(WXYZ) — A new effort is underway to honor the iconic Tuskegee airmen, the trailblazing pilots who played an important role in history - enlisting as the country's first African American military airmen during World War II.
We're discussing the effort, as well as their ties to Michigan in the 7 UpFront segment with the CEO and President of the Tuskegee Airman National Museum Dr. Brian Smith.
You can see the full interview in the video player above.
"We're celebrating the find of an airplane that Frank Moody crashed in in 1944," Smith says. "This is an iconic year for Tuskegee airmen. We recently opened up our museum, which is located at the Charles H. Wright and we want to thank Ford Motor Company Fund for that, and the Knight Foundation for making major gifts, donations to that effort. The recovery of the aircraft is being celebrated in Port Huron this weekend. A group called Diving With A Purpose has funded and created a memorial. We'll unveil that on Saturday. The airplane will be brought up and brought to Detroit City Airport where we're going to conserve it and, eventually, display it in the museum of the Tuskegee airmen."
