Elwood T. Driver | |
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| File:Elwood T. Driver.png Elwood T. Driver | |
| Birth name | Elwood T. Driver |
| NicknameTemplate:Pluralize from text | Woody |
| Born | August 20, 1921 Trenton, New Jersey U.S. |
| Died | March 26, 1992 (aged 70) |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Branch | Page Template:Plainlist/styles.css must have content model "Sanitized CSS" for TemplateStyles (current model is "wikitext"). |
| Years of service | 1942-1962 |
| Rank | Flight Commander |
| Unit | Tuskegee Army Air Field |
| Awards | Page Template:Plainlist/styles.css must have content model "Sanitized CSS" for TemplateStyles (current model is "wikitext").
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| Alma mater | Page Template:Plainlist/styles.css must have content model "Sanitized CSS" for TemplateStyles (current model is "wikitext").
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| SpouseTemplate:Pluralize from text | Shirley née Martin |
| Relations | Son: Timothy |
Elwood "Woody" T. Driver (August 20, 1921 – March 26, 1992) was an American aviator who served as a Tuskegee Airman during World War II. He flew 123 missions and he is given credit for one confirmed kill. In 1978 President Jimmy Carter nominated Driver to be a member of the National Transportation Safety Board.
Early life[]
Driver was born in Trenton, New Jersey, and had three other siblings. While attending Trenton State College, he earned his pilot's license.[1] He graduated from college in 1942.[2] Later he attended New York University and earned an MS in safety engineering.[3]
He married Shirley Martin in 1960 and he had one son named Timothy from a previous marriage.[2]
Career[]
P-51 aircraft with red markings.[N 1]
Class 42-I Left to right: Nathaniel M. Hill, Marshall S. Cabiness, Herman A. Lawson, William T. Mattison, John A. Gibson, Elwood T Driver, Price D. Rice, Andrew D. Turner
He signed up for the Army Air Corps in 1942. He became a Tuskegee Airman and was sent to the European Theatre of WWII where he recorded an aerial combat kill overAnzio, Italy. He retired from the Air force as a Major in 1962.[2]
In 1978 he was nominated to be a member of the National Transportation Safety Board from 1978 to 1980.[5] He had worked for the Safety Board beginning in 1967.[2]
Driver held a board of director position, at Howard University.[3]
Awards and honors[]
- 2006 Congressional Gold Medal, awarded to Tuskegee Airmen[6]
- Tuskegee Airman Panel Wall of Honor at the Smithsonian Institute Air and Space Museum[1]
Death[]
On May 26, 1992, passed away at his home in Reston, Virginia from liver cancer.[2]
See also[]
- Executive Order 9981
- Military history of African Americans
- List of Tuskegee Airmen Cadet Pilot Graduation Classes
- List of Tuskegee Airmen
- The Tuskegee Airmen (movie)
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Maj. Elwood "Woody" T. Driver, USAF". Smithsonian Institute Air and Space Museum. https://airandspace.si.edu/support/wall-of-honor/maj-elwood-woody-t-driver-usaf.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Lambert, Bruce (4 April 1992). "Elwood Driver, 70, Wartime Pilot and Transportation Safety Expert". New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/1992/04/04/us/elwood-driver-70-wartime-pilot-and-transportation-safety-expert.html.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Elwood Driver, Safety Official, Tuskegee Airman, Dies at 70". The Washington Post. 1992. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1992/04/01/elwood-driver-safety-official-tuskegee-airman-dies-at-70/52d8d02e-38b8-4ac4-ba53-593a4b3f92e8/.
- ↑ Rice, Markus. "The Men and Their Airplanes: The Fighters." Tuskegee Airmen, 1 March 2000.
- ↑ "National Transportation Safety Board Nomination of Elwood T. Driver To Be a Member.". The American Presidency Project. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/national-transportation-safety-board-nomination-elwood-t-driver-be-member-0.
- ↑ Kruzel, John J.. "President, Congress Honor Tuskegee Airmen". U.S. Army. https://www.army.mil/article/2476/president_congress_honor_tuskegee_airmen.
Notes[]
- ↑ The Tuskegee Airmen became known for flying the P-51 aircraft with red markings that distinguished the Tuskegee Airmen included red bands on the noses of P-51s as well as a red rudder; their P-51B and D Mustangs flew with similar color schemes, with red propeller spinners, yellow wing bands and all-red tail surfaces.[4]
External links[]
- Fly (2009 play about the 332d Fighter Group)
- Tuskegee Airmen at Tuskegee University
- Tuskegee Airmen, Inc.
- Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service)
- Tuskegee Airmen National Museum
The original article can be found at Elwood T. Driver and the edit history here.