Are really appropriate for this new kind of era and in some ways by rolling them back whether we are actually going to see the or whether or not the new rules well be living under are actually appropriate for the moment that were living in. Tech companies are concerned about having to pay to reach consumers. Thats a pretty big fear, especially not so much the bigger guys who have the money and could pay, but some of the smaller websites. Etsy, reddit. Theyve been very active in this space because they said if we have to pay a toll to reach consumers, its going to hurt us. We cant afford to do that. Watch the communicators tonight at 8 00 eastern on cspan2. During world war ii the United States military was racially segregated. Up next on American History tv we hear from a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, the first unit of africanamerican fighter pilots. Also from a veteran who served with the combat team comprised of japanese american soldiers. The American VeteranCenter Hosted this 35 minute panel discussion. Im glad to be here this morning. Im also a graduate of the Virginia Military institute. Okay. As i have in the past, i am honored to be here this morning to moderate the panel about the greate greatest generation. Like many of you, i enjoy hearing stories about world war ii. As paul just mentioned, for the last 15 or 16 or 17 years ive been involved with projects that centered around world war ii. I was with the National World war ii memorial and at the library of congress collecting stories from world war ii veterans. I have heard hundreds if not thousands of stories from world war ii veterans. But my ears always perk up when i hear a story about Tuskegee Airmen and the 442 combat team f. You dont know what either one of those are, i think most of you do, youre about to hear about it this morning. The than patriots, the american patriots who served in those units bring a different perspective to service to country and bravery under fire. It is a very special morning that we have two members, one of each have served in one of those units. Chief Master Sergeant robert zume is a veteran of world war ii who joined the 442nd Regiment Combat Team and also subsequently the 101st Airborne Division. Well find out what thats about. Its kind of unusual to have a japanese american with the 101st Airborne Division in world war ii. We also have on hand Lieutenant ColonelAlexander Hamilton who flew 19 missions over italy and france except for the last mission in which he crashed and was cap purred tured by the ger. Id like to start, gentlemen, can you hear me okay . Lets start with mr. Alexander. Can you give us your background, where you grew up, where you came from and why you joined the cuss key g Tuskegee Airmen. Im a College Graduate and you had to be a College Graduate to be into the Army Air Corp in 1941. Remember the japanese bombed pearl harbor in december. I graduated six months later from college. The draft board was after me trying to bite me to send me to the army. If the draft board caught me, i would be a book private making 21 a month. But i stayed. I allowed joined the Army Air Corp and as a cadet learning how to fly with the excitement. We made 75 a month. After nine months you became a secretary lieutenant with a little gold bar on your shoulder and a set of wings and you made 150 a month. Plus 75 for flying pay. Which would you take . Why i became a tus ca gee airmen. It was part of my life. Can you give us background and why it was formed. Segregation. Before june of 41 a black man could not train with a white man and join the Army Air Corp. They came in and built an entire air field to train blacks to fly. To train. And it took an act of congress. Segregation, separate but socalled equal. And the tus kegee airmen started by the way, president roosevelt, theres this thing called cpt, civilian Pilot Training. Roosevelt started civilian Pilot Training because he felt there was a war coming on. Germany and eng glaland were fighting and the United States did not have an air force. He knew that we needed pilots. He couldnt say okay, open up the flying field and train pilots because congress and the American Public would have raised all kinds of hell. So sneakingly he started the civilian Pilot Training which means in each college there were training young people to the aviation. One of the schools was tuskegee institute. But the damn programs were prompted and supported by civilian organizations. And the civilian Pilot Training unit at tuskegee was supported by the oh, hell, money and a fund. She was on the board of the fund and she was there at tuskegee to learn how the money was being spent. She saw the men flying. Subsequently she took a ride with chief anderson in a piper cub. And it was advertised that the blacks were starting to fly tuskegee. I came along about halfway through the program. And i talk about there i was and got shot down and all that kind of stuff. Well get to that. Bob, could you talk a little bit about where you grew up and how you got into the United States army. Well, i was born in 1924 in coyote path. I dont know if anybody here is from california. You know where coyote path is . Way back in the boone docks. Its that freeway going over where the saw blades were. Anyway, my mom and dad had a farm there. I was born in los angeles or coyote path. And i went to school with marilyn monroe. She was very homely. [ laughter ] she never graduated high school. She divorced her husband which was a highway patrolman and then she blossomed out in the tenth grade. Pearl harbor came along and i was interned in camp. I didnt mind being in a camp. And see a water cooler machine gun follow me down. I found out where the water cooler machine gun was when i got in the service. But in the camp i didnt mind it. Like i said, i didnt mind it at all. But three of us, we took the spotlights and we dug under the barb wire fence and