Celebrating Black History Month: Charles B. Hall, first African American to receive Distinguished Flying Cross

 

Charles "Buster" Hall, born August 25, 1920 in Brazil, Indiana, was the first African American combat pilot to be awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. He enlisted in the US Army Air Corps as an aviation cadet in 1941, and assigned to attend Advanced Flight Cadet Training at the Tuskegee Army Airfield in 1942. 

He graduated July 3, 1942, earning his wings and being commisssioned as a 2nd Lieutenant.  Hall was assigned to the 332nd Fighter Group's 99th Fighter Squadron.

During WWII, he flew 198 missions over North Africa, Italy, the Meditarranean, and Europe. On July 2, 1943, while on a riad on Castelvetrano Airfield in Sicily, Itlay, Hall shot down a German plane, making him the first African American combat fighter to shoot down an enemy aircraft.

For this action, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, making him the first black man to receive an award. He shot down two more enemy planes in January 1944 over Anzio, Italy. 

After the war, like many other African American WWII veteran pilots, he could not find a job with commercial airlines or commercial transport companies.  He moved to Oklahoma, where he became an insurance agent and in 1949, worked at Tinker Air Force Base until 1967, when he took a position at the Federal Aviation Administration in Oklahoma City.

He died on November 22, 1971

Interview with Charles Hall's son

Happy birthday, bodybuilder and gay activist Bob Paris!

Bob Paris, born December 14, 1959 in Columbus, Indiana, is a championship bodybuilder, a gay activist, writer, and public speaker.  

I first discovered Bob when I was into bodybuilding, and right away, he came out, becoming one of the first, if not THE first, athlete to come out while still actively competing in his sport.  Of course, the damage to his career was significant, losing about 80% of his bookings and endorsements.  

He and his husband at the time Rod Jackson co-authored a book, Straight From the Heart.  I purchased it and got Bob's autograph and my picture with him! 

I'm glad to hear that he is doing well! An inspiration for all of us. 

The Johnny Bright Incident 1951

The Johnny Bright Incident, October 20, 1951, was a dark day in college sports, when a white player attacked an African-American player so violently, the man was knocked unconscious and his jaw was broken.

Johnny Bright, born June 11, 1930 in Fort Wayne, Indiana, was a top college football player while he attended Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. Bright received a track and field scholarship from Drake and lettered in football, track, and basketball during his schooling.

In his sophomore year, he lead the nation in total offense, and the Drake Bulldogs finished the season 6-2-1.  In his junior year, he set an NCAA record for total offense (2,400 yards) in 1950, again leading the Bulldogs to a 6-2-1 record.  He was considered a Heisman Trophy candidate and was leading the national again in rushing and total offense during his senior year.

The Bulldogs had won their five previous games when they traveled to Stillwater, Oklahoma to take on Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State University).  Apparently, it was no secret that A&M players were targeting Bright claiming that he "would not be around at the end of the game". During the first seven minutes of the game, Bright was knocked unconscious and had his jaw broken by three blows from defensive tackle Wilbanks Smith.  

The incident was captured by Des Moines Register cameramen John Robinson and Don Ultang, and showed clearly the blow that broke Bright's jaw was delivered well after he had handed off the ball. They had been watching him when rumors of his targeting became too much to ignore. The six-frame sequence won Robinson and Ultang the 1952 Pulitzer Prize for Photography.

A&M's president Oliver Willham denied anything had happened even when presented with overwhelming evidence.  Smith was not penalized and NEVER apologized.  HE maintained he was not racist nor was it a racially motivated incident.

Yeah, right.  The incident provoked changes in NCAA rules regarding illegal block and the use of helmets with face guards.  The wikipedia article doesn't mention if there were any changes to rules concerning physical assault on other players.

Of course, Oklahoma A&M was not going to take any action against Smith, because they won the game.

Dick York, the original Darrin Stephens, born 1928

Dick York, born September 4, 1928 in Fort Wayne, Indiana, is best known for his role as the beleaguered husband Darrin Stephens in the iconic television series Bewitched.  He appeared in the show opposite Elizabeth Montgomery and Agnes Moorehead from 1964-1969.  York suffered a serious back injury while filming They Came to Cordura in 1959, which caused him to suffer back pain for the rest of his life.  

He appeared in two episodes of the Twilight Zone before starring in Bewitched.  His chronic back problems resulted in him leaving the show in 1969.  His final on-screen appearance in Bewitched was Samantha and Darrin in Mexico City.  Daddy Does His Thing was the final episode he filmed.  During the filming, he suffered at seizure and was rushed to the hospital, at which time he was let go from the show.

He was nominated for a Primetime Emmy in 1968 for his performance on Bewitched.

York passed away in February 1992.  

Celebrating Asian-American Heritage Month: Garrett Wang, Star Trek actor extraordinaire

Garrett Wang, born December 15, 1968 in Riverside, California, is best known and beloved actor for his role as Ensign Harry Kim on Star Trek: Voyager.  His parents were Chinese immigrants and he moved from California, to Indiana, to Bermuda and then Tennessee.  

In 1997, he was named one of People Magazine's 50 most beautiful people in the world. 

Happy birthday, astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor!

Serena Aunon-Chancellor, born April 9, 1976 in Indianapolis, Indiana, is the second Hispanic female astronaut.  She went into space aboard Soyuz MS-09 to the International Space Station in June 2018.  She participated in Expeditions 56 and 57.  

She also participated in Aquarius underwater laboratory NEEMO 16 and NEEMO 20.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Anthony England!

