On the recordFebruary 11, 2019
In honor of Black History Month, I recognize George Brooks. Staff Sergeant George Brooks enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1954; 7 years after the USAF had integrated its forces. He was stationed in Biloxi, less than 1 year before Emmett Till was murdered in Money, Mississippi. He was also one of the first African Americans to attend electronics school. While stationed in Spokane, Washington, he worked on the B-36 aircraft, becoming one of the first Black bomb navigation technicians to fly the craft, flying three missions. He left Spokane in 1956 for Westover Air Force Base, in Springfield, Massachusetts, where he first started working on the B-52 bomber, also joining the first ranks of Black navigators on that plane. He flew 47 missions in the B-52, and was awarded the Air Medal with two clusters. Over the course of his 20-year career, he flew over 100 missions, until retiring from the USAF in 1974. Mr. Brooks went to work for the Department of Defense for 13 years after that as an electronics consultant, until his retirement in 1987. He traveled the world extensively, with stops in seven continents, including Antarctica, finally ending up in Nalcrest, just outside Lake Wales. Staff Sergeant George Brooks, for that, we honor you. Recognizing Orrett Davis
