George Levi Knox II ("Skipper" Knox) (December 23, 1916 – November 4, 1964) was a

U.S. Army Air Force The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

/ U.S. Air Force officer, combat fighter pilot and

Adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...

with the all- African American

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 ...

100th Fighter Squadron The 100th Fighter Squadron (100 FS) is a unit of the Alabama Air National Guard 187th Fighter Wing located at Dannelly Field, Alabama. The 100th is equipped with the General Dynamics F-16C+ Fighting Falcon. The 100th FS was one of the Tuskeg ...

, best known as the Tuskegee Airmen. One of the 1,007 documented Tuskegee Airmen Pilots, he was a member of the Tuskegee Airmen's third-ever aviation cadet class, and one of the first twelve African Americans to become combat fighter pilots. He was the second Indiana native to graduate from the Tuskegee Advanced Flying School (TAFS). He was one of the ten presiding officers in the courts-martial of several Tuskegee Airmen after the Freeman Field mutiny in 1945. He was named president after

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 ...

was dismissed.

Early life

He was born on December 23, 1916, in Indianapolis, Indiana,

Marion County, Indiana Marion County is located in the U.S. state of Indiana. The 2020 United States census, 2020 United States census reported a population of 977,203, making it the largest county in the state and 51st List of the most populous counties in the United ...

. He was the son of Elwood Knox and the grandson of runaway slave

George L. Knox George Levi Knox (1841–1927) from Indianapolis, Indiana, was born in Statesville, Tennessee, to enslaved parents. He was a runaway slave who served both the South and the North in the American Civil War. Later in life he published ''The Indiana ...

(who wrote a book about his experiences, ''Life as I Remember It: As a Slave and a Freeman'', in 1895). He was a graduate of

Fisk University Fisk University is a private historically black liberal arts college in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1866 and its campus is a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1930, Fisk was the first Africa ...

. On January 27, 1937 he was initiated as a fraternity brother of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity's Nu Chapter in Indiana. He then attended the University of Pittsburg and earned a graduate certificate. On December 3, 1942, he married Yvonne Marguerite Wright Knox (August 27, 1919 – August 18, 2002), in Atlanta, Georgia. They were the parents of four children: Adelaide Emma, George Levi III., John Elwood and Craig Streeter.

Military service

World War II

In October 1941, he entered the U.S. Army Air Corps at Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indianapolis, Indiana. On May 20, 1942, he graduated from Tuskegee Advance Flying School (TAFS)'s third-ever Single Engine Section Class SE-42-E. He was one of the first twelve African American combat fighter pilots. He was the second Indiana native to graduate from the Tuskegee Advance Flying School (TAFS). After receiving his wings and commission as a

2nd Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

, he was promoted to First Lieutenant in December 1942. In 1943 he was with the 332nd Fighter Group, became a flight leader, and was assigned to Selfridge Field, Michigan. A year later, he was a member of the "first Negro bombardment organization", the

477th Bombardment Group 477th may refer to: * 477th Bombardment Squadron, inactive United States Air Force unit *477th Fighter Group, the Air Force Reserve Command's first F-22A Raptor unit * 477th Tactical Fighter Squadron, inactive United States Air Force unit See also ...

; in 1944, the squadron had received two commendations for its achievements. At the rank of Captain, he was the "squad's most experienced Negro flier".

Freeman Field mutiny

In 1945, he was president of the court assembled to pass judgment on a "racial incident" at Freeman Field, in

Seymour, Indiana Seymour is a city in Jackson County, Indiana, United States. Its population was 21,569 at the 2020 census. The city is noted for its location at the intersection of two major north–south and east–west railroads, which cross each other in th ...

. He was one of ten officers to preside over the Freeman Field mutiny courts-martial, appointed by General

Frank O'Driscoll Hunter Frank O'Driscoll Hunter (December 8, 1894 – June 25, 1982) was a World War I flying ace, being credited by the United States Army Air Service with downing nine enemy aircraft. Hunter became an advocate of fighter aircraft strategy and tactics. I ...

: Colonel Benjamin O. Davis Jr., Captains George L. Knox II,

James T. Wiley James Thomas Wiley (August 7, 1918 – May 3, 2000) was a U.S. Army Air Forces/U.S. Air Force officer and combat fighter pilot of the 332nd Fighter Group's 99th Pursuit Squadron, best known as the Tuskegee Airmen or "Red Tails". One of the Unite ...

, John H. Duren, Charles R. Stanton, William T. Yates, Elmore M. Kennedy, and Fitzroy Newsum and 1st Lieutenants

William Robert Ming William Robert Ming Jr. (May 7, 1911 – June 30, 1973) was an American lawyer, attorney with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and law professor at University of Chicago Law School and Howard University School ...

Jr. James Y. Carter. Trial Judge Advocates were: Captain James W. Redden and 1st Lieutenant

Charles B. Hall Charles Blakesly "Buster" Hall (August 25, 1920 – November 22, 1971) was an American combat fighter pilot and U.S. Army Air Force/ U.S. Air Force officer with the 332nd Fighter Group's 99th Fighter Squadron, best known as the Tuskegee Airmen or ...

. After World War II, he headed the

AFROTC The Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) is one of the three primary commissioning sources for officers in the United States Air Force and United States Space Force, the other two being the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) ...

program at Tuskegee Institute. In 1946, he held the rank of Major. The highest rank he held, at his death in 1964, was lieutenant colonel; he was a professor of air science at the officer training corps at Tuskegee. He was a member of St. Philip's Episcopal Church in Indianapolis, and St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Tuskegee.

Awards

* World War II Victory Medal *Air force Longevity Service Medal with three bronze oak leaf clusters * American Campaign Medal * American Defense Service Medal * Congressional Gold Medal awarded to the Tuskegee Airmen in 2006

Death

He died on November 4, 1964, in Tuskegee, Alabama, Macon County, Alabama. His obituary in a Mobile Alabama newspaper reported that he died from an accidental gunshot at his home. He was interred at Crown Hill Cemetery, Plot Sec: 41, Lot: 273 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knox II, George L. Tuskegee Airmen United States Army Air Forces officers Military personnel from Tuskegee, Alabama African-American aviators Military personnel from Indiana 1916 births 1964 deaths Accidental deaths in Alabama Deaths by firearm in Alabama Military personnel from Indianapolis Fisk University alumni Burials at Crown Hill Cemetery American military personnel of World War II