Back In The Day
Fly Nupes: Photos Of The Handsome And Daring Men Of Kappa Alpha Psi Who Served As Tuskegee Airmen
Kappa Man Willie Ashley Jr.
Alpha Eta Chapter, 3-1-947
(passed away in 1984)
On June 9, 1943 six pilots of the 99th FS became the first U.S. Negro pilots to engage in aerial combat. Led by Lt. Charles Dryden, ***Lt. Willie Ashley***, Sidney P. Brooks, Lee Rayford, Leon Roberts and Spann Watson, exchanged fire with German fighter planes, with no losses to either side. The Italian garrison on Pantelleria surrendered on June 11, 1943, in large part due to the powerful air attacks it had been subjected to. The 99th was a key part of the air assault.
