Charles B. Smith
99th Fighter Squadron
Born in Westmoreland County, Charles Bernard Smith (1917-1991) is one of more than 140,000 African Americans who served in the racially segregated U.S. Army Air Force during World War II. Trained at Chanute Field, Illinois, in aircraft ground support with the 99th Fighter Squadron, the famed “Tuskegee Airmen,” he served in North Africa and Europe as technical sergeant and crew chief. In more than 200 missions as bomber escorts, the Tuskegee Airmen never lost a bomber to enemy fire, and they received three Presidential Unit Citations. Their outstanding service contributed to the integration of America’s armed forces by President Harry S. Truman in 1948.
Marker can be reached from James Monroe Highway (Virginia Route 205) 0.2 miles south of Ferry Landing (Virginia Route 638), on the left when traveling south.
Courtesy hmdb.org
