Tuskegee Airmen - Walterboro Army Airfield

The Lowcountry has a long, proud military heritage. A shining example of pride, patriotism, honor and courage was set by the men known as the Tuskegee Airmen.

In 1942, small town Walterboro, SC became home to the Walterboro Army Airfield. The mission of the newly established base was to provide advanced training to fighter and bomber groups before their deployments to assignments throughout the battlefronts of World War II.

All members of the Tuskegee Airmen took their flight training and received their wings as Army Air Corps pilots in Tuskegee, AL. Additional training in air combat tactics was required. In April 1944 the Walterboro Army Airfield in Walterboro, SC began providing advanced training to more than half of the Tuskegee pilots. There they were schooled in formation flying, gunnery, safe takeoffs and landings and other aerial combat skills.

The African American fighter and bomber pilots, while highly skilled and trained, and receiving the best training available at the airfield, were segregated in all aspects of daily living during their time at Walterboro Army Airfield. Not only did they receive segregated training, but they were also housed in separate barracks and required to use a separate mess hall and officer’s club as well as segregated seating in the theater.

Despite the struggles the African American military aviators encountered, the Tuskegee Airmen proved themselves repeatedly, earning three Distinguished Unit Citations. In March 2007, the Congressional Gold Medal was awarded to the Tuskegee Airmen as a group by President George W. Bush. Their contributions to the war effort and exemplary combat record contributed to the desegregation of the military in 1948.

The Walterboro Army Airfield Memorial Park at Lowcountry Regional Airport in Walterboro, SC pays homage to the legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen with a monument and information boards along the walkways of the park recounting their training and history.