TUSKEGEE AIRMAN LOOKS BACK.Byline: - Rick Coca As a member of the famed Tuskegee Airmen Tuskegee Airmen Black servicemen of the U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF) who trained at Alabama's Tuskegee Army Air Field in World War II. They constituted the first African American flying unit in the U.S. military. , Lt. Roger Cecil Terry experienced the freedom of flying planes as well as the bitter disappointment of racism he often found waiting for him when he touched down. In front of about 500 students at Chatsworth High School on Thursday, Terry, 83, shared the confidence-boosting mantra mantra (măn`trə, mŭn–), in Hinduism and Buddhism, mystic words used in ritual and meditation. A mantra is believed to be the sound form of reality, having the power to bring into being the reality it represents. that helped him face those who discriminated against him. ``I'm as good as them and better than most,'' Terry said. At age 19, Terry graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles UCLA comprises the College of Letters and Science (the primary undergraduate college), seven professional schools, and five professional Health Science schools. Since 2001, UCLA has enrolled over 33,000 total students, and that number is steadily rising. , where he also played basketball. In 1941, Terry and a white teammate enlisted and passed all the tests to join the Army Air Corps. Later, Army officials realized Terry was black. ``I found out the world was orchestrated or·ches·trate tr.v. or·ches·trat·ed, or·ches·trat·ing, or·ches·trates 1. To compose or arrange (music) for performance by an orchestra. 2. by the law of the land,'' Terry said. ``And in 1941, the law of the land was segregated.'' Student Jeff Nelson Jeff Nelson can refer to different people:
``It's good to hear, to know what went on and to learn from that,'' Nelson said. ``Getting to meet someone who was a Tuskegee Airman makes it more real.'' Once at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, the rigorous flying program was the easy part, Terry said. Difficulties arose in the small towns of the South, where Terry heard racial epithets delivered wholesale. Terry said he was court-martialed in 1945 after he and 161 other black officers were arrested when they entered a white officers' club Officers' Club was established in 1967 on 4.5 acres land in a picturesque setting at Ramna (Bailey Road), Dhaka, Bangladesh. Its membership is open only to government officers and the officers of semi-government or autonomous bodies. at Freeman Field in Indiana. They had hoped an executive order outlawing discrimination in the armed forces would be enforced, but instead, Terry and others were convicted of various offenses. After Terry fulfilled a lifelong dream and graduated from law school, his felony conviction from the Army court-martial kept him from taking the bar exam Noun 1. bar exam - an examination conducted at regular intervals to determine whether a candidate is qualified to practice law in a given jurisdiction; "applicants may qualify to take the New York bar examination by graduating from an approved law school"; "he passed . In 1995, 50 years and two months after his conviction, Terry was pardoned by President Bill Clinton. Terry said his pardon took the work of many people from different races and helped heal a lot of old wounds. After law school, he worked as a private investigator for the Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. District Attorney's Office and a parole officer. ``I survived,'' Terry told the students. ``I have not been stymied. So that should be proof to you that you can do anything you set your mind to.'' CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Ed Tillmon, left, and Roger Cecil Terry, former Tuskegee Airmen, attend a session at Chatsworth High School to share some of their World War II experiences with students. John Lazar/Staff Photographer |
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