"Major Charles "BUSTER" Hall{ August 251920-November 22 1971}

Pilot and a member of the Tuskegee Airmen,the first black military aviation program during World War 2,was born in Brazil,Indiana,the youngest child of Anna and Frank Hall.His parents occupation are unknown.Charles had an older sister,Victoria.Growing up in Brazil (population 698) he was well liked,an outstanding athlete,and good student. In 1938,upon graduating from high school,Charles began classes at Eastern Illinois Teachers College (EITC),which became Eastern Illinois State University in 1957. While attending EITC,Charles played varsity football and worked in the campus restaurant to help pay the cost of school. He left EITC in November 1941 to begin aviation cadet training at Tuskegee Army Air Field in Tuskegee,Alabama.It was flight school that Charles earned the nickname "Buster."The pilots who attended Tuskegee were unique among all other pilots who flew in World War2, because they received all four aspects of training on the P-40 airplane:pre-flight basic,advanced,and transitional pilot training.Tuskegee was the only airbase in the United States to train in that fashion.Charles graduated from the fourth flight training class on July 3 1942. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army Air Corps and was assigned to the Ninety Ninth Pursuit Squadron,known as the "Red Tail Angels"because the tails of their planes were painted bright red.From 1943 to 1945 Charles flew with the Ninethy-Ninth over Europe. The unit shot down or damaged four hundred German planes and was the only unit (black or white) that never lost a bomber they were protecting. The red tails eventually became a symbol of hope for the aircraft they escorted,because the pilots of the escorted planes knew they would it safety back to base with the Ninety-Ninth's protection.The Ninths-Ninth also held the distinction of being the first all-black unit to go overseas. They were stationed at Fordjouna,Algeria,in May 1942. The final phase of Charles flight training was introduction to combat.His first experience in combat was June 3 1943 when he flew as wingman Lieutenants William Campbell, Clarence Jamison, and James Willey.After successfully completing the mission,the pilots were considered ready to fly.The pilot's primary duties in addition to flying bomber escorts were to strafe tanks,trucks,bridges,and enemy troops.On July 2 1943 Charles,flying a P-40 Warhawk,was returning to base after successfully completing his eight mission,escorting  Mitchell Medium bombers to bomb Castelvetrano Airfield in Sicily.Charles was intercepted by three German Focke-Wulf 190s that were preparing to attack the planes he was escorting.Charles opened fire.The German planes began attacking him, forcing Charles to lower and lower altitudes.He was low on fuel and ammunition when suddenly one of the Germans flew into the crosshairs of his gun.When Charles shot him down,the other planes turned tail and ran. He became,arguably,the most famous black pilot in the world with that kill,and it was the first plane credited to the Ninety-Ninth Pursuit Squadron Charles was congratulated by General Dwight Eisenhower,then Allied Supreme Commander of North Africa,and three other generals,including the head of a joint American-British unit,the Eight Air Force Commander,and the commander of the North African Training Command.The July 2 ceremony was broadcast via radio to all Allied troops as Charles was recognized as the first black airmen to shoot down a German plane in World War 2.He also received as a prize what was said to be the only bottle of Coca Cola in North Africa.It had been kept in a safe to be given to the first pilot to shoot down an enemy plane.From January 22 through January 1944, Charles and the Ninety-Ninth Pursuit Squadron led  a mission in which four German planes were shot down.Charles personally shot down two of them. The Ninety-Ninth was eventually incorporated into the 332nd Squadron on July 3 1944 and based in Ramitelli,Italy.In total he flew 108 combat missions in Africa,Sicily,and Italy.Charles record of shooting down three enemy planes was surpassed by only one other black pilot in World War 2,Edward Toppins,who shot down four.During his tour of duty,he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross,in the process becoming the first black man to win the award.Upon returning to the United States in 1946 Charles went back Tuskegee, to where he assisted with war bond drives.He also spent time in Lubbock,Texas,to attend airplane instrument instructor school before returning to Tuskegee to become a fighter pilot instructor.He remained in the army until 1946,when he retired with the rank of major.Upon leaving the Army Air Corps,he managed a restaurant in Chicago's Dusable Hotel until 1947,then as an insurance agent in Oklahoma City,Oklahoma,and Nashville Tennessee.While working in Nashville Charles met and married Jeanne Ackiss in 1947.The couple moved back to Oklahoma City where he began work as a production control specialist in 1949 at Tinker Air Force Base. Thist first marriage ended in the early 1950s.Charles had a daughter,Peggy Ann,With Ida Mucker in 1957.In January 1961,he married his second wife,Delois Miles,with whom he had two daughters.Charles remained at Tinker Air Force Base until 1967,when joined the Oklahoma City Federal Aviation Administration.He held the distinction of being the only person hired who did not already work for the FAA.Charles for the FAA at Will Rogers Airport in Olahoma until his death in in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.Following Charles death,the Tinker,Air Force Charles B. Hall Chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen was founded.His portrait was hung in the District of Columbia's Military Hall of Fame as well in Oklahoma City's Ralph Ellison Library in 1978.The Airbases Tinker Heritage  Air Park was renamed the Major Charles B. Hall Memorial Airpark on June 19 2002.The Airpark project was completed in 2005 with the dedication of a bronze plaque dedicated to Charles.The ceremony was attended by his daughters with Delois Miles.