A monument dedicated to the Tuskegee Airmen stationed at Ramitelli Airfield during World War II was inaugurated July 16, 2023, on the Piazza Madonna Grande in Campomarino, Italy. The monument was the result of two years of collaboration between Campomarino and the U.S. Air Force Aviano Tuskegee Airmen Committee. (Brian Erickson/Stars and Stripes)
CAMPOMARINO, Italy — A monument dedicated to the Tuskegee Airmen of the 332nd Fighter Group was unveiled this week as the town paid tribute to them and to its own crucial contribution in World War II.
Standing approximately 5 feet high, the monument features a black-and-gold plaque listing each of the fighter squadrons along with the dates they were present at Ramitelli Airfield.
At the top are discs with each squadron’s crest. The monument was designed by the Aviano Tuskegee Airmen Committee and funded by the city.
“The Tuskegee Airmen went down in history as the first African American pilots in the United States military service,” said Tech. Sgt. Edward Adade, president of the Aviano Tuskegee Airmen Committee.
Nicknamed the Red Tails, they were a group of primarily African American aviators and their support personnel. They fought in more than 15,000 missions for the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II.
To open the ceremony, Marco Altobello, director of the Red Tails museum in Campomarino, quoted Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a Dream” speech.
At Ramitelli Airfield, Italy, during World War II, from left, Lt. Dempsey Morgan, Lt. Carroll Woods, Lt. Robert Nelron Jr., Capt. Andrew Turner and Lt. Clarence Lester were pilots with the 332nd Fighter Group. A monument dedicated to the Tuskegee Airmen stationed at Ramitelli Airfield during World War II was inaugurated July 16, 2023, on the Piazza Madonna Grande in Campomarino, Italy. (U.S. Air Force)
Because the Tuskegee Airmen were segregated from other service members, even during combat, the 332nd Fighter Group, which consisted of the 99th, 101st, 301st, and 302nd fighter squadrons, flew out of Ramitelli, a temporary airfield in Campomarino.
The dedication of the monument occurred about three weeks after the death of Homer Hogues, a former mechanic in the 99th Fighter Squadron who was one of the last surviving members of the Tuskegee Airmen.
A Dallas resident who attained the rank of staff sergeant, Hogues died June 27 at the age of 96.
The event was also intended to highlight Campomarino’s role in the history of Italian and American military aviation, which was described by Bruce Jones, a member from the Tuskegee Airmen Council Pentagon.
“We were trying to correct history to make sure the Tuskegee Airmen receive a monument that other airmen have received,” Jones said.
The monument, built on the Piazza Madonna Grande, recognizes an important milestone in the end of racial segregation and the fight for basic civil rights, Mayor Pierdonato Silvestri said through an interpreter.
Members of the 332nd Fighter Group attend a briefing in Ramitelli, Italy, in March 1945. A monument to the Tuskegee Airmen stationed at Ramitelli Airfield during World War II was unveiled July 16, 2023, in Campomarino, Italy. (Library of Congress)
He said the Tuskegee Airmen had a home in Campomarino in bygone years, and they will continue to have a home there in the future.
The event was organized jointly by the city and the Institution Center for Tourist and Cultural Services, in collaboration with the U.S. Air Force Aviano Tuskegee Airmen Committee at Aviano Air Base.
The committee promotes awareness of the Tuskegee Airmen’s mission and achievements in Italy and sponsors a push for diversity and inclusion in the U.S., Italy and the armed forces at large.
Michelle Lee, a public affairs officer for the American Consulate in Naples, said the commemoration of such a valuable piece of our shared history with Italy represents the U.S. commitment to advancing the cause of equality.
“We are proud to continue our strong partnership with Italy in pursuit of our shared values,” Lee said. “The Tuskegee Airmen truly represent the best of these values: courage and commitment to justice.”
