NPR investigative journalist and the daughter of a Tuskegee Airman, Cheryl W. Thompson explores the stories of the 27 Tuskegee Airmen – the Black pilots who fought for America in WWII – who went missing in combat, the lives they lived, the reasons they were shot down, why the remains of all but one were never found, and the impact their disappearances had on their families and communities.
In 1945, World War II ended in one of the deadliest conflicts in history. Geared for battle were nearly 1,000 trailblazing Black pilots trained at the Tuskegee Army Air Field, an unrepentantly segregated facility in Alabama. Hailing from the Iowa cornfields to the Texas Gulf Coast to the tobacco plantations of North Carolina, the Tuskegee Airmen already proved, under the toughest circumstances, to be among the most resilient and defiantly patriotic men of the Army Air Corps.
27 of them disappeared during the final critical mission in Europe. So, too, would the government's efforts to find them, acknowledge them, or help to bring closure to the loved ones that the valiant 332nd Fighter Group left behind.
In Forgotten Souls, award-winning journalist Cheryl W. Thompson delves into the true stories of the Black combat pilots who faced unimaginable racism—before, during, and after the war—from a military that told them they were less than, even as their courage and aviation prowess saved scores of white brothers in arms from the enemy.
As cruel as war itself could be, the friends, family, communities, and fellow Tuskegee Airmen who mourned the lost pilots never imagined how unforgivable it could get. After 80 years, Forgotten Souls honors the impact they made, and the sacrifices they endured on America's behalf.