Herbert Carter (pilot)
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Herbert Eugene Carter (September 27, 1919 – November 8, 2012) was an American military officer of the
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
. He was a member of the original thirty-three members of the
Tuskegee Airmen The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of primarily African American military pilots (fighter and bomber) and airmen who fought in World War II. They formed the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Fighter Group, 477th Bombardment Group (Medium) of th ...
. He flew 77 missions with the Tuskegee Airmen during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.


Childhood and family

Carter was born in
Amory, Mississippi Amory is a city in Monroe County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 6,666 at the 2020 census, down from 7,316 in 2010. Located in the northeastern part of the state near the Alabama border, it was founded in 1887 as a railroad tow ...
on September 27, 1919. He was one of ten children in his family. His father, George Washington Carter, was African-American, while his mother, Willie Ann Sykes Carter, was Native American. George Washington Carter was Amory's superintendent of utilities, "a prominent position for a black man of that era."


Education and military training

Carter's parents sent him to
Tuskegee, Alabama Tuskegee ( ) is a city in Macon County, Alabama, Macon County, Alabama, United States. General Thomas Simpson Woodward, a Creek War veteran under Andrew Jackson, laid out the city and founded it in 1833. It became the county seat in the same y ...
at age sixteen to continue his education. There, he lived with his older brother, who also ran the grocery store where Herbert worked. He finished high school in Tuskegee and went on to
Tuskegee University Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU; formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute) is a private, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama, United States. It was founded as a normal school for teachers on July 4, 1881, by the ...
. Carter enrolled in the university's branch of the
Civilian Pilot Training Program The Civilian Pilot Training Program (CPTP) was a flight training program (1938–1944) sponsored by the United States government with the stated purpose of increasing the number of civilian pilots, though having a clear impact on military prepare ...
with the goal of using his flying skills and education to become a rural veterinarian "flying from farm to farm". But during his first flight, he said, "something bit me". He became committed to a life as a military aviator. Carter was a cadet in Class 42-F of the Tuskegee Airmen, the fourth class to graduate from Tuskegee Army Airfield. He was his class's Cadet Captain and Maintenance Engineering Officer.


Marriage to Mildred Hemmons

In 1939, Carter met Mildred Hemmons, a business major at Tuskegee University. Carter remembered that he was too shy to ask her out at first, but worked up the courage after finding out she was also enrolled in the
Civilian Pilot Training Program The Civilian Pilot Training Program (CPTP) was a flight training program (1938–1944) sponsored by the United States government with the stated purpose of increasing the number of civilian pilots, though having a clear impact on military prepare ...
. While a cadet, Carter was not allowed to date. Instead, he would schedule a maintenance flight check during the weekend and meet Mildred, who flew a rented plane, above nearby Lake Martin. On August 21, 1942, they married at the Tuskegee Army Airfield chapel.


99th Flying Training Squadron

During
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Carter was assigned to the
99th Flying Training Squadron The 99th Flying Training Squadron (99 FTS) is a training squadron of the United States Air Force, part of the 12th Flying Training Wing (12 FTW) based at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas. Operating Raytheon T-1A Jayhawks, the squadron prepare ...
, where he served as both Chief of Maintenance and a fighter pilot. Carter flew seventy-seven combat missions in the North African, Sicilian, and European campaigns. One of the squadron's best-known tasks was to escort bombers and defend them from enemy fire. " e men were so good at protecting them," Carter recalled, "that the bombers started referring to them as the Red-Tail Angels." In 2004, Carter received the French
Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...
for "outstanding service rendered France during the Second World War." In a letter to
Mildred Carter Iris Floyd Kyle (born Mildred Carter; August 22, 1974) is an American professional female bodybuilder. She is currently the most successful, female or male, professional bodybuilder ever. She has a total of twenty professional bodybuilding tit ...
, dated March 3, 1944, Carter writes:
"Lane is leaving to return to Rose and America. You will find him a changed man. Please let that be an example to you of how this stuff really works on a brother. We are not the same. We can't be the same."
On August 7, 2020,
Moton Field Moton may refer to: People Given name * Moton Hopkins (born 1986), American professional gridiron football player Surname * LeVelle Moton (born 1974), American college basketball coach * Robert Russa Moton (1867–1940), African American educator a ...
in Tuskegee, Alabama named its newest airport terminal the Colonel Herbert E. Carter Terminal.


Post-World War II

Carter served in the
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
for 25 years before retiring as a lieutenant colonel in 1969. He obtained a
Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...
in education in 1955 and a
master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...
in education in 1969, both from the
Tuskegee Institute Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU; formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute) is a Private university, private, Historically black colleges and universities, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama, United States. It was f ...
, while simultaneously serving as an active-duty Air Force officer. Carter served at the Tuskegee Institute as an associate dean for student services, associate dean for admission and recruiting, and a financial aid counselor following his retirement from the Air Force. Together, the Carters were known as the "First Family" of the Tuskegee Airmen.


Death

Lt. Colonel Herbert Carter died at the East Alabama Medical Center in
Opelika, Alabama Opelika (pronounced ) is a city in and the county seat of Lee County, Alabama, Lee County in the east-central part of the U.S. state of Alabama. It is a principal city of the Auburn-Opelika Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 United States censu ...
, on November 8, 2012, at the age of 93. He was the last surviving Tuskegee Airman from
Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...
.


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, Herbert 1919 births 2012 deaths Tuskegee Airmen United States Army Air Forces officers United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II Tuskegee University alumni People from Amory, Mississippi Amory High School alumni African-American aviators 21st-century African-American military personnel