Detroit student pilots perform flyover to honor Tuskegee Airmen: "They mean a lot to this country"
Clear skies in Detroit on Friday made the perfect backdrop for a special flyover for one of the nation's heroes.
"I was very excited, very happy to honor the Tuskegee Airmen. They mean a lot to this country and the Air Force history," said student pilot Trinity Sims.
Lt. Col. Harry Stewart was one of the two last surviving combat pilots of World War II's famous 332nd fighter group, the Tuskegee Airmen. After Stewart's death in February at the age of 100, the team behind the Tuskegee Airmen National Museum wanted to honor his legacy with the next generation of pilots.
On Friday, they conducted a flyover before Stewart was laid to rest.
"It's an honor for me, I really appreciate the opportunity to do this," said student pilot Angel Araus.
Museum vice president Larry Sargent says the students taking flight are just some of the incredible young people who are part of the airmen's enduring legacy.
"We still have a ceiling here yet to break, and here we're instrumental in doing it," said Sargent, Vice President.
Surrounded by aircraft that have flown throughout history, Sargent remembers the lessons he learned from Stewart and the men who flew alongside him.
"We must do a job so well that the living, the dead, and the unborn couldn't have done a better job to be accepted, because they'll challenge us in everything that we do. But if we got that covered, nobody else can top us," said Sargent.
