PORT CLINTON, OH (TOLEDO NEWS NOW) - Two exhibits on the Tuskegee Airmen are coming to Port Clinton.
The Tuskegee Airmen are America's first black military pilots and their crews. One of those airmen, Dr. Harold Brown of Port Clinton, will participate in the event. Dr. Brown was one of the 450 Tuskegee-trained fighter pilots who fought the Nazis as part of the segregated 332nd Fighter Group. A skilled aviator, he was eventually shot down and spent a number of months as a German POW before the war ended.
First, the CAF Red Tail Squadron is bringing its rare P-51C Mustang fighter plane. That's the model of plane used by the airmen in World War II.
The Squadron, a volunteer-driven non-profit organization that is part of the Commemorative Air Force (CAF), completed two $1 million restorations of the Mustang, named Tuskegee Airmen. The second restoration was finished in 2009 and the airplane has been on the air show circuit ever since.
The Rise Above exhibit is a customized 53' trailer with expandable sides that houses a 40-foot long, curved panoramic movie screen and seating for 30 in climate-controlled comfort. A short original movie called "Rise Above" focuses on what the Tuskegee Airmen - pilots and their support personnel - had to overcome to be allowed to fly and fight for their country during World War II. It also features some great flying footage - in the Mustang - that is enhanced by the long curved screen.
The exhibits run from August 9-12 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at he Erie-Ottawa Regional Airport/Carl R. Eller Field. It's located at 3515 East State Rd. Dr. Brown will be there from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. each day.
Both exhibits are free. The public is welcome.
