Public Relations | Donations | NSCC Resource Portal | In The News For Parents and Adults
Liberty (AGTR-5) Division US Naval Sea Cadet Corps Amityville, NY http://www.libertyagtr5div.org/	Wayne Spivak Public Affairs Officer WSpivak@sbanetweb.com 516-353-9155

11 May 2006

Tuskegee Airman lectured Naval Sea Cadets about Love of Country

Amityville, NY:  LTC Spann Watson, a resident of Westbury, and one of the surviving members of the famed World War II 332nd Fighter Group held a discussion session with thirty-five young men and women who are members of the Liberty Division of the US Naval Sea Cadet Corps, on  8 May 2006 at the US Armed Forces Reserve Center.

Approximatelly forty-five members of the Amityville Reserve Center community as well as Cadet family members participated in this historic talk about patriotism, segregation and life in an era that has shaped what our world is like today.

The Tuskegee Airman was the first black aviation unit in the US armed services, formed in July 1941.  In 1941, the Military had just begun to be  integrated, while most of American society was not.  Members of the unit had to pass the same muster as their fellow white officers and enlisted counter-parts. 

The 332nd Fighter Group was involved in 1,578 combat missions with no pilot losses.  They damaged or destroyed 409 enemy aircraft and garnered 744 Air Medals, 150 of them the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Lt. Col. Watson began his aviation training at Howard University in 1939 where he studied mechanical engineering and was in the original College Pilot Training Program. He continued under the same program at Tuskegee Institute and joined the U.S. Army Air Corps as a flying cadet. Lt. Col. Watson was an original member of the famed 99th Fighter Squadron. Lt. Col. Watson was one of eight pilots who successfully fought the German elite Luftwaffe over the Mediterranean Sea, marking the first time African-American pilots fought in air combat. In World War II, he distinguished himself flying missions over North Africa, Sicily, Italy, and Southern Europe.

Lt. Col. Watson’s efforts were instrumental in the integration of the armed forces and federal agencies. With a segregated military during the 1940’s, Lt. Col. Watson played a key role in developing an integration plan for the Armed Forces that became the nation’s official policy. In 1965, after a 23-year military career, Watson joined the Federal Aviation Administration as an equal opportunity specialist and subsequently as an air traffic specialist.

Lt. Col. Watson told the young men and women of the Liberty AGTR-5 Division to stay in school and to avoid temptations to use drugs and join gangs.“What a thrill to actually meet one of the famous Tuskegee Airmen” exclaimed Vincent Lamanna, age 13 of Amityville, N.Y. Vinnie as his shipmates call him is a 7th graderand has been a Naval League Cadet with Liberty AGTR-5 Division since age 10. Next month he will be graduating into the Sea Cadet program.

Sea Cadets are young men and women from ages 13 to 18.“We are very honored to have the Colonel come and talk with us today” said LT jg Forrest Woodward, Commanding Officer of the Liberty AGTR-5 Division.  “This is the kind of exposure we work hard at (within the NSCC) to give these young adults a sense of our nation’s history and those role models that can make a positive influence on their personal and professional lives.” To LT jg Woodward, this was very personal too. His father was one of the B-17 bomber crew members that flew fifty bombing missions over war-torn Europe with the 775^th Squadron of the 463^rd Bomb Group (H) out of Foggia, Italy during 1944 and 45. Lt. Col. Watson also flew out of the airfields in Foggia during the same years. “Lt. Col. Watson, without doubt, flew cover for my father and his crew” said Woodward.

The USS LIBERTY AGTR-5 Division of the US Naval Sea Cadet Corps stationed at the US Armed Forces Reserve Center - Amityville, Long Island New York

The U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps (NSCC) is a nationwide organization dedicated to helping American youth realize personal success and achievement through a nautically oriented training program. Through Sea Cadet leadership, young Americans ages 13 through 17 develop interest and skill in basic seamanship and its naval adaptations, while learning the value of patriotism, courage, self reliance, teamwork and accountability, and the value of education.  Continued success and participation in the NSCC is dependent on maintaining good grades in school.

Membership in the Sea Cadets allows teenagers to sample military life with no obligation to join any branch of the armed forces. Should cadets decide to enlist in the Navy or Coast Guard, their training may allow them entry at an advance paygrade. The Naval Sea Cadet Corps affords equal opportunity for participation to all young Americans regardless of race, color, religion or sex.

### 

The USNSCC is a registered IRS 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Your contribution is tax deductible.