Wings for This Man
About Wings for This Man
The short opens on a dogfight over Italy. An outnumbered American squadron beats a Luftwaffe formation, and the pilots who climb out of the planes are Black. Ronald Reagan's narration then follows the Tuskegee Airmen from the Tuskegee Institute and the airstrip built beside it, through training, combat, and losses, to a third-anniversary parade.
Cast & crew
More about Wings for This Man
The First Motion Picture Unit of the Army Air Forces made the short. Reagan narrates. The opening combat is footage of fighting over Italy.
Themes
Music
Ronald Reagan narrates over the training and combat pictures.
Notes
- Reagan says that "misunderstanding, distrust and prejudice" had to be cleared away before the unit could be formed.
- The English Wikipedia lists the running time as 10 minutes. A Commons copy runs 9 minutes 41 seconds.
- The Internet Archive identifier is gov.ntis.ava08663vnb1.
Scenes
- Pilots land after the Italy dogfight and step out as Black airmen.
Also available
- Internet Archive (gov.ntis.ava08663vnb1)
- Wikimedia Commons (Wings for this Man.ogv)
Quotes
There was misunderstanding, distrust and prejudice that had to be cleared away.