Edward Gibson, 89, was one of the original Tuskegee Airmen.
/ Jestin Henry
"Always loved the Air Force. I think I will love it til the day I die," Edward Gibson, 89, says to a crowd of about 50 at the Rivertowne Stadium 12 movie theater in Conway Saturday.
Gibson, in a trademark bright red suit coat, with a gold medal pin is more than proud of his time with the military. As one of the Tuskegee Airmen, his journey has been one of adversity to say the least.
Gibson, was born in Charleston, South Carolina to the late Jennie and the late Edward Green Gibson, on July 26, 1922. After being educated in the public schools of Charleston and graduated from the 11th grade of Burke High School, he attended the Avery Institute.
"When the war started I asked would they let me go and take the examination for aviation cadet training," he recalls.
During World War II, Gibson enlisted in the Army Air Force as an Aviation Cadet, and later was admitted to and completed the training necessary to become a Tuskegee Airman. His training took place at Tuskegee Institute and Army Airfield and at other airfields in several states, including the airfield in Walterboro, South Carolina.
"I liked it but they had just started to see what we as black folk would do taking care of bombers, so I said well i think i am going to try for that."
Gibson was eligible for training as a pilot, but decided on becoming a Bombardier / Navigator because there were more pilots than there were airplanes for them to fly. In addition, as a Tuskegee Airman, he had the fortune to become friends with General Chappie James. Gen. James always selected Gibson's crew for his annual training missions. He crew was part of the 477th Bombardment Group. But the training came with struggle. The Tuskegee men were surrounded with racial segregation and often relocated from air base to air base and opposition from the Army Air Force Command.
"Hardest part was just the mean people," Gibson says. "We'd get cussed at sometimes."
Gibson says the 477th Bombardment Group was ready to deploy on a mission to Japan. But while the group was on a two week leave before their deployment, everything changed when the atomic bomb dropped.
"The evil really didn't stop there," Gibson said. "Everyone then would call us cowards."
How does he say he was able to overcome the racism?
"Sometimes, you have to be the one gives the first hand to love," he said.
Gibson later served as the first full-time Equal Employment Counselor at the Charleston Naval Shipyard, handling more than 1,000 cases of alleged discrimination.
The Tuskegee Airmen have recently gained more national recognition with the release of George Lucas's Red Tails. The red tails comes from the color the airman painted the ends of their planes during combat in WWII. While shooting in the Czech Republic, the actors underwent a "boot camp" program, during which they lived in similar conditions as the actual Tuskegee Airmen.
Lucas covered the cost of production with his own money, and is providing an additional $35 million to distribute the movie. In an interview on The Daily Show on Jan 9, 2012, Lucas revealed that the long delay in was because the major film studios balked at financing and marketing a film with an "all-black" cast and "no major white roles".
Gibson was going in to see a screening of the film Saturday night. He said he hoped everyone could take one main message from the film, and from the story of all the Tuskegee Airmen.
"I am not going to late anybody take advantage of me, take advantage of my family. But I am not going to hate a person because of his race or color," Gibson said.
