IN MAY 1949 THEY WERE THE THE VERY FIRST U. S. AIR FORCE TOP GUN PILOTS
332nd Fighter Group - Awarded First Place In The Conventional (Propeller) Aircraft Division
*** THE TUSKEGEE AIRMEN ***
"Top Gun Commander" - Captain Alva Temple
Tuskegee Airmen Virtual Cemetery
Harry A. Sheppard, 85, an Air Force Colonel and World War II fighter pilot who served with the Tuskegee Airmen and retired in 1974 as liaison to the Federal Aviation Administration, died of cancer July 22, 2003, at his Arlington, Virginia, home.
Colonel Sheppard was a native of New York who studied electrical engineering at the City College of New York for three years before enlisting in the Army Air Corps in 1941. Trained initially as an aircraft and engine mechanic, he completed flight training at Tuskegee Army Airfield in Alabama. He and other members of the 332 Fighter Group were the military's first black pilots.
He flew more than 100 missions over North Africa and Europe before becoming a B-25 bomber instructor. His honors included the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross and 14 awards of the Air Medal. Later in life, he lectured frequently about the history of the Tuskegee Airmen and was interviewed for programs and documentaries, including "Nightfighters," released in 1994. He spoke on behalf of the Tuskegee Airmen's Association at schools and corporations across the country to raise scholarship money for young people aspiring to careers in aerospace and aviation.
Colonel Sheppard later had air traffic control and communications assignments. He directed flight facilities at bases in Alaska, where he attended the University of Alaska, and Oklahoma, where he attended the University Oklahoma.
After he retired, he was a manager and consultant for Evaluation Technologies Inc.
He volunteered as a director of the Arlington-Alexandria Coalition for the Homeless and at the Arlington Community Center.
332nd Fighter Group - Awarded First Place In The Conventional (Propeller) Aircraft Division
*** THE TUSKEGEE AIRMEN ***
"Top Gun Commander" - Captain Alva Temple
Tuskegee Airmen Virtual Cemetery
Harry A. Sheppard, 85, an Air Force Colonel and World War II fighter pilot who served with the Tuskegee Airmen and retired in 1974 as liaison to the Federal Aviation Administration, died of cancer July 22, 2003, at his Arlington, Virginia, home.
Colonel Sheppard was a native of New York who studied electrical engineering at the City College of New York for three years before enlisting in the Army Air Corps in 1941. Trained initially as an aircraft and engine mechanic, he completed flight training at Tuskegee Army Airfield in Alabama. He and other members of the 332 Fighter Group were the military's first black pilots.
He flew more than 100 missions over North Africa and Europe before becoming a B-25 bomber instructor. His honors included the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross and 14 awards of the Air Medal. Later in life, he lectured frequently about the history of the Tuskegee Airmen and was interviewed for programs and documentaries, including "Nightfighters," released in 1994. He spoke on behalf of the Tuskegee Airmen's Association at schools and corporations across the country to raise scholarship money for young people aspiring to careers in aerospace and aviation.
Colonel Sheppard later had air traffic control and communications assignments. He directed flight facilities at bases in Alaska, where he attended the University of Alaska, and Oklahoma, where he attended the University Oklahoma.
After he retired, he was a manager and consultant for Evaluation Technologies Inc.
He volunteered as a director of the Arlington-Alexandria Coalition for the Homeless and at the Arlington Community Center.
IN MAY 1949 THEY WERE THE THE VERY FIRST U. S. AIR FORCE TOP GUN PILOTS
332nd Fighter Group - Awarded First Place In The Conventional (Propeller) Aircraft Division
*** THE TUSKEGEE AIRMEN ***
"Top Gun Commander" - Captain Alva Temple
Tuskegee Airmen Virtual Cemetery
Harry A. Sheppard, 85, an Air Force Colonel and World War II fighter pilot who served with the Tuskegee Airmen and retired in 1974 as liaison to the Federal Aviation Administration, died of cancer July 22, 2003, at his Arlington, Virginia, home.
Colonel Sheppard was a native of New York who studied electrical engineering at the City College of New York for three years before enlisting in the Army Air Corps in 1941. Trained initially as an aircraft and engine mechanic, he completed flight training at Tuskegee Army Airfield in Alabama. He and other members of the 332 Fighter Group were the military's first black pilots.
He flew more than 100 missions over North Africa and Europe before becoming a B-25 bomber instructor. His honors included the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross and 14 awards of the Air Medal. Later in life, he lectured frequently about the history of the Tuskegee Airmen and was interviewed for programs and documentaries, including "Nightfighters," released in 1994. He spoke on behalf of the Tuskegee Airmen's Association at schools and corporations across the country to raise scholarship money for young people aspiring to careers in aerospace and aviation.
Colonel Sheppard later had air traffic control and communications assignments. He directed flight facilities at bases in Alaska, where he attended the University of Alaska, and Oklahoma, where he attended the University Oklahoma.
After he retired, he was a manager and consultant for Evaluation Technologies Inc.
He volunteered as a director of the Arlington-Alexandria Coalition for the Homeless and at the Arlington Community Center.
332nd Fighter Group - Awarded First Place In The Conventional (Propeller) Aircraft Division
*** THE TUSKEGEE AIRMEN ***
"Top Gun Commander" - Captain Alva Temple
Tuskegee Airmen Virtual Cemetery
Harry A. Sheppard, 85, an Air Force Colonel and World War II fighter pilot who served with the Tuskegee Airmen and retired in 1974 as liaison to the Federal Aviation Administration, died of cancer July 22, 2003, at his Arlington, Virginia, home.
Colonel Sheppard was a native of New York who studied electrical engineering at the City College of New York for three years before enlisting in the Army Air Corps in 1941. Trained initially as an aircraft and engine mechanic, he completed flight training at Tuskegee Army Airfield in Alabama. He and other members of the 332 Fighter Group were the military's first black pilots.
He flew more than 100 missions over North Africa and Europe before becoming a B-25 bomber instructor. His honors included the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross and 14 awards of the Air Medal. Later in life, he lectured frequently about the history of the Tuskegee Airmen and was interviewed for programs and documentaries, including "Nightfighters," released in 1994. He spoke on behalf of the Tuskegee Airmen's Association at schools and corporations across the country to raise scholarship money for young people aspiring to careers in aerospace and aviation.
Colonel Sheppard later had air traffic control and communications assignments. He directed flight facilities at bases in Alaska, where he attended the University of Alaska, and Oklahoma, where he attended the University Oklahoma.
After he retired, he was a manager and consultant for Evaluation Technologies Inc.
He volunteered as a director of the Arlington-Alexandria Coalition for the Homeless and at the Arlington Community Center.
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