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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.