Oscar Lawton Wilkerson Jr., a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, the nation’s first Black aviation combat unit, died the day before his 97th birthday on Feb. 8. Wilkerson was the last surviving Tuskegee Airman in the Chicago Area.
Oscar Lawton Wilkerson, a 1944 graduate of Bloom Township High School, was one of the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II.
“Mr. Wilkerson was a very intelligent man and he shared his intelligence with young students,” Rapier said. “His main interest was talking to students.” U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly sent a tweet about Wikerson’s legacy as a child who dreamed of becoming a pilot to serving with the Tuskegee Airmen. “I was humbled to be able to present his medal and hear his stories about being a Tuskegee Airmen as a recent inductee of Bloom High School’s Hall of Fame. He would be greatly missed,” Navarre said in an email.at Southland College Prep Charter High School in Richton Park that he volunteered for the Army Air Forces.
Cadets were given only eight hours of training on basic maneuvers in a biplane with an instructor before they were expected to know how to fly, Wilkerson said.
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