Tuskegee Airman and Congressional Gold Medal recipient
Julius T. Freeman died after suffering a heart attack. He had served during World War II as a medic with the 332nd Tuskegee Airmen. In his later life he was active with schools and civic organizations, discussing his days as a medical technician attached to the segregated group of fighter and bomber pilots.
When Freeman returned home, he faced widespread segregation. As a personal protest, he discarded his Army uniform and military memorabilia, not acknowledging his military service again until many years later.
A successful car salesman, Freeman began his career at the Hudson Motorcar dealership in Columbus Ohio. So successful was Freeman that he became the first black spokesperson to appear in TV commercials in Ohio. In 1954, he moved to New York, but he found no jobs for African-American car salesmen.Instead he found work emptying trash cans on the graveyard shift at the Empire State Building.
Later he returned to auto sales, selling more than $1 million worth of Lincolns in 1977; and selling to such African-American celebrities as Sammy Davis Jr, James Brown, Dick Gregory, Joe Louis, and Wilson Pickett.
Being too ill to attend the Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony held on March 29, 2007 to honor all of the estimated 16-19,000 Tuskegee Airmen, Freeman accepted a Congressional Gold Medal bronze replica at a ceremony at St. Phillips Pentecostal Church in Harlem along with fellow original Tuskegee Airmen: Reginald T. Brewster, Alton Burton, and Frederick Lawrence. In 2009 he attended the presidential inauguration ceremony as a guest of President Obama.
“As long as there is breath in my body, I will work to keep the legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen alive” Freeman said.
Freeman is survived by his wife of 53 years, and three children.
Julius T. Freeman died after suffering a heart attack. He had served during World War II as a medic with the 332nd Tuskegee Airmen. In his later life he was active with schools and civic organizations, discussing his days as a medical technician attached to the segregated group of fighter and bomber pilots.
When Freeman returned home, he faced widespread segregation. As a personal protest, he discarded his Army uniform and military memorabilia, not acknowledging his military service again until many years later.
A successful car salesman, Freeman began his career at the Hudson Motorcar dealership in Columbus Ohio. So successful was Freeman that he became the first black spokesperson to appear in TV commercials in Ohio. In 1954, he moved to New York, but he found no jobs for African-American car salesmen.Instead he found work emptying trash cans on the graveyard shift at the Empire State Building.
Later he returned to auto sales, selling more than $1 million worth of Lincolns in 1977; and selling to such African-American celebrities as Sammy Davis Jr, James Brown, Dick Gregory, Joe Louis, and Wilson Pickett.
Being too ill to attend the Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony held on March 29, 2007 to honor all of the estimated 16-19,000 Tuskegee Airmen, Freeman accepted a Congressional Gold Medal bronze replica at a ceremony at St. Phillips Pentecostal Church in Harlem along with fellow original Tuskegee Airmen: Reginald T. Brewster, Alton Burton, and Frederick Lawrence. In 2009 he attended the presidential inauguration ceremony as a guest of President Obama.
“As long as there is breath in my body, I will work to keep the legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen alive” Freeman said.
Freeman is survived by his wife of 53 years, and three children.
Tuskegee Airman and Congressional Gold Medal recipient
Julius T. Freeman died after suffering a heart attack. He had served during World War II as a medic with the 332nd Tuskegee Airmen. In his later life he was active with schools and civic organizations, discussing his days as a medical technician attached to the segregated group of fighter and bomber pilots.
When Freeman returned home, he faced widespread segregation. As a personal protest, he discarded his Army uniform and military memorabilia, not acknowledging his military service again until many years later.
A successful car salesman, Freeman began his career at the Hudson Motorcar dealership in Columbus Ohio. So successful was Freeman that he became the first black spokesperson to appear in TV commercials in Ohio. In 1954, he moved to New York, but he found no jobs for African-American car salesmen.Instead he found work emptying trash cans on the graveyard shift at the Empire State Building.
Later he returned to auto sales, selling more than $1 million worth of Lincolns in 1977; and selling to such African-American celebrities as Sammy Davis Jr, James Brown, Dick Gregory, Joe Louis, and Wilson Pickett.
Being too ill to attend the Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony held on March 29, 2007 to honor all of the estimated 16-19,000 Tuskegee Airmen, Freeman accepted a Congressional Gold Medal bronze replica at a ceremony at St. Phillips Pentecostal Church in Harlem along with fellow original Tuskegee Airmen: Reginald T. Brewster, Alton Burton, and Frederick Lawrence. In 2009 he attended the presidential inauguration ceremony as a guest of President Obama.
“As long as there is breath in my body, I will work to keep the legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen alive” Freeman said.
Freeman is survived by his wife of 53 years, and three children.
Julius T. Freeman died after suffering a heart attack. He had served during World War II as a medic with the 332nd Tuskegee Airmen. In his later life he was active with schools and civic organizations, discussing his days as a medical technician attached to the segregated group of fighter and bomber pilots.
When Freeman returned home, he faced widespread segregation. As a personal protest, he discarded his Army uniform and military memorabilia, not acknowledging his military service again until many years later.
A successful car salesman, Freeman began his career at the Hudson Motorcar dealership in Columbus Ohio. So successful was Freeman that he became the first black spokesperson to appear in TV commercials in Ohio. In 1954, he moved to New York, but he found no jobs for African-American car salesmen.Instead he found work emptying trash cans on the graveyard shift at the Empire State Building.
Later he returned to auto sales, selling more than $1 million worth of Lincolns in 1977; and selling to such African-American celebrities as Sammy Davis Jr, James Brown, Dick Gregory, Joe Louis, and Wilson Pickett.
Being too ill to attend the Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony held on March 29, 2007 to honor all of the estimated 16-19,000 Tuskegee Airmen, Freeman accepted a Congressional Gold Medal bronze replica at a ceremony at St. Phillips Pentecostal Church in Harlem along with fellow original Tuskegee Airmen: Reginald T. Brewster, Alton Burton, and Frederick Lawrence. In 2009 he attended the presidential inauguration ceremony as a guest of President Obama.
“As long as there is breath in my body, I will work to keep the legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen alive” Freeman said.
Freeman is survived by his wife of 53 years, and three children.
Inscription
PVT US ARMY
WORLD WAR II
CGMH
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Records on Ancestry
Advertisement
