William A. Campbell (April 12, 1917 – April 24, 2012) was an American pilot and military officer who served with the

Tuskegee Airmen The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of primarily African American military pilots (fighter and bomber) and airmen who fought in World War II. They formed the 332d Fighter Group and the 477th Fighter Group, 477th Bombardment Group (Medium) of the ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He served as a wingman in the first combat mission of the Tuskegee Airmen, and rose to the rank of Group Commander 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 ...

shortly after World War II. He subsequently served in both the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

and

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

Biography

Early life and education

He was born in

Tuskegee, Alabama Tuskegee () is a city in Macon County, Alabama, United States. It was founded and laid out in 1833 by General Thomas Simpson Woodward, a Creek War veteran under Andrew Jackson, and made the county seat that year. It was incorporated in 1843. ...

on April 12, 1917, the fourth child of Thomas Monroe Campbell, the first Cooperative Extension Agent in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

,Rasmussen, W. D. (1989). Taking the University to the People - Seventy-five Years of Cooperative Extension. Ames: Iowa State University. and Anna Campbell. In total, he had five siblings, including three younger than himself. He attended elementary and high school in Tuskegee, Alabama. He then matriculated at the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute from which he graduated with his Bachelor of Science degree in Business in 1937.

Military career

Following his graduation from the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute, Campbell went to work as a clerk for the U.S. Dept. of Agricultural Extension. During his time working for Agricultural Extension, he encountered an opportunity to enroll in the

Tuskegee Army Air Field Sharpe Field is a closed private use airport located northwest of the central business district of Tuskegee, a city in Macon County, Alabama, United States. This airport is privately owned by the Bradbury Family Partnership. Formerly known ...

class SE-42-F. He graduated from the program on July 3, 1942 as a second lieutenant. Campbell was then assigned to the

99th Fighter Squadron The 99th Infantry Division was formed in 1942 and deployed overseas in 1944. The "Checkerboard" or "Battle Babies" division landed at the French port of Le Havre and proceeded northeast to Belgium. During the heavy fighting in the Battle of the ...

commanded by then-Col. Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., of the 3d Fighter Group commanded by then-Col. William W. Momyer, which was stationed in Farjouna,

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

in 1943. Campbell flew in the first combat mission of the 99th Pursuit Squadron on June 2, 1943, as they served as wingmen to pilots of the during World War II. Campbell, Spann Watson, and Herbert V. Clark were given orders to return to the United States to train replacement pilots. They left the European theater on November 5, 1943 and reported for duty to the

553d Fighter-Bomber Squadron The 553d Fighter-Bomber Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 386th Fighter-Bomber Group at Bunker Hill Air Force Base, Indiana, where it was inactivated on 8 July 1957. The squadron was first acti ...

in Michigan in December 1943. Campbell returned to the Europe in 1944 as a Captain and, on October 11, 1944, he rejoined the 99th FS which was, since July, 1944, reassigned from attachment with the 324th FG of the 12AF to the 332d Fighter Group, already consisting of the all black 10th, 301st, and 302nd fighter squadrons which had also come from the 12AF, but joined the 15AF in April, 1944 which by order of the 15AF, was given the tail identification color of red for their P-47D's and later P-51's that gave them the name "Red Tails". name=haulman_p57> The mission successfully destroyed 17 enemy airplanes on the ground. Eighteen days later, he assumed command of the 99th Fighter Group as a full Major, replacing Captain Alfonza W. Davis, on October 29, 1944. Campbell received the Distinguished Flying Cross on New Year's Day 1945; the medal was presented to him by Brigadier General Dean C. Strother. Three months later, on March 31, 1945, Campbell participated in a mission of the 332d Fighter Group to destroy railroad and other targets in the area surrounding

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

, Germany. The mission successfully shot down 13 enemy fighters; Campbell was credited for one of the 13 kills. On April 15, 1945, Campbell participated in another strafing mission of railroad targets in the areas around

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...

Linz Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846. In 2009, it was a European Capital of ...

, Pilzen, and

Regensburg Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the f ...

. For his actions, Campbell earned his second Distinguished Flying Cross. He became the first African American pilot to receive the Distinguished Flying Cross when he was officially awarded the oak leaf cluster to his cross on May 29, 1945. Over the course of World War II, Campbell actively served in the Sicilian and Italian campaigns and flew 106 missions, becoming the first African-American pilot to drop a bomb on enemy targets in United States history. Following World War II, Maj. Campbell assumed the position of Group Commander of the 332nd Fighter Group on August 28, 1947. Campbell went on to fight in two more wars during his military career, as he served in both Korea and Vietnam. He remained in the service until 1970, reaching the rank of full colonel. After his retirement from active duty in 1970, Campbell taught Defense Resource Management at the

Naval Postgraduate School The Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) is a public graduate school operated by the United States Navy and located in Monterey, California. It offers master’s and doctoral degrees in more than 70 fields of study to the U.S. Armed Forces, DOD ci ...

Monterey, California Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under bo ...

for 13 years and was a member of the Tuskegee Airmen Commission established by the State of Alabama.

Marriage and children

He married Wilma Jean Burton from Chicago in September 1946. He and his wife had three sons: William A. Campbell, Jr., Stephen Campbell, and David Campbell.

Death and legacy

Colonel Campbell died at the age of 95 on April 24, 2012 in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

. He was buried with full military honors at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

. The San Francisco Bay Area Chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen, Inc. was renamed in his honor. Colonel Campbell's personal papers documenting his military career, the Tuskegee Airmen and their service, as well as his personal life were donated to the

University of California, Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public land-grant research university in Riverside, California. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The main campus sits on in a suburban distr ...

Awards

Col. Campbell received numerous medals and awards during his military career, including two Distinguished Flying Crosses, the

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

, the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

and 13

Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establish ...

clusters.

References

External links

Tuskegee Airmen
at

Tuskegee University Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU), formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute, is a private, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama. It was founded on Independence Day in 1881 by the state legislature. The campus was d ...

Tuskegee Airmen Archives
at the

Libraries.
Tuskegee Airmen, Inc.

(

U.S. National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational properties ...

)
Tuskegee Airmen National Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, William A. (Tuskegee Airman) 1917 births 2012 deaths Tuskegee Airmen United States Air Force colonels Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Tuskegee University alumni Military personnel from Tuskegee, Alabama Recipients of the Legion of Merit People from Tuskegee, Alabama Aviators from Alabama African-American aviators 21st-century African-American people

Biography

Early life and education

Military career

Marriage and children

Death and legacy

Awards

References

Further reading

Books, Articles, and Reports

Audiovisual Materials

Archival Resources

External links