Dozens of Black pilots disappeared during WWII. Who are the men still lost?
Episode
17 min
Read time
2 min
Topics
Productivity, Psychology & Behavior, Science & Discovery
AI-Generated Summary
Key Takeaways
- ✓Government neglect pattern: Of 27 missing Black airmen documented in Thompson's research, only 2 have been located in the past 8 years. Families report receiving zero contact from the U.S. government — no updates, no searches, no acknowledgment of their losses.
- ✓Racial disparity in search efforts: The segregated military's hostility toward Black pilots extended beyond combat. When airmen went missing over enemy territory, the government routinely cited danger as justification for abandoning search operations, a standard applied unevenly compared to white pilots.
- ✓Human cost of MIA status: Families of missing airmen — some now in their 90s, one daughter who was 3 when her father disappeared and is now 84 — report that the absence of closure, not just the loss itself, caused multigenerational psychological devastation for parents, siblings, and children.
- ✓Preserving personal correspondence: Thompson recovered letters written by missing airmen through relatives who inherited and retained them across generations. These documents reveal the men's pre-war identities — most were college-educated, aged 20–28 — and provide the primary evidence base for humanizing historical research.
What It Covers
NPR investigative correspondent Cheryl W. Thompson discusses her book *Forgotten Souls*, detailing 27 Black Tuskegee Airmen who went missing during WWII and the families still awaiting government acknowledgment decades later.
Key Questions Answered
- •Government neglect pattern: Of 27 missing Black airmen documented in Thompson's research, only 2 have been located in the past 8 years. Families report receiving zero contact from the U.S. government — no updates, no searches, no acknowledgment of their losses.
- •Racial disparity in search efforts: The segregated military's hostility toward Black pilots extended beyond combat. When airmen went missing over enemy territory, the government routinely cited danger as justification for abandoning search operations, a standard applied unevenly compared to white pilots.
- •Human cost of MIA status: Families of missing airmen — some now in their 90s, one daughter who was 3 when her father disappeared and is now 84 — report that the absence of closure, not just the loss itself, caused multigenerational psychological devastation for parents, siblings, and children.
- •Preserving personal correspondence: Thompson recovered letters written by missing airmen through relatives who inherited and retained them across generations. These documents reveal the men's pre-war identities — most were college-educated, aged 20–28 — and provide the primary evidence base for humanizing historical research.
Notable Moment
Thompson reveals her father was himself a Tuskegee Airmen cadet who washed out before flying due to landing difficulties — a personal connection that took years to motivate her to pursue the book rather than assign it to a colleague.
Episode Transcript
I'm Ayesha Rascoe, and you're listening to the Sunday story from Up First, where we go beyond the news of the day to bring you one big story. Today, the Tuskegee Airmen are celebrated as American heroes, black men who fought in World War two for a country that was still brutally segregated. Eventually, these men who shattered the color line as combat pilots would be awarded some of the nation's highest honors. In 2007, the Tuskegee Airmen were awarded the congressional gold medal by president George w Bush. The Tuskegee Airmen helped win a war, and you helped change our nation for the better. Yours is the story of the human spirit, and it ends like all great stories do with wisdom and lessons and hope for tomorrow. But some never got to see those tributes because they never made it home, and their families felt they were forgotten by the US government. The families I got to know, I think, would be happy with someone knocking on their door, picking up the phone, saying, you know what? We haven't forgotten about your dad. We haven't forgotten about your brother. We haven't forgotten about your uncle something. But does have crickets Mhmm. You know, is probably the most hurtful thing for them. NPR investigative correspondent Cheryl w Thompson is the author of a book that published earlier this year. It's called Forgotten Souls, the Search for the Lost Tuskegee Airmen. It tells the stories of 27 black airmen who went missing during flights overseas, leaving their families forever changed and still looking for answers. When we come back, I sit down with Cheryl to talk about her personal connection to the airmen and what she learned over years of research about who these men were. We'll be right back. This message is from AT and T with your summer essential, the iPhone 17 Pro. Its center stage front camera auto adjusts the frame to fit everyone into group selfies. Right now at AT and T, ask how you can get iPhone 17 Pro on them with eligible trade in. Requires eligible plan. Terms and restrictions apply subject to change. Visit att.com/iphone for details. Support for this podcast and the following message come from Rivian, makers of the all electric three row r one s SUV and the always capable r one t pickup With impressive range, storage for any expedition, and technology that feels like second nature, Rivian vehicles are designed for those who seek to explore the planet and preserve it for generations to come. Learn more or schedule a demo drive at rivian.com. This message comes from NPR sponsor Charles Schwab with its original podcast on investing. It's hosted by Liz Ann Saunders, Schwab's chief investment strategist, and Colin Martin, head of fixed income research and strategy for the Schwab Center for Financial Research. Each week, Liz Ann, Colin, and their guests analyze economic developments and bring context to conversations around stocks, fixed income, the economy, and …
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by Cheryl W. Thompson
“NPR investigative correspondent Cheryl W. Thompson discusses her book *Forgotten Souls*, detailing 27 Black Tuskegee Airmen who went missing during WWII and the families still awaiting government acknowledgment decades later.”
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