Airman Follows Famous Uncle
(January 15, 2010) |
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Retired U.S. Air Force Capt. Claude Platte signs a wall at the 323rd Training
Squadron dedicated to the Tuskegee Airmen as his great nephew, Airman
Christopher Platte, looks on Dec. 11, 2009, at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas.
Captain Platte was one of the first African-American officers to be trained and
commissioned in the Air Force pilot training program. Airman Platte graduated
from Basic Military Training Dec. 11, 2009.
U.S. Air Force photo by Alan Boedeker |
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LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas, Jan. 11, 2010 – When Airman
Christopher Platte decided to join the Air Force last year,
he didn't know he would be following in famous footsteps.
Graduation from Basic Military Training here Dec. 11 capped
a two-day whirlwind for Platte that included rare time spent
with his great uncle, retired Air Force Capt. Claude Platte,
an original Tuskegee Airman.
BMT graduation was the first time since he was an infant
that Platte had been with his famous uncle, who helped break
down racial and educational barriers by becoming one of the
first African American officers trained and commissioned in
the newly reopened Air Force pilot training program at
Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, in the 1940s.
The younger Platte found out about his uncle
after telling his family he wanted to join the
Air Force. He first spoke with his great uncle
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November 2008, he said. |
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"I talked to my mother about [joining the Air Force] and she
said, 'Oh, by the way, you have a great uncle who is a
Tuskegee Airman,'” Platte recalled.
“I had no idea," he added. "I think that it's going to be a
great motivation for me to take it a step higher now that I
know where I come from. Even if I decide not to be a pilot,
it's motivation to be the best I can be in the Air Force."
The elder Platte served 18 years in the Air Force and
trained more than 400 African American airmen to fly solo
and pilot specialized military aircraft. Captain Platte's
brother -- Christopher Platte's grandfather -- was also a
Tuskegee Airman.
Captain Platte has received many honors including an
honorary doctorate in public service from Tuskegee
University in 2006, and the Congressional Gold Medal in
2007.
Retired from Bell Helicopter Textron Co. and living in North
Texas, Platte and other Tuskegee Airmen travel the country
telling their stories.
A modest man who stays involved in community service, the
elder Platte said he wasn't out to break down barriers; he
only wanted to fly.
"It was something I wanted to do," he said. "It was just
like getting a toy. I didn't think about the segregation
part of it. I wasn't interfered with, so I really enjoyed
it."
Captain Platte's return to Lackland AFB for his great
nephew's graduation was the first time he had been back
since his own BMT nearly 50 years ago.
And, as Airman Platte begins his military career, he's
entering as a survival, evasion, resistance and escape
specialist. He, too, started down a different trail.
After all, how many airmen begin their career with an Eagle
Scout Court of Honor the day before BMT graduation?
"It was an interesting experience. It was not a traditional
court of honor," he said about the Dec. 10 ceremony.
Col. William Mott V, the 37th Training Wing commander,
presided over the event and presented Platte with his Eagle
Scout award.
The two days of activities were enough to make a mother
proud.
"I don't think there are words to describe how proud I am,"
said Platte's mother, Marilyn Wright. "He really didn't have
any idea the legacy he was stepping into. Since he was six,
he's been saying, 'I want to fly planes; I want to be in the
air!'”
"Honestly, I tried to discourage him, but it's in his heart
to be an airman," she said. "Now he's fulfilling a dream." | |
By
Mike Joseph
37th Training Wing public affairs
Special to
American Forces Press Service
Copyright 2010
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