March 12, 2021 Col. Benjamin O. Davis (left), commanding officer of the 332nd Fighter Group, and Edward C. Gleed, group operations officer, stand in front of a plane in Ramitelli, Italy, in March 1945. Toni Frissell, Library of Congress // No Known Restrictions on Publication The first Black pilots to serve in the United States military—along with the navigators, mechanics, instructors, and other personnel who supported them—are today remembered as the Tuskegee Airmen. Established in 1941, they built an impressive combat record, helped the Allies win World War II, and put the U.S. armed forces on the road to integration. 1. The Tuskegee institute trained the country’s first Black military pilots.