Jim Anderson

One of my residents showed me some medals that her husband earned during the War. One was a Congressional Medal of Honor. 

He enlisted in the Army in March of 1941, six months before the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He wanted to fly planes, but because he was black and the armed forces were segregated, they sent him and a bunch of others down to Tuskegee, Alabama. 

They flew escorts to bombers and were so good they were requested by B-17 bombers. And still, in typical American fashion, when they got home these decorated pilots could be denied service at a lunch counter in a Woolworth's. 

Jim served the duration of the war, and when he came home he didn't dwell on either the positive or the negatives of it. He went to school and got a degree in Social Work. They raised a few sons and he never talked about the war. His focus was on raising his sons to become educated and contributing members of society. 

I read his eulogy, written by several friends and two of his sons. He was a big shot at a major university, but what impressed me most was what one of his sons said-

"My dad called me one day and asked if I wanted to go up to Seattle. He was getting some kind of medal for his service in the War. Apparently, he was a Tuskegee Airman…" 

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