Wendell O. Pruitt

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Wendell O. Pruitt
332nd Fighter Group
AwardsDistinguished Flying Cross

Wendell Oliver Pruitt (June 20, 1920 – April 15, 1945) was an American military pilot and

Tuskegee Airman[1] originally from St. Louis, Missouri. He was killed during a training exercise in 1945.[2] After his death, his name, along with that of William L. Igoe, was given to the Pruitt–Igoe public housing complex in St. Louis
.

Biography

Pruitt grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, as the youngest of ten children to Elijah and Melanie Pruitt

Jefferson City, Missouri, becoming a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.[3]

Military career

Pruitt, already a licensed pilot, enlisted in the

Tuskegee, Alabama, eventually graduating and being commissioned as a second lieutenant on December 11, 1942.[3]

After graduating from flight school at Tuskegee, Pruitt was assigned to the

Mediterranean theater in late 1943 where Pruitt flew the P-47 Thunderbolt
.

In June 1944, Pruitt and his occasional wingman, 1st Lt. Gwynne Walker Peirson,[5] landed direct hits on an enemy destroyer that sank at Trieste harbor in northern Italy. He received the Distinguished Flying Cross for this action. Thereafter, the 332nd flew the P-51 Mustang as their primary fighter aircraft.

Pruitt teamed with

History Channel show entitled Dogfights: Tuskegee Airmen.[7] Pruitt flew seventy combat missions, was credited with three enemy kills, and reached the rank of captain.[8]

Overall, Pruitt was one of the Tuskegee Airmen pilots with at least three confirmed kills during World War II.[9]

Death

Pruitt was killed, along with a student pilot, during a training exercise in Tuskegee, Alabama, on April 15, 1945.[10]

Honors

U.S. decorations and badges

Distinguished Flying Cross (with 7 Oak Leaf Clusters)[11]

Things named for Pruitt

See also

References

  1. ^ "Tuskegee Airmen Listing". Archived from the original on 27 May 2010. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  2. ^ a b Mound City on the Mississippi, a St. Louis History. Accessed July 28, 2008.
  3. ^ a b c AMVETS post 41 Accessed July 28, 2008.
  4. ^ Short Biography on youngsaintlouis.com. Accessed July 28, 2008.
  5. ^ "Destroyer sunk by Tuskagee Airmen - More information needed". 27 June 2005. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  6. ^ Distinguished African Americans in Aviation and Space Science By Betty Kaplan Gubert, Miriam Sawyer and Caroline M. Fannin (Greenwood, 2001) at pages 242–44. link
  7. ^ "History Asia". History Asia. Archived from the original on 8 February 2011. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  8. ^ Tuskegee Airman Statistics. Accessed July 28, 2008.
  9. ^ "The Tuskegee Airmen: 5 Fascinating Facts". HISTORY. 2023-02-02. Retrieved 2023-12-03.
  10. ^ "Wendell O. Pruitt, Hero of Air War, is Killed in South". St. Louis Star and Times. April 16, 1945.
  11. ^ Distinguished Flying Cross Society Honor Roll Accessed July 28, 2008.
  12. ^ "Spirit Mission Manager Reports". NASA. 2008-03-06. Retrieved 2020-12-28. Spirit is currently wrapping up a campaign of scientific studies of the rock target known as Wendell Pruitt
  13. ^ "BlackVoices.org-Wendell O. Pruitt". Pruitt, Wendell Oliver (1920–1945) on BlackVoices.org. 27 January 2012. Retrieved 30 August 2014.
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