EXCERPT:
Richard Macon is one of only a thousand African-Americans to receive flight training for the war. He came to the EAA for the arrival of a North American T-6, which is now on display.
This is one of only two remaining T-6s used to train pilots during World War Two at the Tuskegee Institute of Alabama. Those African-American pilots became known as the Tuskegee Airmen.
Macon talked about his struggle to earn a seat in a fighter plane, a fight that some say was against all odds in the 1940s. He's a man who seems to inspire almost anyone, especially those with a desire to fly.
"I was convinced all the time who I was, and I knew I would make a great pilot," Macon says, straight-forward.
"We always raised two V's -- victory over Hitler, victory over America," he said. That's because in America, there was a notion that African-Americans weren't smart enough to fly. That was a stereotype that Macon also fought to defeat.