw a Ferrari event there . . . holy shit.  Twelve thimbles pumping away at 12 krpm is insanely loud.  Multiply by # of vehicles.

Posted
3 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

I don't think I've ever seen one in flight, but that engine has to be incredbly loud, right?

All those piston engines are incredibly loud.

For some reason, for me at least, the radial engines seem the loudest and they produce some frequency that resonates in my chest.

Posted
7 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

All those piston engines are incredibly loud.

For some reason, for me at least, the radial engines seem the loudest and they produce some frequency that resonates in my chest.

Not that I don't love a P-51, but I was always more of a Corsair man.  2000+ horses.  Sexy beasts.

Posted (edited)
15 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

Not that I don't love a P-51, but I was always more of a Corsair man.  2000+ horses.  Sexy beasts.

You should probably start a thread comparing women's body types to various WWII aircraft, letting us know which one you find the sexiest. 😉

Edited by bolverk
coorected autocorrect
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Posted
3 minutes ago, bolverk said:

You should probably start a thread comparing women's body type to various WWII aircraft, letting us know which one you find the series. 😉

Just cuz you're into batshit crazy Brewster Buffalos doesn't mean you need to lash out.

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Posted
18 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Just cuz you're into batshit crazy Brewster Buffalos doesn't mean you need to lash out.

Fun fact.  The Finns had really good success with the Buff.  They claimed a kill ratio of 26:1 versus Soviet planes. 

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Posted (edited)
14 hours ago, Macanudo said:

Fun fact.  The Finns had really good success with the Buff.  They claimed a kill ratio of 26:1 versus Soviet planes. 

Quite a cripple fight, there, though.  The Soviet Union didn't have any aircraft even as competent as the Buffalo until about 1944.

 

 

Edited by TwiceHorn
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Posted
16 hours ago, Macanudo said:

I was around 10 years old and my dad played on a softball team that did a fair amout if travel on weekends for tournaments when we lived in Oregon.   We were at a sports complex near Boeing Field, south of downtown Seattle.  The team was in between games so we were sitting in some bleachers watching another game and eating something.   Planes were occasionally taking off and landing in the distance.  Eventually, I could hear something coming toward us.   

Now, keep in mind, 10 year old Macanudo was a huge WWII nerd.   I mean, I still am but I was then too.  

I realized what was coming at us and I jump up, screaming that a P-51 is flying right at us.   They're looking at me like the crazy-eyed 10 year old that I was.  The Mustang comes at us low, barely above tree level and then blows over us at 350+ MPH, waggles it wings, banks up in an aileron roll then heads out over Puget Sound.  My dad pats me on the back and says with a smile "Bet you didn't expect to see that today!" 

It's still one of the coolest things I have ever seen in person.  

 

This was you, wasn't it

21d6cd71-9e22-4147-9cde-79fcbbd11602_tex

Posted
42 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

Quite a cripple fight, there, though.  The Soviet Union didn't have any aircraft even as competent as the Buffalo until about 1944.

 

 

Early German kill ratios over the Eastern front were as high as 20:1, with many German pilots have hundreds of confirmed kills.  Problem was, the USSR had tens of thousands of planes and production outpaced Germany by many multiples.  Same with tank production.  Complex, hard to maintain machines that were hard to manufacture at scale, and needed constant maintenance was not the best recipe.  Shit, during the Battle of Britain UK plane production outpaced Germany, never mind USSR and American production numbers.  

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Posted
On 9/29/2025 at 9:50 AM, Brisketexan said:

Americans don't get much more badass than the redtails.  To have done what they did for a country that was actively treating them like shit is humbling indeed.

This right here.

I am ashamed of how they were all treated after they fought for this country.

Posted
6 minutes ago, Steamboat1874 said:

This right here.

I am ashamed of how they were all treated after they fought for this country.

Thank goodness so much has changed!

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Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, BabaYaga said:

Early German kill ratios over the Eastern front were as high as 20:1, with many German pilots have hundreds of confirmed kills.  Problem was, the USSR had tens of thousands of planes and production outpaced Germany by many multiples.  Same with tank production.  Complex, hard to maintain machines that were hard to manufacture at scale, and needed constant maintenance was not the best recipe.  Shit, during the Battle of Britain UK plane production outpaced Germany, never mind USSR and American production numbers.  

Yeah was gonna mention the German aces with 300 kills for the same reason.  E.g. Erich Hartmann, 345 Soviet kills, 7 American.

Edited by TwiceHorn

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