went up the river and we made a little place where we could jump in during the summertime. In the camp, we had been lining up to take a shower. The women had to go one place. We would have to wait until the women finish. Then wed go in. It was odd. Eating the same way. You had to wait until 1643 was mybarracks number. Ill never forget that. You go block by block. If you get sick, you just better look out because there werent that many doctors there. Anyway, in school i had a doctor from usc who was blind and he could hear the sniff of each of the boys and girls walking in there. I told the class i was an old guy anyway. I said watch this. I took off my shoes. Halfway down he said okay, bob, where you going . He did that, so help me god. Then helen was from cedar rapids iowa. She asked me if i wanted to get out of camp and finish school in des moines iowa, drake university. I said sure. So i went back and finished school. June, 44, i joined the service. I joined with the full 42nd. Went to camp landing florida. From there i went overseas with them. Could you talk a little bit about the 442nd. It had a similar reason for being set up. Its the most decorated regiment in the United States army. Not one of us came out without a purple heart. Not one of us. My best buddy got 18 shots in his leg all the way up to his chest. But hes alive. He lived through it. We got together. It was like brothers and sisters. We were really close. You folks there, if you know somebody next year or left fighting, you better know what he or she does. Its very bad because in vietnam i had a buddy, hes still alive, but his radio man well, anyway, his radio man got shot and died in his arms and all he got was a purple heart. What good is a purple heart to a man when hes not a mother and father . What good is a purple heart . Im asking you now. What good is a purple heart with the folks . Anyway, the gentleman that was hit. They took him to wisconsin. They i told the sergeant at that time, i said take my bronze star and put it on the grave. And he did that. And the mother and father of the son spoke to me and said thank you very much. It meant something to me, but by golly, you guys, when youre fighting, you know each other. Be together. Know what he or shes going to do. If you dont do that, you sure wont survive. Bob, 442nd was also a segregated unit as well, right . Yes. Just like the Tuskegee Airmen. Can you talk a little bit about you and your fellow soldiers in the 442nd felt about joining the army and serving their country. They had to join the army because we had to join to show the u. S. Government that i was loyal. I think the rest of the japanese americans did the same thing. I dont know for sure. But its a rough war regardless if youre not navy and marines. But ill tell you, you guys in the navy, thank you very much. Because if you have a challenge coin, challenge coin, you get in the army, navy, and air force. I have a challenge coin and it says thank you for the avenue, army and air force. We dont do that. I thank you guys in the navy and marines. I was in the marines for 30 years and i learned what the marines are. Different from the air force and the army. Thank you, bob. Alex, you want to talk a little bit about what i just mentioned, about why the Tuskegee Airmen joined and their feeling. Number one, this is my country god damn it. Best country in the world. Ive got news for you. Why where are you going to go . If you dont like the country, leave. Im serious. Everybody wants to raise all kinds of hell. No. As a black man, i know segregation went on for 350 years. This country got free labor. Think about it. What slavery means. Where you work a guy from morning to night. Free labor. If this country had not had slavery, you would have never had the civil war. You would never have jefferson, hamilton, washington raise all kinds of hell fighting among themselves to make sure you have this country. If you did not have slavery, you would not have the civil war. You would have never had Martin Luther king and all the rest that made this country so great. It aint perfect. Weve still got a hel ofl of a of crazy kooks in this country. Think about it. The main thing is that you are here learning the basics. We depend on young people to come in and take a part. Vote. Become part of this country. Help to make this country better. I aint leaving. I cant drive my dcadillac through the jungle. Think about it. Battalions a italians are not going back to italy. Germans are not going back to germany. Think about it. Theyre getting ready to deport some young people who were born as children here and didnt go through the thats all part of it. Why we join the Army Air Corp and the army, prevented from fighting, segregation, evilness. The best part of my life. Talk a little bit about flying. Have you felony before you joined Tuskegee Airmen . No. Tell me about your first solo fight. I ground. Thats where you go up under site. Our training was exactly the same as white training. Nine months. You go through primary with a steerman, basic and advanced. Three months on each phase. And it was exciting. You learn how to fly. Learn how to ground. Fly underneath the ambassador bridge in detroit. Oh god. But in combat i flew long range Escort Missions where you in the squ squadrons, we had four, we accompanies the b17s, the b24s from italy to germany, italy to austria. We flew top cover above the bombers. And as colonel davis often said, dammit, stay near the bombers. Dont go off chasing germans and trying to get some victories. Every american bomber that you protect, you protect ten lives. Every b17 had four officers, a pilot, copilot, navigator, bombbad bombbadeer and six enlisted men. Every time you save and protect the bomber you save ten lives. This was our mission. To protect the bombers going from italy to germany. On the last mission we had to straighten radar stations on the coast of Southern