Sergeant First Class Thomas Franklin Vaughns (born July 7, 1920) is an American veteran who was a member of the famed group of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

-era

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

s known as 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 332d Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group (Medium) of the United States Army ...

. He is a recipient of the

National Defense Service Medal The National Defense Service Medal (NDSM) is a service award of the United States Armed Forces established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. It is awarded to every member of the US Armed Forces who has served during any one of four ...

in 2019, for his service in the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top: ...

. He is also a member of the Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame.

Military service

World War II

Vaughns was drafted his senior year of high school. In 1942 reported for duty at Camp Robinson. He was sent to basic training in Bakersfield, California. Vaughns was trained to be a mechanic for

B-25 bomber The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Major General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in ...

s. He was then transferred to Tuskegee along with 18 others.

Korean War

Vaughns signed up for the Army Reserves and when the Korean War began he was sent to

Fort Hood Fort Hood is a United States Army post located near Killeen, Texas. Named after Confederate General John Bell Hood, it is located halfway between Austin and Waco, about from each, within the U.S. state of Texas. The post is the headquar ...

where he served as a mechanic. In 1952 he was discharged as a Sergeant First Class.

Early life

Vaughns family owned a 50-acre farm in Felton, in rural

Lee County, Arkansas Lee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. With its eastern border formed by the Mississippi River, it is considered to be part of the Arkansas Delta. As of the 2010 census, the population was 10,424. The county seat is Mar ...

. He attended

Marianna High School Marianna High School is a public high school in Marianna, Florida. It enrolls 657 students in grades 9–12, and is the largest of five high schools in the Jackson County School Board. It is accredited by Southern Association of Colleges and Sch ...

in Arkansas. On July 12, 2020, for Vaughn's

100th birthday A centenarian is a person who has reached the age of 100 years. Because life expectancy, life expectancies worldwide are below 100 years, the term is invariably associated with longevity. In 2012, the United Nations estimated that there were 316, ...

5 days earlier, a drive-by parade honoring him took place. The parade was organized by the church he attends: Barraque Street Missionary Baptist Church.

Awards

*Congressional Gold Medal awarded to the Tuskegee Airmen in 2006 *

World War II Victory Medal The World War II Victory Medal is a service medal of the United States military which was established by an Act of Congress on 6 July 1945 (Public Law 135, 79th Congress) and promulgated by Section V, War Department Bulletin 12, 1945. The Wo ...

American Campaign Medal The American Campaign Medal is a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was first created on November 6, 1942, by issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The medal was intended to recognize those military members who had perf ...

*National Defense Service Medal (2019) *Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame (2020)

Education

*Marianna High School *

Arkansas Agricultural, Mechanical & Normal College The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) is a public historically black university in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Founded in 1873, it is the second oldest public college or university in the state of Arkansas. UAPB is part of the University o ...

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

Personal life

After WWII Vaughns returned home to Pine Bluff, Arkansas. There he worked in education. He also worked monitoring 4-H Club members. After WWII, he attended college and He married Luvada. He signed up for the Army Reserves and when the Korean War began he was sent to

. In the 1950s he set up a program for farmer to sell their produce in

Crittenden County, Arkansas Crittenden County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2010 census, the population was 50,902. The county seat is Marion, and the largest city is West Memphis. Located in the Arkansas Delta, Crittenden County is Ar ...

and later in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. His programs provided employment for 1400 people. He spent the rest of his career occupied with agricultural teaching farming techniques.

References

Notes

External links

Tuskegee Airmen
at

Tuskegee University Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU), formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute, is a private, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama. It was founded on Independence Day in 1881 by the state legislature. The campus was ...

Tuskegee Airmen Archives
at the

University of California, Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Riverside, California. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of California system. Th ...

Libraries.
Tuskegee Airmen, Inc.

(

U.S. National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational properties ...

)
Tuskegee Airmen National Museum
*

Fly Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advanced m ...

(2009 play about the 332d Fighter Group)
Thomas Vaughns
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaughns, Thomas Franklin 1920 births Living people African-American centenarians American men centenarians American Military Veteran Centenarians United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II Tuskegee Airmen United States Army Air Forces non-commissioned officers United States Army non-commissioned officers United States Army reservists 21st-century African-American people