They were the best escort airmen in World War II and today the Tuskegee Airmen are remembered at Arlington National Cemetery with a sugar maple tree near the Tomb of the Unknowns.

Arlington’s grounds are beautiful, especially this time of year with the leaves changing. There are 142 memorial trees with a plaque or marker plus hundreds more planted in memory of those buried.

The Tuskegee Airmen tree was dedicated in November 1995. The plaque says, “Two hundred strategic bomber escort missions over Europe with the 15th Air Force without the loss of a single bomber to enemy aircraft, 1944-1945, a record unsurpassed.”

The Tuskegee Airmen were the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group as part of the Army Air Corps. They were the first African American military aviators. The 477th never saw combat, but the 332nd first saw action in Sicily and Italy before becoming bomber escorts throughout Europe.