AIRPORT VOICE, FEBRUARY 2021 19
Lloyd Austin
Lloyd James Austin III (born
August 8, 1953) is a retired United
States Army four-star general
who has been the United States
secretary of defense since January
22, 2021. He is the first African
American to serve as U.S.
Defense Secretary. Austin previously
served as the 12th commander
of United States Central
Command (CENTCOM) from 2013
to 2016.
Austin was the 33rd vice chief
of staff of the Army from January
2012 to March 2013, and the last
commanding general of United
States Forces – Iraq Operation
New Dawn.
“Today I swore in Lloyd Austin
as the Secretary of the U.S.
Department of Defense (DoD),”
Vice President Harris wrote on
her wall. “Secretary Austin’s integrity,
experience, and intimate
knowledge of the issues facing
our military make him the right
leader for this moment.”Austin
and his wife, Charlene Denise
Banner Austin, pictured alongside
him in the vice president’s
photo, have been married for over
40 years.
Tuskegee Airmen
Tuskegee Airmen Led by C. Alfred
Anderson, who was known
as the "Father of Black Aviation,"
the Tuskegee Airmen (active 1940-
1948) had a lot to prove to their
country and the rest of the world
as the first Black military pilots in
the U.S. Armed Forces. Subjected
to discrimination both on and off
the battlefield, the Tuskegee Airmen's
service during World War
II was at a time when the military
was still segregated. Their heroic
missions — escorting heavy
bomber aircraft and conducting
successful attack missions in
1945 — earned them distinguished
honors and helped bring about
the desegregation of the military.
In honor of their lives and missions,
a special area with a model
plane and an Airman statue at the
CUNY Aviation Institute is named
after them. The name "Tuskegee"
comes from Spanish "Tasquiqui",
which came from the Muskogee
word "Taskeke", a name of a Creek
settlement and meaning "warriors.
YouTube: https://youtu.be/
NysRVxwVwEo
Richard Lloyd Rowe
Richard affectionately
known
locally and internationally
as
“Dick” Rowe was
the General Manager
of Kennedy
International Airport
from 1983
to 1994 at a time
when JFK was
considered the
largest airport in
the world. He was
the head of administration
for Airport
operation,
maintenance and
security for all
tenants and customers.
He began his
career with the
Port Authority
of New York and
New Jersey in 1951 as a Port Authority
Police Officer.
He was the past president of
the International Personnel Management
Association and a distinguished
member of the Airport
Operators Council International
member of Mu Gamma Tau, the National
Advancement of Colored Peoples,
the National Urban League
and Kappa Alpha Alpha.
Willa Brown
Willa Brown (1906-1992) became
the first Black woman to receive her
pilot license in the United States,
which she did in 1938, Brown also
became the first Black woman to
serve as a Civil Air Patrol officer,
the first to receive a commercial pilot's
license and the first to run for
Congress. Having co-founded the
Coffey School of Aeronautics it was
the first Black-owned and operated
private flight training academy in
the United States.
Willa became a founding member
of the National Airmen’s Association
of America (NAAA), the first
Black aviators’ group. She served
as the national secretary and president
of the Chicago branch of the
NAAA aviation and aeronautics.
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