History SHAPING DSU
Mishoe honored as original Tuskegee Airman DELAWARE STATE’S SEVENTH PRESIDENT SERVED WITH LEGENDARY SQUADRON DURING WORLD WAR II
A
previously unknown chapter of the life of former President Luna I. Mishoe has come to light, as recent research has determined that Delaware State’s seventh president served during World War II as one of the original Tuskegee Airmen from 1942-1945. Mishoe was a photographic intelligence and communications officer for the all-black Army Air Force’s 99th Squadron that served with distinction in the WWII European Theater of Operations. The Tuskegee Airmen part of Mishoe’s life story was uncovered over the last year by Andre Swygert, the son of alumni Arnold ’78 (deceased) and Peggy ’62 Swygert, and an avid student of aviation and Tuskegee Airmen history. Swygert discovered the name “Mishoe” in connection with the 99th Squadron and later substantiated that Dr. Luna I. Mishoe was a part of that Before his time as DSC president, 1st Lt. legendary aviation Luna I. Mishoe served in the Tuskegee group. Airmen’s Army Air Force’s 99th Squadron. Apparently Mishoe The discovery was made by Andre was so reticent about Swygert, an avid student of aviation and that aspect of his World Tuskegee Airmen history. War II service, Swygert’s discovery was also news to his surviving family. “We didn’t know he was one of the original Tuskegee Airmen,” said his daughter Dr. Wilma Mishoe, who is currently a DSU Board of Trustees member. “He never told us about that.” Swygert notes that was not unusual. “Some Tuskegee Airmen treated that as just another part of their life story and didn’t talk much about it,” he said. After Mishoe’s Tuskegee Airmen service ended, he taught at then-Delaware State College and Morgan State College and also worked as a research mathematician and consultant at the Aberdeen Proving Ground’s Ballistic Research Laboratory, where he made a name for himself by creating mathematical methods for solving some of the problems faced initially by the 10 The Echo www.desu.edu Spring 2017
CELEBRATION HONORS MISHOE’S SERVICE In December, the John H. Porter First State Chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen held a luncheon celebration in honor of Dr. Luna I. Mishoe and his newly discovered connection. Along with numerous posthumous recognitions from the City of Dover, the state governor and the Delaware Senate, among others, the Mishoe family also received on behalf of their late patriarch a bronze replica of a Congressional Gold Medal that other Tuskegee Airmen had been given in 2007. In addition to his daughter Dr. Wilma Mishoe, above left, also in attendance were the rest of his children — the Rev. Rita Paige, above right, Bernellyn Mishoe Carey, Luna I. Mishoe II, as well Henry C. Mishoe, a cousin raised by Dr. Mishoe and his wife Hattie at the President’s Residence. United States in developing its first satellites. He also earned a Ph.D. in mathematics from New York University in 1953 and did postdoctoral research at Oxford University in England. Mishoe left Morgan State in 1960 to become the president of DSC, where he would build greatly on the pivotal leadership of his predecessor Dr. Jerome Holland. During his 27-year tenure, DSC would experience the greatest growth ever achieved under any president in its history. Mishoe led a transformation that included greatly improving the relationship between the College and state government; the construction of 10 new buildings and the upgrading of existing ones; and the significant expansion of the academic offerings including an increase in undergraduate degree programs from 18 to 70, as well as the establishment of the first three master’s degree programs. All of those developments contributed to and supported the prolific expansion of the enrollment from 368 to 2,327 students prior to his retirement. With the recent revelations concerning Mishoe’s service as an original Tuskegee Airman, DSU historians now know of an additional force that contributed greatly to his leadership molding and worked with other life factors to produce one of the institution’s greatest presidents. n Story by Carlos Holmes