Tuskegee Airmen Leo Gray

 

 
 
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Leo R. Gray, Lt., Col. USAF
 
Lt. Col. Leo R. Gray had made significant contributions to the warfare of this country throughout his military and civilian careers. Soon after high school graduation, Lieutenant Colonel Gray joined the Army Air Corps and began his aviation cadet training in 1943.

Little more than a year later he graduated from the Tuskegee Army Air field as a Second Lieutenant, single engine pilot. The Tuskegee Airmen is the popular name of a group of African American pilots who fought in World War II and “Shattered The Myth.” Formally, they were the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group of the U.S. Army Air Corps.

While stationed in Italy as a fighter pilot, Gray flew 15 combat missions in P-51s for a total of 750 hours flying time. He left active duty in 1946, but remained in the USAF Reserves until 1984.
   

During his 41 years of military service, Lieutenant Colonel Gray earned a Coveted Air Medal with one Oak Leaf cluster and a Presidential Unit Citation.

Gray earned a Bachelor's degree from the University of Massachusetts in 1950, a Masters degree from the University of Nebraska in 1952, and did post graduate work at the University of Maryland from 1962-1964. He began his 30 year career with USDA in 1953 as a Technical Assistant at the University of Massachusetts, Agricultural Extension Service.

Gray wore many hats in the USDA career. Gray served as an agricultural economist with the Economic Research Service, an economist with APHIS in California, and as Director, Program Planning Office of the Food Safety & Inspection Service to mention a few.
USAF Ret Lt. Col Leo Gray addresses "Red Tail" movie goers At Deerfield Paragon Theater, Deerfield, Florida on January 27, 2012 
 		  
 
    In addition, he was an economic consultant to United States Department of Agriculture in West Africa. (Tuskegee Airmen, display a poster of the HBO movie Lt. Leo Gray  third from the left). Gray professional and civic life reflects his deep commitments to the Tuskegee Airmen, to agricultural economic research organizations, and to civil rights. Gray is a member of the Tuskegee Airmen Inc, and in 1991 became founder and president of the Miami Chapter of Tuskegee Airmen, Inc. 

Gray is the past president, vice president and treasurer of the East Coast Chapter of Tuskegee Airmen, the founder and past president of the Forum on Blacks in Agriculture, the past president of Good Hope East Civic Association in Silver Springs, MD and a former member of the Richmond, California, Model Neighborhood Citizens Board.
 
   

Other memberships include the Air Force Association, the Retired Officers Association, and the NAACP. Lieutenant Colonel Gray has traveled extensively the North, Central and South America, and Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia. A widower, Lieutenant Colonel Gray has six children and ten grandchildren.

A Narrative Of The Tuskegee Airmen

This is by no means a complete story. Read of the difficulties becoming a Tuskegee Airmen, their role and contributions made toward the war effort in World War II. Read some of their stories and how discrimination played a major role.
Introduction
 Black Pilots Shatter Myths
Tuskegee Airmen Part 1
Tuskegee Airmen Part 2
Tuskegee Airmen Part 3
Tuskegee Airmen Part 4
Tuskegee Airmen Part 5
Tuskegee Airmen Part 6
Tuskegee Airmen Part 7
Tuskegee Airmen Part 8
Black Soldier, White Army


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