Tuskegee Airman Relates His Service Experience at Lincoln School

Lawton Wilkerson recently told Lincoln School students about his experiences with the Tuskegee Airmen U.S. Army Air Force unit when he served his country in the 1940s.   

The Chicago Heights native, who attended Lincoln School and was graduated from , was commissioned as a second lieutenant and earned his “wings” as a B-25 aircraft pilot. 

Wilkerson answered questions about the Tuskegee Airmen, the first African-American fliers in the U.S. Armed Services, and about being a pilot when he visited the school Feb. 8 as a special guest speaker at a Black History program.  

The Tuskegee Airmen included pilots, navigators, bombardiers, maintenance and support staff, instructors, and all the personnel who kept the Army Air Force planes in the air.

-Written by Steven Modzelewski