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Focus
May 26,1999
Page S
Memorial D avj
U.S. AIK FORCE’S FIRST RLACK
HELICOPTER PILOT
Lt. Col. William Hugo H ollom an
III, a decorated U.S. A ir Force pilot
during three wars and one of the first
African-Americans to experience in
tegration in the U.S. military, will
speak at the O regon V ietnam Veter
ans “Living” M emorial in Portland
during a M emorial Day ceremony
on Monday, May 31. Activities at the
M em orial will begin at noon with
the reading of nam es of O regonians
killed and missing in action in Viet
nam . A ce rem o n y an d L t. C ol.
H ollom an’s speech will follow at ap
proximately 1:15 PM.
Hollom an, 74, successfully com
pleted Aviation Cadet exam inations
in 1942 and graduated in class 44-H
from Tuskegee Arm y A ir field in
1944. As a m em ber of the fam ed
Tuskegee A irm en (an all-Black unit
of pilots), he flew P-51s with the 99,h
F ig h ter S q u ad ro n , 332"J F ig h ter
G roup, known as “The Red Tails,”
over Italy during World War II.
After the war, he becam e one of
the first participants in the integra
tion of the U.S. Air Force when he
was assigned to the A irborne Elec
tronics School at Keesler AFB, Miss.
In 1948.
D u rin g th e K o rean c o n flic t,
Holloman served as a MATS pilot,
transporting passengers and supplies
to the Far East and Korea and return
ing wounded troops to the Ll.S. It was
during this tour of duty that he be
came the first Black helicopter pilot
in the history of the U.S. Air Force.
Following the K orean conflict
and a nine-year civilian career as a
com m ercial aviator, H ollom an re
turned to active duty in
1966 as d ire c to r for
Safety and Standards
in V ietnam and later in Europe.
While in Vietnam, he logged 500
hours in the air, piloting Sky Cranes,
Huey helicopters, U-21s and U-8s,
often under combat conditions.
After logging a total of 17,000
flying hours and becoming a Mas
ter Aviator, Holloman retired from
the m ilitary in 1972 and completed
degrees in business adm inistration
from th e University of M aryland
and history from the University of
Washington. The father of six chil
dren, he now lives in Seattle and
conducts research on Blacks in the
m ilitary, gives lectures about the
Tuskegee Airmen, and encourages
youth to consider A ir Force and
aerospace careers.
T he Oregon Vietnam Veterans
“L iving” M em orial is located in
P o rtlan d ’s W ashington Park near
the Oregon Zoo and the World For
estry Center.
vEHHEDY SCHO qi
vt
EVENTS
Menamins
Mary Kaderly
Thursday, May 6 at 7:00pm in the Gymnasium
The Jim Mesi Band
Thursday, May 13 at 7:00pm in the Gymnasium
The Steve Bradley
Thursday, May 20 at 7:00pm in the Gymnasium
Craig Carothers
Songwriters in the Round
Sunday, May 30 at 7:30pm in the Gymnasium
McMenamins Kennedy School
5 7 3 6 NE 33rd • P ortlan d, O regon • (5 0 5 ) ¿ 4 9 -5 9 8 5
All ages welcome • No cover charge unless noted
uevoraicu im u c y cc «mono
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Vietnam. He will be speaking at Portland's Vietnam Memorial on May 31.