Ten Questions:

Woodrow Crockett

1.When did you first want to fly  

  and why?                        Grades 3-5

Mr. Crockett’s answer:

 

           Why?  Money!  I was already a private in the army when I thought about flying.  A private made $21 per month, which was later raised to $30 per month.  I knew that a lieutenant’s basic pay was $125 per month.  The Army Air Corps placed a poster in our orderly room that said:  “Be a pilot, bombardier or navigator and earn $245 per month.”  That got my attention, so I asked about the program.

           I had dropped out of junior college because I couldn’t afford the $6 per month tuition.  Because I had dropped out, I had to go to Oklahoma City and take some tests in order to qualify for the pilot training program.  First, they gave the guys physical examinations.  Out of hundreds of guys only 30 or 40 passed.  A lot of civilians were just not in good physical condition.  But I was already in the army and in good shape, so I passed my physical exam.

“The men who trained at Tuskegee Army Air Field only became known as the Tuskegee Airmen after World War II ended.” 

             W. W. Crockett

 

 

 

 

Woodrow Crocket

in full flight gear

332nd Fighter Group Ramitelli, Italy; 1944-45