Calvin J. Spann (November 28, 1924 – September 6, 2015) was one of the original Tuskegee Airmen, a fighter pilot with the 100th Fighter Squadron of the

332nd Fighter Group The 332d Expeditionary Operations Group is a provisional air expeditionary group of the United States Air Force's Air Combat Command, currently active. It was inactivated on 8 May 2012 and reactivated 16 November 2014. The group forms part of ...

. Spann received his wings from the Tuskegee Flight School as a part of graduating class 44G. As a member of the United States Army Air Corps, he served in Europe during World War II, where Spann flew 26 combat missions before the end of the war in the European Theater.

Education

He attended Rutherford High School.

Military career

During Spann's wartime service (1944–1946), he was assigned to the 332nd Fighter Group under the command of Colonel

Benjamin O. Davis Jr. Benjamin Oliver Davis Jr. (December 18, 1912 – July 4, 2002) was a United States Air Force (USAF) general and commander of the World War II Tuskegee Airmen. He was the first African-American brigadier general in the USAF. On December 9, 1998, h ...

, who on September 2, 1941, was the first African American officer to solo an aircraft under the U.S. Army Air Corps. Davis would later rise to the rank of general in the United States Air Force. While assigned to the 332nd, he flew in the longest bomber escort mission of 15th Air Force, a 1600-mile round trip mission on March 24, 1945, from Ramitelli, Italy, to Berlin, Germany, to destroy a Daimler-Benz manufacturing facility under the leadership of squadron commander Captain

Roscoe Brown Roscoe Conkling Brown Jr. (March 9, 1922 – July 2, 2016) was one of the Tuskegee Airmen and a squadron commander of the 100th Fighter Squadron of the 332nd Fighter Group. Career He was appointed to this position in June 1945, which was after ...

Later life

Later in his life, Spann spoke at schools, churches and organizations about the Tuskegee Airmen experience and how their courage and valor helped them to triumph. During these speeches, he encouraged students to make a commitment to excel in the study of mathematics and science, and reminding them that through preparation and perseverance they can succeed. Spann lived in

Englewood, New Jersey Englewood is a city in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, which at the 2020 United States census had a population of 29,308. Englewood was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from por ...

, and worked in the pharmaceutical industry. Spann died on September 6, 2015, at the age of 90 in McKinney, Texas, where he had moved in 2006 to be close to his daughter, Carla Spann and his grandchildren Carson and Cameron. He is buried in East Ridgelawn Cemetery in Clifton, New Jersey.

Military awards

*The Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster *A Presidential Unit Citation *The European/African/Middle Eastern Campaign Ribbon *The American Campaign Ribbon *The World War II Victory Medal *The Congressional Gold Medal (Tuskegee Airmen)

References

External links

Northdallasgazette.comNorthtexas.va.govTuskegeeairmen.orgAmericanveteranscenter.orgKera.orgIreprot.cnn.comNtxe-news.comJclibrary.orgAllentx.swagit.comKirtland.af.mil
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spann, Calvin J. 1924 births Tuskegee Airmen 2015 deaths United States Air Force generals People from Rutherford, New Jersey People from Englewood, New Jersey People from McKinney, Texas Rutherford High School (New Jersey) alumni United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II 21st-century African-American people Military personnel from Texas Military personnel from New Jersey