PORT CLINTON, Ohio — It's been nearly 80 years since the first Black military airmen, also known as the Tuskegee Airmen, fought in World War II. They were acting as fighter escorts for bombers. Their success changed the future of the military forever; they played a critical role in President Harry Truman's decision to desegregate the military in 1948.
"These guys changed the course of history, and they were the ones who were the first in our nation to really stand up and prove that they could be equal or better," said Marsha Bordner.
And to keep their legacy alive, the Liberty Aviation Museum in Port Clinton honored local Tuskegee Airman Dr. Harold Brown with a statue. Bordner and Brown were married for 13 years. She says he was known to be humble and a great storyteller in the community.
"He grew up with a love of wanting to fly, and he told me his mother wanted him to play the piano, but he knew he was going to fly," Bordner said. "It was almost a miracle that there was a group of black aviators who were selected to join the Tuskegee Airmen group because, at that time, if you do the research, the military didn't believe that black men were smart enough to fly a plane."
As a teenager, he overcame racial prejudice in the South but would go on to accomplish his dreams of joining the Air Force. During World War II, Brown flew 30 missions with the Tuskegee Airmen and served in the Korean War.
Edward Patrick owns the Liberty Aviation Museum and is a good friend of Brown.
"Dr. Brown was worthy of a statue; there's this uniqueness about him, and he basically adopted us as his community. Education brought him the Port Clinton area, and he kind of adopted this museum as well. It was so unique how many people he touched, I think it's only fitting that we recognize all the things that he did in his life and inspired even me. And when you meet somebody like that, you go, 'that's exactly why we do this,' because of individuals like Dr. Brown who actually met adversity and went around it, went over it, went under it and went through it," said Patrick.
Patrick says Brown spent much time educating people and speaking with kids at the museum.
"To hear about him talk about his one-on-one experiences flying combat aircraft in World War II and then being involved in a strafing operation where he strafed the German train. And the train exploded, and parts of the train came up and damaged his aircraft," said Patrick.
That forced him to bail out of the aircraft over Austria, where he was taken prisoner of war by a lynch mob and later rescued.
"These stories just go from maybe something innocuous to this full-blown story of heroism and excitement," said Patrick.
Bordner says his favorite line to tell kids was, "If you can do it, I can do it."
"He was always a thoughtful person, and when he spoke to people, they knew he was speaking from the heart, and they listened to him," said Bordner.
Brown settled in Port Clinton with Bordner, and they published a book called "Keep Your Airspeed Up: The Story of a Tuskegee Airman" in 2017. Brown was active in the community, always speaking at events and schools to inspire others until his death in January of 2023; Bordner says his goal was to live until 100 years old.
Brown spent 23 years in the military. After he retired, he received his degree from Ohio State University and worked in education as the vice president of academic affairs at Columbus State Community College.
"During his celebration of life, the one common denominator from many of the attendees that spoke was, 'If it wasn't for Dr. Brown, I probably wouldn't be here today. I wouldn't have been driven to do what I could have done in my life,'" said Patrick.