Anthony England, born May 15, 1942 in Indianapolis, Indiana, went into space aboard Challenger (STS-51-F) as mission specialist in July-August 1985.  He was the second amateur radio operator to trasnmit from space during the mission.  Owen Garriott was the first in 1983 from STS-9.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Charles Walker!

Charles Walker, born August 29, 1948 in Bedford, Indiana, is a veteran of three space shuttle flights.

His first flight was aboard Discovery (STS-41-D) as payload specialist in August-September 1984.  He was an employee of McDonnell Douglas and was the first commercially sponsored payload specialist.

His second flight was back aboard Discovery (STS-51-D) as payload specialist in April 1985. He spent almost 7 days in space.

Walker's third and final flight was aboard Atlantis (STS-61-B) as payload specialist in November-December 1985.  A checkered flag was carried on board and is now on display at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum.

Janice Voss, Space Shuttle astronaut, born 1956

Janice E. Voss, born October 8, 1956 in South Bend, Indiana, was a veteran of 5 space shuttle missions. 

Voss' first mission was aboard Endeavour (STS-57) in June-July 1993 as mission specialist.  During the flight, the astronauts conducted numerous experiments inside the SpaceHab module.

Her second flight was aboard Discovery (STS-63) as mission specialist in February 1995, the first mission of the US/Russian Shuttle-Mir program. 

Her third flight was aboard Columbia (STS-83) as mission specialist in April 1997.  The mission was cut short due to a problem with Fuel Cell #2.

Her fourth mission was aboard Columbia (STS-94) as mission specialist in July 1997.  This was the make-up flight for STS-83 which had to be cut short.

Voss' fifth and final mission was aboard Endeavour (STS-99) as mission specialist in February 2000.  It was the last solo mission of Endeavour, since the rest were devoted to the International Space Station.

Janice passed away in February 2012 from breast cancer.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Kevin Ford!

Kevin Ford, born July 7, 1960 in Montpelier, Indiana, has made two trips to the International Space Station, once via the Space Shuttle, the other via Soyuz.

His first flight to the ISS was on Discovery (STS-128) as pilot August-September 2009.  It was the final space shuttle flight used  for  ISS crew rotation.

Ford's second trip was as Flight Engineer aboard Soyuz TMA-06M in October 2012 as part  of Expeditions 33-34.  He returned to Earth March 2013.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Joe Allen!

Joseph P. Allen, born June 27, 1937 in Crawfordsville, Indiana, is a veteran of two Space Shuttle missions.  After obtaining his PhD in Physics from Yale, he was selected as an astronaut by NASA in August 1967 and completed flight training Vance Air Force Base in Oklahoma(!).

His first flight was as mission specialist on Columbia (STS-5) in November 1982. He was scheduled to perform a spacewalk with fellow astronaut William Lenoir, but was cancelled when Lenoir got sick.

His second and final mission was on Discovery (STS-51-A) in November 1984 also as mission specialist.  He completed two EVAs with fellow astronaut Dale Gardner, logging almost 11 hours in space.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Jerry Ross!

Jerry Lynn Ross, born January 20, 1948 in Crown Point, Indiana, is a veteran of 7 space shuttle flights, tying Franklin Chang-Diaz for the most flights.

His first flight was aboard Atlantis (STS-61-B) as mission specialist November-December 1985.  He performed 2 6-hour space walks to demonstrate space station construction techniques.

His second was aboard Atlantis (STS-27) in December 1988 as mission specialist. This trip was cut short due to critical heat-resistant tiles being damaged during liftoff.

During his third flight, back on Atlantis (STS-37) in April 1991, he performed two more EVAs to deploy the Gamma Ray Observatory antenna and test prototype software for the Space Station Freedom.

He served as Payload Commander/Mission Specialist on Columbia (STS-55) in April-May 1993.

He returned to space on Atlantis (STS-74) in November 1995 to space station Mir. 

In December 1998, he was on Endeavour (STS-88), which was the first International Space Station assembly mission.  Ross performed 3 EVAs totaling 21 hours 22 minutes to connect umbilicals and attach tools and hardware.

His final flight was on Atlantis (STS-110) April 2002, when he performed 2 EVAs for just over 14 hours.

Ross retired from NASA on January 28, 2012 being the first person to go into space 7 times.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Mark Brown!

Mark Neil Brown, born November 18, 1951 in Valparaiso, Indiana, has flown on two Space Shuttle missions.

His first was on Columbia (STS-28) in August 1989 as mission specialist. The details of the mission are classified.

His second and last flight was on Discovery (STS-48) in September 1991, also as mission specialist. 

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut David Wolf!

David Wolf, born August 23, 1956, in Indianapolis, Indiana, is veteran of four space flights, one trip aboard Mir, seven EVA's and one ballot.  His first space shuttle mission was aboard Columbia (STS-58) in October 1993.  Also on that mission was Shannon "Right Stuff" Lucid, who was on her 4th trip into space.  (I wonder if she dozed off during launch?).

Wolf's second trip was on Atlantis (STS-86) in September 1997, which took him up to the space station Mir.  During his 128-day visit, he became the first American to cast a vote in a presidential election.  He returned to Earth on Endeavour (STS-89) January 1998.

His third trip was aboard Atlantis (STS-112), an eleven day mission to the International Space Station in October 2002.

His final trip (STS-127) was on Endeavor in July 2009 to the ISS.  The launch of the Endeavour was successful on its 6th attempt.