Alfred Gorham
Alfred M. Gorham | |
---|---|
Birth name | Alfred M. Gorham |
Born | 1920 Waukesha, Wisconsin |
Died | 2009 |
Buried | |
Service/ | United States Army Air Force |
Years of service | 1942-1946 |
Rank | Lieutenant Colonel |
Unit | 332nd Fighter Group |
Commands | 301st Fighter Squadron |
Awards |
2nd Lt. Alfred M. Gorham (1920-2009) was a Tuskegee Airman from Waukesha, Wisconsin.[1] He was the only Tuskegee Airman from Wisconsin, and he was a prisoner of war after his plane went down over Munich, Germany in World War II.[2][3]
Military service
After joining the Army Air Force in 1942[5] Gorham became a pilot with the Tuskegee Airmen. He graduated from the Tuskegee University February 8, 1944.[6]
On August 7, 1944 Gorham was part of a group of Tuskegee Airmen escorting B-24 bombers. The mission was a bombing raid on oil refineries inside Germany at Blechhammer. Gorham got lost while returning from the mission. He tried to land at Lesina Airfield. The airfield had no lights and Gorham crash landed into Lake Lesina. The P-51 burst into flames but Gorham survived.[7]
He saw action over Budapest Hungary and shot down two German Focke-Wulf 190 Fighters. In 1945 his P-51 had engine trouble over Munich Germany and he bailed out. He was captured and held by the Germans until the end of the war.[2][8]
Awards
- Purple Heart ribbon
- Prisoner of War Medal ribbon[2]
- The Congressional Gold Medal as a member of the Tuskegee Airmen[9]
Education
Waukesha High School[disambiguation needed] June 1938.
Personal life
After graduating from Waukesha High School in 1938 Gorham was accepted to Carrol College. However he took a job as a precision tool grinder. He later enlisted in the army and eventually he was accepted to the Tuskegee Airmen.[1]
References
- ^ a b "Alfred Gorham Missing, Report". Waukesha Daily Freeman. March 21, 1945. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
- ^ a b c "Olympian, Doctor, Tuskegee Airman Being Inducted to Wall of Fame at Waukesha South". Patch Media. August 28, 2012. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
- ^ "List of Pilot Graduates". tuskegee. Tuskegee University. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
- ^ Rice, Markus. "The Men and Their Airplanes: The Fighters." Tuskegee Airmen, 1 March 2000.
- ^ "Waukesha Co. Airport hosting RISE ABOVE Traveling Exhibit to honor Wisconsin's only Tuskegee Airman". TRIBUNE BROADCASTING. August 29, 2019. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
- ^ "The Tuskegee Airmen Pilot Roster". redtail. CAF Red Tail Squadron. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
- ^ "CAF Red Tail Squadron®" (PDF). Redtail. The CAF Red Tail Squadron. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
- ^ Caver, Joseph; Ennels, Jerome A.; Haulman, Daniel Lee (January 1, 2011). The Tuskegee Airmen: An Illustrated History, 1939-1949. Montgomery, Alabama: NewSouth Books. p. 177. ISBN 978-1588382443.
- ^ Shilobrit, Tracy (August 27, 2019). "RISE ABOVE event to Honor Waukesha's Tuskegee Airman". Patch Media. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
Notes
External links
- Tuskegee Airmen at Tuskegee University
- Tuskegee Airmen Archives at the University of California, Riverside Libraries.
- Tuskegee Airmen, Inc.
- Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service)
- Tuskegee Airmen National Museum
- Fly (2009 play about the 332d Fighter Group)
- Executive Order 9981
- List of African American Medal of Honor recipients
- Military history of African Americans
- Articles with links needing disambiguation from June 2020
- 1920 births
- 2009 deaths
- American army personnel of World War II
- People from Tuskegee, Alabama
- Tuskegee Airmen
- Tuskegee University alumni
- Military personnel from Tuskegee, Alabama
- Military personnel from Wisconsin
- People from Waukesha, Wisconsin
- Congressional Gold Medal recipients
- United States Air Force officers
- United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II
- Carroll University alumni