Tuskegee airman, 93, faced battle against crime in St. Louis
(Reuters) - A member of the Tuskegee Airmen, African-American military aviators from World War Two, found himself in a battle against crime over the weekend in St. Louis, Missouri, where he was robbed and carjacked in separate incidents, police said.
The 93-year-old man was not identified, but police said he was driving to visit his daughter Sunday night in St. Louis when he pulled over to call her for directions. While he was stopped, a man jumped into his car and demanded his cash. The robber then fled and the elderly airman attempted to track him in his car but lost him.
He then got out and asked two other men for assistance, but instead they stole his car, police said.
The maroon 2012 Honda was found Tuesday afternoon in a residential area after an "alert citizen" saw reports broadcast about the crime and contacted police, according to Schron Jackson of the St. Louis Police Department.
The Tuskegee Airmen, trained in Tuskegee, Alabama, were the first African Americans to qualify as U.S. military pilots. About half were fighter pilots who flew with distinction in the European and Mediterranean wars, destroying over 1,000 German aircraft and winning hundreds of medals.
(Reporting by Carey Gillam; Editing by Eric Walsh)
