Political Quotes

“last Friday at Rockefeller Chapel on the campus of the University of Chicago hundreds braved the frigid weather to pay tribute to a fallen American hero. The life story of John Rogers, Sr., recalls an extraordinary chapter in the life of our Nation. Seventy years ago, during World War II, the first African-American military aviators in the history of the United States Armed Forces deployed to North Africa. These brave men were part of the now-legendary 99th Pursuit Squadron of the United States Army Air Corps. We know them better today as the very first Tuskegee Airmen to be deployed overseas--the first of the first. During the war, Tuskegee Airmen were often referred to as ``Red Tails,'' after the distinctive color of the aircraft tails. Many of the bomber crews whose missions the Tuskegee Airman escorted over Nazi- occupied Europe had another name for them. They called them the ``Red- Tailed Angels'' because they made possible for so many other pilots to come home after the war to their families. Last Tuesday, one of those original Red-Tailed Angels went to his final home. I am proud to say that I knew him and his family. His name was Judge John Rogers. He was 95 years old. He lived in Chicago. Let me tell you about him. John Rogers was born in Knoxville, TN in 1918. His father was a minister who also owned his own 12-chair barber shop. His mother died of tuberculosis when Judge Rogers was just 4 years old.…”