The Tuskegee Airmen were the first all African-American aviator group in WWII. The Rise Above traveling exhibit consists of a 35 seat traveling theater set up in a semi rig. Once aboard you watch a 30 minute movie that tells the history of the airmen, telling the story of how they overcame segregation in the military and how they overcame diversity and became heros. The message of this event is foremost to keep the memory of the Tuskegee Airmen alive as well as reminding us that all it takes is a dream and a desire and you can overcome anything to reach your goals.
Also on display was a P-40E Warhawk
The P-51C Mustang
For $2000 you could take a ride in the Mustang, expensive yes but considering the restoration and upkeep of a WWII era plane it's not unreal. Just as we were getting ready to leave someone was taking a flight, so we were able to hear it start up and take off, pretty neat.
The Mustang on display has actually had to go through two restorations. After it had been restored the first time, during a 2004 air show fly by the plane lost it's engine power and crashed. Sadly the pilot lost his life. But following the Tuskegee way, in the face of adversity, the decision was made to again restore the P-51. You can learn more about the two restorations on the redtail.org site.
I hope you'll take a second to Google the Tuskegee Airmen, or check out the Red Tail website. If for nothing else just to learn a little bit about our nation's military past. You can also see the movie Red Tails, which gives you an idea about what it was like for the airmen during their combat missions.
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