Soaring to Glory ― A Tuskegee Airman's Firsthand Account of Wwii

Only 14 of the approximately 1,000 Tuskegee Airmen-the famed black aviators who fought in World War II-are still living today. This is the remarkable first-person account of one of those 14 men, Lt. Colonel Harry T. Stewart, Jr, who flew 43 combat missions in Italy—including one legendary mission in which he shot down three German planes in one day. Stewart and his fellow pilots faced segregation, prejudice, and disrespect--and still, day after day, they took to the skies to battle America's enemies.

Philip Handleman is the author of 23 aviation-related books. He is the recipient of the 2008 Harriet Quimby Award from the Michigan Aviation Hall of Fame for contributions to aviation art and literature and the Combs Gates Award from the National Aviation Hall of Fame for contributions to the preservation of America’s air and space heritage. He has also been recognized by the Tuskegee Airmen National Museum with its Outstanding Achievement Award and its Lifetime Distinguished Achievement Award. Mr. Handleman initiated the legislative effort to award the Congressional Gold Medal to the Tuskegee Airmen, which occurred on March 29, 2007. Immediately following the presentation in the Rotunda of the Capitol Building, he was among the invited speakers at the official reception in the Thomas Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress. He frequently writes for aviation magazines, including Aviation History which is a leading subscription and newsstand magazine that reaches 160,000 readers. Mr. Handleman continues to be published in a wide array of both specialty and general interest outlets from the U.S. Naval Institute’s Proceedings to the Los Angeles Times and from The Wall Street Journal to USA Today.

Lt. Col Harry Stewart was born in Newport News, Virginia and grew up in New York City. He signed up for war service when he was 17 and passed the exam for Tuskegee's pilot training program. He learned to fly a plane before he learned to drive a car. In 1944 he was sent to Italy with the 301st Fighter Squadron of the 332nd Fighter Group. He would fly 43 combat missions there, including a 1945 mission where he shot down three Germans in one day. He was honorably discharged from service in 1950 and went on to have a successful career in mechanical engineering.