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MONROVIAWEEKLY
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VOL. 23,NO. 42
MONROVIA HIGH SCHOOL CONNECTION: TUSKEGEE AIRMAN LEROY CRISS
(Left to right) Ralph Walker, Tyler Spicer, Rene Criss, LeNeil Criss and Laura Criss discuss the important role Tuskegee Airman LeRoy Criss played in WWII and Monrovia. – Photo by Terry Miller / Beacon Media News
Terry MILLER
D
tmiller@beaconmedianews.com
uring World War II, the Civil Aeronautics Authority selected 13 black cadets to become part of an experimental program at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. It has been over seven decades since the legendary Tuskegee Airmen fought their first battle in the skies over
North Africa. These brave men were known then as “Redtails”America's first black combat pilots. All African American military pilots who trained in the United States during World War II were educated in Tuskegee, Alabama. In all, almost a thousand pilots trained there from 1941 to 1946. Of that number, 450 were deployed overseas and 150 lost their lives, including 66 killed in action.
On Monday, the legendary Ralph Walker hosted an interview at KGEM studios with family members of the late Tuskegee pilot LeRoy Criss. The family members traveled from San Diego and Orange County to be part of Walker’s ongoing and important history series which will be aired soon on the Community Media of the Foothills station locally. On Monday morning, the studio
set was decorated with memorabilia the family has collected over the years as Walker discussed the extraordinary role the late LeRoy Criss played in not only the history of the United States but also that of Monrovia. One young Monrovia High student, Tyler Spicer, 18, was deeply moved by a recent Black History lecture by Ralph Walker which was part of the February curriculum. Spicer was instrumental in getting
a plaque devoted to Criss created and is currently in the process of choosing the best placement on school grounds to honor Criss. Criss passed away on May 20, 2008. Criss was not only one of the original Tuskegee Airmen pilots; he also spent 37 years as a high school teacher. Regrettably, Monrovia wasn’t hiring African American educators at that time in history so he immediately got a postwar position at a Los Angeles
high school and Fairfax. An exhibit honoring the Tuskegee Airmen from Monrovia was on display at the museum in time for the release of “Red Tails,” an action movie depicting the famous African American World War II pilots, released in 2012.
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