Richard Macon - Tuskegee Airman RIP

[Kyt]

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a...710110387/1001

October 11, 2007

A member of America's famed Tuskegee Airmen of World War II and later a longtime educator with Detroit Public's Northern High School, Richard Macon was held in the highest esteem for his wartime bravery and the valuable knowledge he imparted.

Macon died Tuesday at John D. Dingell VA Medical Center in Detroit.

The Detroit resident's cause of death was not disclosed. He was 86.

"I have nothing but the utmost admiration and respect for the man," said Ted Talbert, a former student and TV writer who produced an award-winning documentary about the Tuskegee Airmen.

"It was his influence that inspired me to want to know more about history and life, in general."

Born in Birmingham, Ala., Macon earned a degree in mathematics from Miles College in 1942. A year later, he joined the Army Air Forces and graduated from the segregated flying school for black airmen at Tuskegee, Ala., to become a fighter pilot.

Lt. Macon served as a replacement pilot with the 99th Fighter Squadron and had 16 successful missions to his credit.

While strafing ground targets over southern France in August 1944, Macon's P51 Mustang was hit by ground fire, flipping the airplane and separating the right wing.

His neck was broken and the lower part of his body paralyzed by the crash. He became a prisoner of war for more than nine months before the camp where he was held was liberated by Gen. George Patton's 3rd Army. Macon received several war decorations and retired with the rank of captain. After the war, he earned a master's degree in mathematics from Indiana University and started teaching at Northern High School in 1956. He later served as high school principal and personnel administrator before retiring in 1987.

Macon married his second wife, Eleanor Gurley, in 1977.

"He was a truly caring person who enjoyed helping others and believed in education as a means of bettering oneself," his wife said. " Talbert recalled how his former teacher would recount his days as a wartime flier to his class. Years later, after reading articles and doing research about the Tuskegee Airmen, Talbert produced a documentary about them called "An Eagle Should Fly." Beside his wife, survivors include two daughters, Toni Eubank and Phyl Macon; two grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; two stepsons, Dwayne Gurley and Norman Gurley; seven stepgrandchildren, and eight stepgreat-grandchildren.

[spidge]

Weren't they a good bunch. Their feats changed a few opinions.