Wendell Oliver Pruitt (June 20, 1920 – April 15, 1945) was an American military pilot and

Tuskegee Airman 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 ...

originally from St. Louis, Missouri. He was killed during a training exercise in 1945.Mound City on the Mississippi, a St. Louis History
Accessed July 28, 2008. After his death, his name, along with that of

William L. Igoe William Leo Igoe (October 19, 1879 – April 20, 1953) was a United States representative from Missouri. Igoe was born in St. Louis to Irish immigrants. He attended the public and parochial schools of St. Louis and graduated from the law schoo ...

, was given to the

Pruitt–Igoe The Wendell O. Pruitt Homes and William Igoe Apartments, known together as Pruitt–Igoe (), were joint urban housing projects first occupied in 1954 in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. The complex consisted of 33 eleven-story high rises, d ...

public housing complex in St. Louis.

Biography

Pruitt grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, as the youngest of ten children to Elijah and Melanie PruittAMVETS post 41
Accessed July 28, 2008. and attended Sumner High School.Short Biography
on youngsaintlouis.com. Accessed July 28, 2008. He then furthered his education at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri, becoming a member of

Alpha Phi Alpha Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. () is the oldest intercollegiate historically African American fraternity. It was initially a literary and social studies club organized in the 1905–1906 school year at Cornell University but later evolved int ...

fraternity.

Military career

Pruitt, already a licensed pilot, enlisted in the Army Air Corps Cadet Flying Program in Tuskegee, Alabama, eventually graduating and being commissioned as a

second 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 ...

on December 11, 1942. After graduating from flight school at Tuskegee, Pruitt was assigned to 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 ...

, then stationed in Michigan. The 332nd was transferred to the Mediterranean theater in late 1943 where Pruitt flew the P-47 Thunderbolt. In June 1944, Pruitt and his occasional wingman, 1st Lt. Gwynne Walker Peirson, landed direct hits on an enemy

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

that sank at Trieste harbor in northern Italy. He received the Distinguished Flying Cross for this action. Thereafter, the 332nd flew the

P-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team headed by James ...

as their primary

fighter aircraft Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield ...

. Pruitt teamed with Lee Archer to form the famed "Gruesome Twosome", the most successful pair of Tuskegee pilots in terms of air victories. The "Gruesome Twosome" are featured in a History Channel show entitled '' Dogfights: Tuskegee Airmen''. Pruitt flew seventy combat missions, was credited with three enemy kills, and reached the rank of captain.Tuskegee Airman Statistics
Accessed July 28, 2008. Overall, Pruitt was one of only nine Tuskegee Airmen pilots with at least three confirmed kills during World War II.

Death

Pruitt was killed, along with a student pilot, during a training exercise in Tuskegee, Alabama, on April 15, 1945.

Honors

U.S. decorations and badges

Things named for Pruitt

* The

Housing Project (along with

) * A Martian rock studied by the Mars Spirit Rover * A St. Louis

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

and a

military school A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally provides education in a military environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned. ...

* "Wendell O. Pruitt Day" in the City of St. Louis, Missouri (December 12, 1944)

References

External links

* * KETC ''"Living St. Louis"'' (Running time: 6 minutes, 03 seconds) {{DEFAULTSORT:Pruitt, Wendell O. 1920 births 1945 deaths Tuskegee Airmen Aviators from Missouri Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in the United States Military personnel from St. Louis Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Tuskegee University people United States Army Air Forces officers United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II United States Army Air Forces personnel killed in World War II