Red Tails, Blue Water: The Tuskegee Airmen Project

February 8, 2022

Wayne R. Lusardi, State Maritime Archaeologist, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Principle Investigator of the Tuskegee Project and Erik Denson, Board Member/Lead Instructor, Diving With a Purpose Maritime Archaeology Program

During World War II, some of the Tuskegee Airmen—the first African-American fighter pilots for the U.S. Army Air Corps—trained over the Great Lakes. Fifteen Tuskegee Airmen were killed while training in Michigan, and the airplane flown by Lt. Frank H. Moody was recently discovered in Lake Huron. The wreckage is being archaeologically documented and recovered by the State of Michigan in partnership with the National Museum of the Tuskegee Airmen in Detroit. In 2021, Diving With a Purpose Maritime Archaeology Program dedicated a memorial in Port Huron to honor the Tuskegee Airmen that perished in the Michigan area.