I’m not a “Rah-Rah Armed Services”-type person, but I absolutely love these images of Tuskegee-trained Airmen in Italy during World War II.

The first black Air Force pilots, these men fought for a country that still discriminated against them, a country that segregated them, treated them less-than and that refused to give them full rights when they returned home — and yet these men still fought with all their heart. That is patriotism, not that “must kneel for the National Anthem” mumbo-jumbo  pushed so hard by right wingers.

Anyway, I’ve included seventeen other images after the jump. And, yes, there are more than a few “stare into the sky” poses, but that layer of cheese, somehow, adds to the effect.

And for more Found in the LOC, click here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This final shot… Love it!