Hiram Mann

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Hiram Mann visits Joint Base Charleston (November 2012)

Hiram Mann (May 23, 1921

P-51D Mustangs flown by the African-American pilots in combat missions were painted crimson red.[1][2][3][4] (The term "Tuskegee Airmen" did not come into use until the creation of a veteran's organization in 1972).[2] Mann nicknamed his own fighter plane "The Iron Lady" after his wife.[1][4]

Early life

He was born in

balsa wood to make airplanes...I never thought I would have a chance to actually fly an airplane."[2]

Mann found work as a

defense industry would help delay mandatory military service.[2] However, the work at the factory proved exhausting and he soon left the position.[2] Mann also attended Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Arkansas where he met and married his wife, Kathadaza "Kitty" Mann, in 1940.He was also a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.[2][4] The couple returned to Cleveland after approximately one year, where Mann resumed his former job as a bellman at the Hotel Cleveland.[4]

Red Tails and World War II

Ramitelli
, Italy (March 1945)

Hiram Mann, while still working as a bellman, hoped to fly for the United States as a pilot during World War II.

Negroes to fly in any branch of the American military service. That ticked me off."[1] Mann applied for a second time and received a second rejection because he was married and had completed only one year of college (the military wanted single men and required two years of college).[1][2] Mann recalled, "There I was with three strikes against me — [only] one year of college, married and black."[1][4]

Meanwhile, the U.S. government had begun training African-American aviators at Sharpe Field in Alabama in 1941.[2] Mann applied for third time.[4] Mann received a reply letter on December 7, 1942, saying that his application was on file and that he would be contacted when an opening becomes available.[4] He was finally accepted into the military pilot training program in 1943 on his third attempt, based on a series of mental and physical examinations.[1][4] His wife, Kathadaza, moved back with her parents in Chicago and finished college when her husband entered flight training program.[2] She worked as a high school teacher during the war.[2]

Mann completed his flight training and received his silver wings in June 1944 and became a "Red Tail," later known as the Tuskegee Airmen.[1][2][4] Mann flew 48 combat missions over Europe during the war.[1][2] Mann flew just two P-51D Mustang planes: He lost the first plane when it "was shot out from under me." He nicknamed both P-51Ds "Boss Lady"[2] and "The Iron Lady,"[1] which were affectionately named for his wife.[2] His flights included a number of strafing missions. He recalled the mission in 2008, "I could see silver streaks coming out from my plane. Then, I could see silver streaks flying past me. I thought, 'Gee, I'm flying faster than my bullets.' But in reality, it was the enemy's bullets coming back past me."[2]

Later life and career

Lt. Col. Hiram Mann poses with airmen outside a C-17 Globemaster III at Joint Base Charleston (November 2012)

Mann pursued a career in the

U.S. Air Force after the war and then entered the civil service.[2] He retired from the military as a lieutenant colonel in 1972.[1] He completed his bachelor's degree utilizing the G.I. Bill and later obtained a master's degree as well.[2]

Hiram and Kitty Mann retired to

Deland, Florida.[2] In 2013, he was one of four Tuskegee veterans who rode in a Model A Ford in Orlando, Florida's, Veterans Day Parade.[1][5]

Mann was one of just six Tuskegee Airmen to attend the dedication of the Tuskegee Airmen monument at the Orlando Science Center in 2013.[1] The Orlando monument is the first in the nation dedicated to the Tuskegee Airmen.[1] An inscription on the plaque reads, "Their example inspires future generations to reach to the skies and to realize that all things are possible."

Hiram Mann died at a hospice in Titusville, Florida, on May 17, 2014, at the age of 92.[1] His wife of 71 and a half years, Kathadaza "Kitty" Mann, died March 2, 2012.[1][4] He was survived by his son, Gene Mann, and three grandchildren.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Hudak, Stephen (2014-05-18). "Lt. Col. Hiram Mann, one of the Tuskegee Airmen, dies in Florida hospice". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on 2014-05-24. Retrieved 2014-06-16.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Hatfield, Pat (2008-10-22). "World War II — Hiram Mann: Tuskegee Airman". West Volusia Beacon. Archived from the original on 2014-08-10. Retrieved 2014-06-16.
  3. ^ Hatfield, R. Norman (2014-05-18). "Mann, legendary Tuskegee Airman dies at age 92". Florida Today. Retrieved 2014-06-16.
  4. ^
    Jacksonville.com
    . Retrieved 2014-06-16.
  5. ^ Rodriguez, Erica (November 19, 2013). "'Red Tail' pilots a highlight at Veterans Day celebration". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved August 3, 2014.

External links

Media related to Hiram Mann at Wikimedia Commons

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