Englewood Rotary Club & Tuskegee Airmen Celebrate Memorial Day

Tuskegee Airmen in the Englewood Memorial Day Parade and Commemoration .

The Rotary Club of Englewood has invited some of the original Tuskegee Airmen of World War II fame to participate in the City's Memorial Day Parade and Commemoration.

Rotary is working with the City of Englewood and Dwight Morrow High School to make this a very special event. Some notable Tuskegee Airman that have been invited include:

Lee Archer is an "Ace" pilot who shot down five enemy airplanes during WW II. Mr. Archer later became a Vice president of the General Foods Company. He is also a founder and principal of TLC Beatrice Foods, one of the largest African-American owned enterprises. The lead character in the HBO movie, "The Tuskegee Airmen", played by Lawrence Fishburn, is largely based on Mr. Archer's wartime service.

Roscoe Brown is the former president of Bronx Community College. Mr. Brown was the first person in history to shoot down a jet aircraft in air combat. Germany introduced experimental jet airplanes into combat during the later phases of WW II. Mr. Brown accomplished his historic victory while flying his propeller driven P-51 Mustang.

Percy Sutton, former president of the Boro of Manhattan, was an officer in the Tuskegee Airmen's combat unit.

Eddie Monroe is a Past District Governor of Rotary from Long Island, NY.

Other original Tuskegee Airmen invited to participate include Englewood's own Whittie English, Realtor, and Signal Officer, as well as Calvin Spann, Rotarian and pilot with the Tuskegee Airmen.

The Tuskegee Airmen combat unit flew fighter planes escorting bombers over Nazi Germany. They have the distinction of being the only fighter escort unit in the history of warfare never to have lost a bomber in their care.

The proposed schedule of events is as follows:

Memorial Day, Monday, May 31, 2004

9:30 Gather for the Commemorative Ceremony and Parade at the Veterans' Monument located at the intersection of West Palisade Avenue and Tenafly Road.

10:00 Parade ¾ mile through downtown Englewood. A local car dealer and a rental car agency will provide convertible cars for the Airmen.

12:30 Lunch at Dwight Morrow High School with notable citizens and with youth from the Interact Club of Dwight Morrow High School and the Re-Act Club of Janis E. Dismus Middle School. The Englewood Rotary Club sponsors these youth community service clubs.

1:00 A "Tuskegee Airmen" movie will be shown in Dizzy Gillespie Auditorium at Dwight Morrow High School. Original Tuskegee Airmen will make an appearance following the movie. The film is free to the public. Kindly RSVP BY May 15, 2004 to SpecialEventsERH@aol.com.

Paid for by Friends of Michael J. Wildes, Claudia Colbert, Treasurer