WASHINGTON (ABC7) — One of the original Tuskegee Airman had his 95th birthday celebrated Sunday with a motor parade in front of his home Sunday in Northeast Washington.
William T. Fauntroy was joined in his celebration by the East Coast Chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen, Inc., the North Woodridge Citizens Association, family, and friends.
DC Fire and EMS tweeted Sunday:
DC native, trailblazer and Tuskegee Airman William Fauntroy turns 95 today. #DCsBravest were honored to participate and celebrate this living legend’s birthday
Fauntroy was born on March 26, 1926, at the Columbia Hospital for Women in D.C. He was the second-born of eight children to his parents William Fauntroy, Sr. and Ethel Vine Fauntroy. His siblings are named Ellamae, Jewell, Doris Ann, Walter, Kenneth, Raymond, and Gerald, according to a news release.
He volunteered for the U.S. Army Air Corps Reserves on Feb. 1, 1944. A few months later on May 16, 1944, Fauntroy was inducted in the Army Air Corps at Camp Lee in Petersburg, Virginia, the release states.
Once he completed basic training at Keesler Field, MS, Fauntroy was assigned to Tuskegee Army Air Field in July 1944 as a pre-aviation cadet.
According to the release, in May 1945, Fauntroy was placed in a class for training as a single-engine pilot including 10 weeks of pre-flight training, 10 weeks of primary flying, 10 weeks of basic flying, and 10 weeks of advanced flying.
The release states after Fauntroy completed three-fourths of his total flying training, World War II ended. All aviation cadets were declared a “surplus,” and given the choice of staying in service or being discharged.
Fauntroy opted to be discharged from Andrews Army Air Base as an aviation cadet on Nov. 8, 1945, the release adds.