Yenwith K. Whitney (December 22, 1924 – April 12, 2011) was a fighter pilot with the Tuskegee Airmen in World War II, an aeronautical engineer, and educator.

World War II

In 1943 Whitney enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps and was transferred to the 66th Air Force Flying School at Alabama's Tuskegee Institute (now known as

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 ...

). He became a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, as part of the

301st Fighter Squadron The 301st Fighter Squadron is a United States Air Force Reserve squadron, assigned to the 325th Operations Group, stationed at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. It is an associate unit of the active duty 325th Fighter Wing. The squadron was f ...

. Whitney flew 34 combat missions in Europe during World War II and was awarded the Air Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters.

Education and career

When the war ended, Whitney attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to study aeronautical engineering. While at MIT, Whitney was one of four student delegates chosen to represent the Institute at the annual convention of the US

National Student Association The United States National Student Association (NSA) was a confederation of college and university student governments that was in operation from 1947 to 1978. Founding and early years The NSA was founded at a conference at the University of Wisc ...

(NSA). He was also a member of the MIT Flying Club. After receiving his degree, Whitney worked as an aeronautical engineer at Republic Aircraft and the EDO Corporation before beginning a life of service to the

Presbyterian Church Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

. He spent ten years teaching math and physics at a mission in Cameroon, then returned to the US as Associate for Educational Services in the Presbyterian Church. He also briefly served as principal at

Boggs Academy Boggs Academy was a Presbyterian school for African Americans founded in 1906 in Walker Settlement ( Burke County), Georgia, United States, ( east of St. Clair), under the auspices of the Board of Missions for Freedmen, Presbyterian Church (US ...

in Keysville, Georgia. He retired from his work with the Presbyterian Church in 1992. After retirement, Whitney spoke with various groups about his experiences as a Tuskegee Airman and was active with the MIT Alumni Association, where he was involved on their national selection committee.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitney, Yenwith 1924 births 2011 deaths Military personnel from New York City MIT School of Engineering alumni Tuskegee Airmen African-American aviators 21st-century African-American people