History, heritage and hope: Boynton Beach honors WWII's Tuskegee Airmen

Lianna Norman, Palm Beach Post
·3 min read
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The Boynton Beach police department honor guard advances the colors during the Tuskegee Airmen Monument Dedication Ceremony at at Tom Kaiser, USN, Boynton Beach Veterans Memorial Park February 25, 2023.
The Boynton Beach police department honor guard advances the colors during the Tuskegee Airmen Monument Dedication Ceremony at at Tom Kaiser, USN, Boynton Beach Veterans Memorial Park February 25, 2023.

BOYNTON BEACH — On the last sunny Saturday morning of Black History Month, Boynton Beach residents and city officials gathered under tents at Boynton Beach Veterans Memorial Park to dedicate a new remembrance bench to the Tuskegee Airmen of World War II.

Those who didn’t have a seat under the white tents on the park’s main lawn sat on the grass or stood under trees around the perimeter of the park while listening to veterans and Tuskegee University alumni recount the bravery of the first Black war heroes to be nationally recognized for their contributions.

The bench, donated by St. John’s Missionary Baptist Church, honors the first Black military aviators in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. The Air Corps later became the U.S. Air Force.

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The Tuskegee Airmen trained at the Tuskegee Army Air Field at what is now Tuskegee University in Alabama. Their flying during World War II earned the men more than 150 Distinguished Flying Crosses and helped pave the way for integration of the U.S. armed forces.

A remembrance bench was donated by the St. John's Missionary Baptist Church congregation to honor the Tuskegee Airmen at Tom Kaiser, USN, Boynton Beach Veterans Memorial Park February 25, 2023.
A remembrance bench was donated by the St. John's Missionary Baptist Church congregation to honor the Tuskegee Airmen at Tom Kaiser, USN, Boynton Beach Veterans Memorial Park February 25, 2023.

In addition to the bench, the ceremony at Boynton’s Veterans Memorial Park also honored three specific war heroes. Benjamin O. Davis Jr., Doris “Dorie” Miller and Vernon Baker, all waymakers for Black soldiers.

Davis was the first African-American brigadier general to serve in the Air Force, Miller was a military cook and a Pearl Harbor hero, and Baker was one of seven African-Americans to be awarded the Medal of Honor during World War II.

The dedication, sponsored by the city and the Boynton Beach Veterans Council, brought about 100 people to the dozens of granite veteran tributes at the park on Federal Highway. The Boynton Beach Police Department Color Guard, Tuskegee alumni, Mayor Ty Penserga, Commissioner Woodrow Hay, St. John’s Missionary Baptist Church leadership and Boynton Beach High School’s JROTC and choir all gathered among the existing monuments to honor Black excellence in the military.

City commissioner Woodrow Hay speaks during the Tuskegee Airmen Monument Dedication Ceremony at Tom Kaiser, USN, Boynton Beach Veterans Memorial Park February 25, 2023.
City commissioner Woodrow Hay speaks during the Tuskegee Airmen Monument Dedication Ceremony at Tom Kaiser, USN, Boynton Beach Veterans Memorial Park February 25, 2023.

“If you look around, there’s not many parks that are honoring veterans,” Hay told The Post. “I’m just proud and honored that we are able to host an activity like this.”

To have the opportunity to honor the Tuskegee Airmen is fitting for the town, he said. “At our church this past Sunday, you wore your colors from your university,” Hay said. “And so many had on colors from Tuskegee University.”

The presence of Tuskegee University was evident at Saturday’s event, too, with some alumni proudly wearing the Alabama school’s seal and colors — crimson and old gold — on their T-shirts.

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One message tied the entire event together: The history, heritage and hope passed down through the Black community shouldn’t be left out of the nation’s history because it is this nation’s history.

A remembrance bench was donated by the St. John's Missionary Baptist Church congregation to honor the Tuskegee Airmen at Tom Kaiser, USN, Boynton Beach Veterans Memorial Park February 25, 2023.
A remembrance bench was donated by the St. John's Missionary Baptist Church congregation to honor the Tuskegee Airmen at Tom Kaiser, USN, Boynton Beach Veterans Memorial Park February 25, 2023.

“We’ve got to let the world know that every race and every ethnicity made contributions to this country to [make it] what it is,” Hay said after the ceremony. “It’s fitting that it’s February and it’s Black History Month, because Black history is American history.”

Lianna Norman covers northern Palm Beach County for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at lnorman@pbpost.com. You can follow her reporting on social media @LiannaNorman on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Boynton Beach Veterans Memorial Park remembers the Tuskegee Airmen