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FLY WARHAWKS INTO BATTLE AGAINST AXIS

Lts. Campbell And Hall Lead N. Africa Squad On First Mission

(Defender Washington Bureau)

WASHINGTON - Negro flyers played an active part in the incessant bombing which brought the Italian stronghold of Pantelleria to its knees!

War Department sanction to the release of a detailed account of this action was given here last week, thus confirming reports that the first colored aviation unit in the history of the United States had received its baptism of fire.

Pantelleria, Axis bastion lying little less than halfway across the Mediterranean from North Africa to Italy, fell late last week. And it is a known fact now, that fighter-pilots of the Negro unit contributed to its surrender. Not less than 16 sorties were carried out by Negro flyers in the 19-day air and sea attack on the island, which culminated in its fall.

Chicago Lad In Action

A Tuskegeean, Lt. William A. Campbell, won the distinction of being the first colored man ever to drop a bomb on territory of an enemy of the United States. He and Lt. Charles B. Hall of Brazil, Ind., completed an echelon led by [[pencil underlined]] Lt. Col. Benjamin O. Davis Jr., [[/pencil underlined]] in the initial Negro-conducted bomb-run [[pencil underlined]] on Pantelleria. Lt. Col. Davis,[[/pencil underlined]] a Washingtonian, is in command of the air unit.

Following this trio into action were Lts. Clarence Jamieson of Cleveland, Ohio; Lemuel R. Custis of Hartford, Conn., and James Wiley of Pittsburgh, Pa. Later, ten others added their names to the list of flyers who engaged in combat during the Pantelleria campaign. They were:

Lt. John W. Rogers of Chicago, Ill.; Lt. Graham Smith of Ahoskie, N. C.; Lt. George Bolling, Phoebus, Va.; Lt. Herbert Clark, Little Rock,

[[image: hand with index finger pointing to right]] See PILOTS On Page 4

Pilots -

(Continued from Page 1)

Ark.; Lt. Willie Fuller, Tarboro, N. C.; Lt. Paul Mitchell, Washington, D. C.; Lt. Sidney Brooks, Cleveland, Ohio; Lt. Spann Watson, Hackensack, N. J.; Lt. Walter Lawson, Newton, Va.; and Lt. Louis Purnell, Germantown, Pa.

Sees Negroes In Major Role

Returning to the base from the bomb run in which he became the first Negro to lay an "egg" on the Axis. Lieut. Campbell declared he was "scared but I was determined to stay on the wing of the leader even if he carried me into the front door of enemy headquarters."

His return from the initial mission was without serious incident, though he taxied his plane into a bomb crater, which had been left by American bombers during an attack on the field before it fell to Allied hands. Despite the fact that he has more hours' flying time than any of the members of his unit, this was the first accident Lieut. Campbell has had. Incidentally, the crater is now marked by a sign and officers consoled him with the assertion that it could have happened to any one of the seasoned veterans in the air corps.

Lieutenant Campbell is the son of Mr. and Mrs. T. M. Campbell of Tuskegee institute, Ala. Four sisters and brothers are now in the armed services. One of these, a sister, is Miss Abbie Noel Campbell, of the WAAC. A fifth child is a volunteer war worker.

Born in Tuskegee, Lieutenant Campbell is the product of the institute. He received his degree there as well as his wings and U. S. Air Corps commission.

Military observers were high in their praise of the conduct of the pilots in their first action. The results obtained were declared "highly satisfactory" and reconnaissance reports indicated that the missions were consistently successful.

Questioned on their return from the "hot" air over the island, the flyers were at first unanimous in the admission that they were "scared to hell." However, after the second and third sorties confidence was completely restored.

This action combined with reports from England, give rise to the belief that American Negroes will play an important role in the long-threatened invasion of Hitler's European fortress, when that time arrived.

The Defender's London correspondent, in a weekend filing, declared that high military officials have attached great significance to the arrival there of Brig. Gen. Daniel Noce, America's greatest expert on amphibious operations.

In these operations, the correspondent reports, Afro-Americans are destined to play an important part since they constitute Engineer and Quartermaster units, upon whom combat troops will have to depend for supplies.

Tough Job Ahead

"Wherever we invade Europe, we'll need not only landing troops and fighting troops, but we'll need a great artery of supply so we can build railroads, highways and airfields," declared Gen. Noce.

"In short," he added, "we've got not only to prevent the enemy from using his highway or seashore as a protection, but we must also convert that seashore into a highway of attack.

"Then we've got to convert a hostile beach into a port of entry and secure docks, report facilities and rail connections. When you remember we must do this instantly, whereas it usually takes years to build a port, you get a glimpse of what we're doing."

The consensus of opinion here is that the groundwork for such action is adequately laid and when the order to "go over" is given, American troops now stationed throughout the British Isles stand ready.

"I believe they are as well prepared for actual combat as any man we've ever sent into action," declared Major-Gen. Leonard T. Gerow, one of the high-ranking U. S. military observers now touring Britain.

General Gerow expressed this confident opinion after thousands of British and American troops had completed a strenuous three days' exercise "somewhere" in England this week. The mock battles represented the biggest attempt yet made to turn the two armies - British and American - into a smooth-working combined force.




[[preprinted]] NASM PRESERVATION PHOTOCOPY - 19 April 2001 [[/preprinted]]