Tuskegee Airmen of the 332nd Fighter Group gather near one of the P-51 Mustangs they piloted during World War II in Ramitelli, Italy, in August 1944. From left: Lt. Dempsey W. Morgan Jr., Lt. Caroll S. Woods, Lt. Robert H. Nelson Jr., Capt. Andrew D. Turner, and Lt. Clarence P. Lester.
Courtesy of the Air Force Historical Research Agency

Sometimes you learn about great people who fought for freedom through others’ ignorance and racism.  You delve, dig and discover that injustice will not be tolerated even by a barely there airfield in what was the ‘Abruzzi’ and is now Molise, ‘Ramitelli’ just south of Campomarino that was home to the Tuskegee Airmen.

Who were The Tuskegee Airmen

The Tuskegee Airmen were the first African American military aviators in the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) during World War II, serving in a deeply segregated military and society.   They are named after the airfield they were trained at in Alabama, home to Rosa Parks, Booker T Washington even singer Lionel Richie. Despite proving their skill and determination, they were forced to train and live separately from their white counterparts, facing systemic racism at every turn. Even overseas, segregation followed them. When they were stationed at Ramitelli Airfield in the Molise region of Italy, their barracks, mess halls, and airfield operations remained separate. Ramitelli became the primary base for the 332nd Fighter Group (99th, 100th, 301st, 302nd Fighter Squadrons of the US 12th & 15th Air Forces), one of the Airmen’s most distinguished units, from mid-1944 to the war’s end. Under the leadership of Colonel Benjamin O. Davis Jr., the Tuskegee Airmen gained a reputation for their disciplined flying and extraordinary escort missions, successfully protecting Allied bombers from enemy attacks.

Mural at Campomarino dedicated in 2023 to General Benjamin O. Davis Jr. who commanded the 332nd Fighter Group.

From Ramitelli Airfield, the Tuskegee Airmen flew crucial missions over Nazi-occupied Europe, particularly long-range bomber escort sorties. They piloted P-51 Mustangs, famously painted with red tails, earning them the nickname the “Red Tails”, which George Lucas used as the name of his film about them. Their missions included protecting U.S. bombers during raids over Germany, Austria, and the Balkans, significantly reducing bomber losses. Their skill and courage not only changed perceptions about Black pilots but led to military integration after the war.

Today, the nearby town of Campomarino in Molise honours their legacy.  In 2023, they unveiled a plaque in its piazza created with the help of the Tuskegee Committee to correct history and ensure the Tuskegee Airmen received a monument that other airmen have received.

The Ramitelli airfield, though mostly gone today, remains a historic site, with occasional tributes by historians and aviation enthusiasts recognising the Airmen’s crucial role in the fight against fascism.

Airbrushing Away History

With the advent of the anti-discrimination, equity and integration crusade in the USA, the Tuskegee Airmen found themselves no longer on the website or taught in course material.

The airmen’s foundation petitioned both the President and the Secretary of Defense to be reinstated, during which time the Airfield in Molise advocated too on their behalf, such was the impression they left locally.  They were reinstated, and some of our readers on Instagram claimed it was the overzealous nature of one of the enforcers of this blitz to play down equality. It doesn’t take much to recognise where such deeds lead.

Read more and follow the Ramitelli Airfield’s advocacy work and the Tuskegee Airmen’s official foundation to learn more about their history and place in the march for civil rights in America

Author: Sam Dunham

Sam is a very lucky midlife 'mamma' to A who is 13 and juggles working as a freelance SEO copywriter & teaches IGCSEs at Istituo Cristo Re in Rome. She is the founder of the Life In Abruzzo Cultural Association, co-founder of Let's Blog Abruzzo and 'English in the Woods' initiative.