The brothers of Kappa Alpha Psi had a very strong presence among the ranks of Tuskeegee Airmen who served as the first African-American military aviators in the United States Armed Forces but until now, knowing who amongst them was a Kappa has not been something that has been readily available to the public.
Kappa Alpha Psi’s Ken McCain has taken on the difficult task of finding and recording this Kappa history and has gladly lent his findings to WatchTheYard.com to display publicly.
We caught up with Bro. McCain who opened up to WatchTheYard.com about the process of documenting this information.
“[It is a] long and tedous process,” McCain told us. “I first started out by searching a list of all Tuskegee airmen pilots. I then went A to Z by searching each name through Kappa’s data base. Have not found a listing on NON pilots who served as Tuskegee airmen so I rely on others to submit names and then verify. After I have confirmed names, I then search for all photos and articles on them to add to their photos.”
During World War II, Black Americans were subject to the Jim Crow laws and the military was racially segregated. The Tuskegee Airmen were an a group of all Black military pilots trained at Tuskegee University who faced racial discrimination, both within and outside the army. These brothers, some of whom were members of Kappa Alpha Psi, would go on to help the United States win the war and prove to the public that Blacks were above and beyond able to fly.
Click on the arrows below to see Bro. Ken McCain’s collection of Tuskegee Airmen who were members of Kappa Alpha Psi.
Notice how handsome, poised, strong and intelligent these men look. The true form of a Kappa man!
Nashville (TN) Alumni Chapter, 8-2-1969
(passed away in 1978)
Pi Chapter, 12-1939
(passed away in 2011)
“Brother Richard C. Caesar (1918–2011) was born in Lake Village (Chicot County) on April 12, 1918. In 1942, Caesar became the second pilot from Arkansas to graduate from Tuskegee’s single-engine class 42-H (the first was Herbert Clark). He was one of the persons responsible for saving fellow original Tuskegee Airman Dr. Roscoe C. Brown Jr. from a potentially disastrous plane crash in 1943. Caesar was an engineering officer and pilot with the 100th Fighter Squadron. He retired from the air force and lived in Foster City, California.”
Alpha Rho Chapter, 5-4-1940
(passed away in 1988)
Kappa Man Stewart B. Fulbright Jr.
Alpha Mu Chapter, 12-6-1938
(passed away in 2012)
Alpha Eta Chapter, 6-1-1964
( passed away in 2014)
Watch him give a speech about his service and Black history.
Nu Chapter, 7-12-1947
(passed away in 2015)
Nu Chapter, 7-12-47
(passed away in 2007)
Kappa Man Granville C. Coggs
Eta Chapter, 5-8-1948
(Still living)
Read the story the Boston Globe wrote about him.
Kappa Man James E. Bowman Jr.
Omega Chapter, 12-15-1942
(passed away in 2014)
Kappa Man Richard S. “Rip” Harder
Epsilon Chaper, 11-16-1941
Kappa Man Charles H. Hunter
Xi Chapter, 11-25-1936
(passed away in 2008)
Read the story the Washington Post wrote about him.
Iota Chapter, 3-27-1939
(passed away in 2014)
Tau Chapter, 4-1-1940
Nu Chapter, 1-27-1937
Kappa Man Clarence D. “Lucky” Lester
Iota Chapter, 5-17-1946
Kappa Man Lloyd B. “Mac” McKeethen
Alpha Rho Chapter, 6-19-1948
Listen to him talk about the movie “Red Tails”
Tuskegee (AL) Alumni Chapter, 2-25-48
Kappa Man William S. “Bubblehead” Price III
Alpha Rho Chapter, 5-24-1942
(passed away in 1983)
Kappa Man John W. Rogers Sr.
Iota Chapter, 4-26-1941
(passed away in 2014)
Gamma Chapter, 4-17-1948
(passed away in 2009)
Xi Chapter, 11-24-1950
Alpha Upsilon Chapter, 3-27-1937
(passed away in 1999)
Upsion Chapter, 4-6-1940
(passed away in 2014)
Pi Chapter, 12-18-1937
(passed away in 1944)
Alpha Pi Chapter- 12-7-1940
Kappa Man Wendell M. Lucas
Xi Chapter, 11-23-1937
Kappa Man Leonard F. Turner
Xi Chapter, 11-21-1939
(passed away in 1986)
also known as comedian “Jay Bernard”
Beta Gamma Chapter, 5-11-1938
(passed away in 2000)
Kappa Man Virgil Richardson
Alpha Chi Chapter, 3-6-1937
Kappa Man John A. Gibson Jr.
Xi Chapter, 11-28-1946
Zeta Chapter, 11-9-1935
Upsilon Chapter, 2-11-1939
Upsilon Chapter, 3-12-1929
(passed in 1973)
Alpha Beta Chapter, 12-18-1937
Alpha Lambda Chapter, 1-8-1938
(passed away in 1943)
“Lieutenant Luther L. Blakeney became the first Kappa casualty of World War II when on July 16, 1943, he was killed while flying over Lake Huron on a weather forecasting assignment. Blakeney, an alumnus of South Carolina A and M College, had joined theFraternity in 1937 and was a delegate to the Twenty-Ninth Grand Chapter at San Antonio. He received training in meteorology at the New York of Engineering, and was commissioned as second lieutenant in the Air Force at Tuskegee, Alabama. In March 1943, he was transferred with the 302nd Fighter Group to Selfridge Field, Michigan, and its gunnery field at Oscoda.”
-The Story of Kappa Alpha Psi
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.
Kappa Man Charles R. Foxx Sr.
Tuskegee (AL) Alumni Chapter, 2-15-1944
(passed away in 2009)
Kappa Man Calvin R. Harris
Alpha Nu Chapter, 12-22-1939
Kappa Man Nathan Sams
Alpha Pi Chapter, 1-14-1939
Brother Sams was inducted to the Oklahoma Aviation & Space Hall Of Fame in 2001.
Kappa Man Sherman W. White Jr.
Iota Chapter, 3-27-1939
(passed away in 1943)
Kappa Man George Sherman
Las Vegas (NV) Alumni Chapter, 5-15-1965
(passed away in 2007)
Kappa Man Ralph L. Turner
Los Angeles Alumni Chapter, 6-17-1978
(still living)
Kappa Man George W. Hickman, Jr.
Beta Chapter; 2-26-1949
(passed away in 2012)
Augustus Cousins Jr.
Beta Xi Chapter, 3-8-1947
(passed away in 1986)
Kappa Man William Surcey
Gamma Epsilon Chapter, 4-17-1948
(passed away in 2011)