1. Charles DeBow was an officer in the US Army Air Force and combat fighter pilot and commanding officer of the 332nd Fighter Group's 301st Fighter Squadron, best known as the prodigious, all-African American Tuskegee Airmen.
14 Facts About Charles DeBow
1. 2.
Charles DeBow was one of the 1,007 documented Tuskegee Airmen Pilots.
3.
In July 1941, DeBow entered aviation cadet training with the Tuskegee Airmen's first class of aviation cadets, Class 42-C-SE.
4.
On March 6,1942, Charles DeBow graduated from aviation cadet training with Captain Benjamin O Davis Jr.
5.
Charles DeBow was the first Indiana native and the first of fourteen individuals with an Indianapolis, Indiana, address of record to graduate from the Tuskegee Advance Flying School.
6.
Charles DeBow was born on February 13,1918, in Indianapolis, Indiana.
7.
Charles DeBow was the son of Charles Henry DeBow of Lebanon, Tennessee, and Anna Sue Horne DeBow of Tennessee.
8.
Charles DeBow's parents moved from Tennessee to Indianapolis before Charles DeBow was born.
9.
Charles DeBow was married to Aurelia Jane Priscilla Stuart Charles DeBow.
10.
Daughter Kay Charles DeBow was a co-founder of the National Black Chamber of Commerce.
11.
On July 19,1941, Charles DeBow was admitted into the US Army Air Corps Tuskegee Aviation Cadet training program's inaugural class at Tuskegee Army Air Field, Class 42-C-SE.
12.
Charles DeBow flew 52 combat missions in World War II's European Theater including aerial coverage for D-Day's Operation Overlord.
13.
Charles DeBow became an English teacher at Indianapolis, Indiana's Thomas Carr Howe High School where he remained for 10 years.
14.
Charles DeBow later became an associate English lecturer at IUPUI until his death on April 4,1986.