France before the invasion of Southern France in august of 1944. Hold that thought because i want to pick you up from that point in a minute. Bob, you went to 442nd to italy first. Is that correct . From there i went to france. Talk about going with the 101st and how that happened. I was an antiaircraft spotter and i volunteered for the 101st airborne which was in france at that time. And they approved it and i was the only japanese american going into the airborne. The only one. The only one. How were you received by the 101st as being the only one . Dont get mad now. None of the caucasians said hey, there comes a jap or something. Oh slant eyed slope. Thats a slimy name. It was nothing like that. My mentor was peewee martin. I dont know if any of you heard of peewee martin. Well, hes 95 and he still jumps out of airplanes. He became my mentor. If it wasnt for that gentleman, i wouldnt be living here today. He showed me how to survive in the cold with 4 feet of snow. Survive there. You were with g company, 506 . Yes, sir. Also had e company. Dont know too much about g company. No. In the movie band of brothers, dont believe half of what you see on there. Just like tus Tuskegee Airmen. Well talk about that later. If you go to boston, all the memoirs are all e company, captain winters and his company. Dont tell about general pattons outfit. Dont tell about the 555. You know what the 555 . Triple nickle. Do you know the triple nickle . Yeah. Who are they . [ laughter ] the only triple nickle i know is the black parachute unit. 555 was the transportation and they were all black. They took us into bastion and the jury mans attacked right along with us. But we dont say nothing about the 555. It was odd. Through history you can see that. Anyway, from, from bastion i went into the last concentration camp. People say there was no such thing as haginaw or concentration camps. I saw dakow. Well talk about that later. Anyway, we liberated haginaw. Ill tell you a little story before you ask me another question. Then well stop. Captain ken was to my right. I was in the middle. Ed salinski was on my right. There was a dead jewish gentleman there with his mouth open. And i told ed, go get something to cover it. Another gentleman came out out of the camp, opened his mouth, took out his teeth and put it in his mouth and walked away, so help me god. Its in the book called no victory. Im going to ask him the next question. How about that . Okay. So there you were flying over france. Shooting at radar detachments. What happened next . Well, we came in at 15,000 feet, all four of us. Clear, beautiful day. Peeled off. Dropped tanks. I reached up and hit the damn switch and the damn tanks didnt come off. The other three guys last me quite naturally because they picked up speed. They were doing about 250, 300. Im back there shaking the stick trying to get these damn tanks. By the way, 110 gallon tanks underneath each wing. Finally got them off. They were approximately 200 or 300 pete in frofeet in front of. Ramped everything to the wall, pushed it through to have water injection to pick up speed. I know im going to catch hell when i got back because the crew chief has to put in new valves because i had water injection in the engine. Thats another story. I caught up with them, all four of us going in at about 400 miles an hour firing at these damn radar stations. I saw danny, hes number four, off to my right. I saw him saw him get hit befort to the stations, and black smoke coming out of him. I saw him out of the corner of my eye. I got him in my target. We shot up the buildings, the radar, i go right across the target, at about tree top tight. No more than 200 feet. Boom, god damned thing came up through the floor, out through the top of the canopy. We were wearing heavy gloves, were on oxygen, quite naturally, for emissions. So i had to get out. We were doing about 400 miles an hour, approxima380, all i know g was red lined, oil pressure, water, so forth. And i got to get out. The fire come from the under side of the floor, so we pulled back on the stick and i think i went up i got up about 800 feet, i dont know, maybe 1,000, as we were going up, he reached for the red lever, and pull the red lever and the canopy goes off. Im up here, and meanwhile as you go up, in your left hand, youre racking four tabs, which makes your wings go down. Right here, turn the stick loose and quite naturally, the forward trim check, the nose drops abruptly, and when the nose dropped abruptly, bang, i hit the bar, you had straps here, straps here with a big buckle. And you hit the buckle and they come loose and your safety comes and i go out. As i go out, i see the tail go by, and then theres a fire go by, and normally, if you bail out, you count one, two, three, then you pull the damned dring. Im sorry, the parachute came out, im sitting on the parachute. It was behind me. And i pulled on the dring. And then there goes my parachute. And i was thinking, god damn it, too low, and thor parachute popped and then you swing, i hit the trees, thats how close. Im trying to get loose. And all of a sudden i hear this voice, yeah. I said, oh, hell, you got me, the damned german had a head about that big around. That was the beginning of my nine months as a p. O. W. The german soldier saw the little gold bar. By the way way, i knew he was excited, looking at this brown skin, and im excited because he i dont know whether he was going to shoot or not, but after i got on the ground, he saw my gold bar and he saluted. All t all i could do is return the salute. That was my introduction to my nine months as a p. O. W. In germany. Where were you at the end of the war . Up in hitlers hangout. We went down to oodendorf. And you stayed in germany for a while after the war . I helped them with the lets talk about that. You were a p. O. W. For nine months, and where were you at the end of the war . At the end of the war, the ca