by Guy Page
The Vermont House today honored Lt. Col. Enoch O’Dell “Woody” Woodhouse, who enlisted in the army at age 17 in 1944 and served with the Tuskegee Airmen, an all-black fighter pilot unit.
Upon completion of Officer Candidate School, Woodhouse – a Boston native – joined the 332nd Air Base Group in Columbus Ohio, where the legendary Tuskegee Airmen had just set up shop. Colonel Benjamin Davis, Jr. commanded the base. Davis sent Woodhouse to finance school to serve airmen as Finance Officer and Paymaster. He would continue to serve in the Army and the newly formed U.S. Air Force until 1997. During his military service he was on the “last flight out” of Havana, Cuba, in 1959, where he saw Fidel Castro waving his rifle from the control tower.
Categories: History
We have visited the birthplace of the Tuskegge Airmen unit.
We feel very proud of their heroism, and skill’ in defeating an enemy
in WW2 of all of America. I believe the bombers they escorted were never shot down, due to the skill, bravery and determination of these bravee AMERICANS
These men raised themselves up to their chosen Jobs, suburbly!!
God bless, and blessed us with, “the Greatest Generation” !
Would like to hear what he might have to say about the nation today. Some people
deserve to be heard.
My father, a B-24 Bomber pilot in WW II, always spoke highly of the 332nd P-51 Fighter pilots who flew escort for him when he was flying missions out of North Africa and Foggia, Italy in 1944 and 1945. When he was stationed at Lockbourne Air Force Base in Columbus, Ohio, in 1959, he learned there were several of the pilots who still lived in the Columbus area, and he would invite them home when he could. As a kid, sitting with their kids, what a thrill it was to hear the old pilots talk about their experiences in the not so friendly skies over Europe… Thank you “Red Tails” for covering my Dad’s six o’clock way back when…
Though I will not fault this man or the airmen, my own father was in the 8th Army Air Force as a mechanic then an MP @ the Nuremberg Trials, I must mention that, like Sherman said, “war is all hell”. My mom & family had just left Saarbrucken Labor “Camp” (Nazi’s) for the safety of Dresden where the major product(s) were china & porcelain, just in time for a 3 day firebombing by the Allies that caused “fire tornadoes” that sucked oxygen out of the air. After crawling out of the rubble they helped bring the wounded & dying down to the riverbanks when groups of P-51’s appeared & strafed the wounded. I asked my mom if she remembered anything about the fighter planes & she said “they all were silver with the tails painted red”, making them the Tuskeegee Airmen. I asked my dad how they could bomb a non-military city for 3 days then strafe wounded people? He just shook his head & said “Steven, you should have seen London”..Lets never forget that in war it’s the civilians that usually pay the highest price..War IS all hell.
God bless this patriot 🙏 and thank you for your service to our Country MR.👍🗽🇺🇸