R. Wayland Williams

The television movie "The Tuskegee Airmen" was written from his war experiences and later picked up by studios. The character played by Laurence Fishburne was based upon Mr Williams. According to information from Fort Des Moines, Robert flew 50 combat missions from Italy with the 100th Fighter Squadron, 332nd Fighter Group of the 15th Air Force. The pilots had to fight racism just to risk their lives fighting America's enemies, the display says. According to historic documents in use at the time, the display said, black people would not make good soldiers. When a desperate military finally let the men fly escort missions, they were so successful that bomber pilots would request only the red-tailed P-51 Mustang fighter planes to guard them from the enemy. Williams was awarded, among other medals, the Distinguished Flying Cross. Williams was confirmed as having shot down an enemy plane in 1944. The following year, he shot down another one.