1. Milton Pitts Crenchaw was an American aviator who served with the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II and was the first Arkansan to be trained by the federal government as a civilian licensed pilot.
14 Facts About Milton Crenchaw
1. 2.
Milton Crenchaw served during World War II as a civilian flight instructor.
3.
Milton Crenchaw was one of the two original supervising squadron members.
4.
Milton Crenchaw's father was a local civil rights leader with the NAACP Milton Crenchaw's grandfather was a slave.
5.
Milton Crenchaw enrolled at the Tuskegee Institute in 1939, to study auto mechanics.
6.
Milton Crenchaw went from living the life of a college student to flying in the Civilian Pilot Training Program.
7.
Milton Crenchaw passed the CAA examination to become a licensed flight instructor on December 8,1941, one day after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
8.
Milton Crenchaw was one of the two original supervising squadron members under Chief Pilot Charles A Anderson.
9.
Milton Crenchaw was instrumental in the creation of the first flight program at Philander Smith College from 1947 to 1953 where he continued to teach pilots.
10.
Milton Crenchaw worked for the federal government for 40 years, from 1941 to 1983, first with the US Army Air Corps, which transitioned to the US Air Force.
11.
Milton Crenchaw said that "Crenchaw helped break the barriers that existed in the military", a pioneer who "paved the way for integration in the United States Military and impacted generations of aviators".
12.
Milton Crenchaw had a heart attack on November 14,2015, he was transported to the hospital and he died from complications related to pneumonia and cardiovascular disease, Tuesday November 17,2015.
13.
Milton Crenchaw was buried on December 1,2015 at Arkansas State Veterans Cemetery in North Little Rock.
14.
Milton Crenchaw's family were given citations from the House and Senate honoring his life, and a portrait of Crenchaw was displayed for one week at the capital.