Tuskegee Airman takes cockpit in Colorado Springs at age 95
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- What better day than on Thursday, the 75th anniversary of D-Day, to see a World War II veteran relive his training days in a vintage plane over the Colorado Springs Airport?
Frank Macon, 95, grew up in Colorado Springs and is one of the fabled Tuskegee Airmen, the first group of Black pilots to train and serve in America's military.
"I always wanted to fly, from the time I was a little boy," he said. "It wasn't easy being a black man back then but I decided being a military pilot was what I wanted to do."
On Thursday morning, Macon took a flight in a T-6 trainer with lead pilot Wade Tagg. The plane was provided by the owner of Oskar Blues restaurant in town..
"My first concern was how to get him in the airplane, because it's not the first time we've tried to take a WWII vet on a flight, and it can be a challenge," Tagg said. "But the problem was getting him out. He didn't want to leave."
The duo spent around 30 minutes in the air, and Macon took over the controls for a time.
"I didn't do anything too fancy," Macon said. "Just wanted to get a feel for the plane. I remembered where everything was. We didn't crash, so I did OK."
A crowd of about 40 people watched and took pictures of the event at the Jet Center.
Macon was born in Kansas in 1924 but spent most of his life living on the west side of Colorado Springs. He learned to fly at the former Pine Valley Airport -- now the airfield for the Air Force Academy.
Macon graduated from what is now Palmer High School, joined the Army Air Corps in 1943, and began training in Tuskegee, Alabama, the following year. The war ended before he completed training.
"I missed D-Day because I was in the hospital," he said. "I had a head cold and damaged my eardrums on a power dive. There was blood everywhere. I lost some of my hearing."
After the war, Macon continued to serve in the military on active duty and in the reserves. He earned the rank of lieutenant and spent 20 years repairing, servicing and maintaining aircraft.
Macon has co-authored a book about his life, titled "I Wanted to be a Pilot." He struggled with dyslexia as a child, and the book is tailored to younger readers to teach them how to overcome adversity.
Elizabeth Harper helped Macon write the book.
"It took three years," she said. "There aren't many books written by Tuskegee Airmen. This is one is for middle-school ages but adults love the history in it."
Harper said Macon left the military because he didn't like the segregation practices of the day.
"He doesn't say much about that because he never let it affect him," she said. "His growing up in west Colorado Springs was a big influence on his life."
It's estimated that nearly 1,000 African Americans received training, as pilots or in support positions, at the installation in Tuskegee, Alabama.
"Macon is one of three surviving airmen in the Rocky Mountain region," she said. "There may be no more than a dozen or two combat pilots still living."
