Stay Connected
Atlanta Black Star/Politics/National
CultureHistoryNationalNewsRace

Floyd Carter Sr., One of Last Remaining Tuskegee Airmen Dies at 95

By | Published on March 16, 2018
CommentsComments (0) Add ABS as a preferred source on Google i
Floyd Carter Sr.

Floyd Carter Sr. seen in 2012. (CARLO ALLEGRI/AP)

Floyd Carter Sr., a Virginia native and hero who devoted his life to serving his country and opening doors for Black aviators died on Thursday, March 8. in New York at age 95. He was one of the last living Tuskegee Airmen and leaves behind an extraordinary legacy.

The veteran fought in World War II, Korean and Vietnam Wars and served 27 years with the New York Police Department. It doesn’t end there, Carter concurrently soared through the ranks of the United States Air Force Reserves and the NYPD. He was honored with a Congressional Gold Medal in 2007 by President Bush.

Carter and his peers broke color barriers in Tuskegee, Alabama after joining the U.S. Air Corps in 1944 (World War II). He ranked 2nd lieutenant bombardier navigator years after joining the crew of Black airmen at Tuskegee University. They became the first Black aviators in the U.S. military. He also received his pilot’s wings in 1946 and conducted the initial squadron of supply planes into Berlin amid the Cold War airlift of 1948-49.

“We mourn the loss of a true American hero… Our community & nation has lost a giant,” the 47th Precinct wrote in a tweet.

The vet joined director George Lucas in 2012 for the screening of “Red Tails”, the film about the Tuskegee Airmen in the U.S. military.

Carter is survived by his wife Artherine, who he married on the air base in 1945, his son Floyd Jr. and daughter Rozalind, along with grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

“He’s got a little history… We were blessed, we sure were. He went from what I call the outhouse to the fine house. The Lord blessed him,” said Floyd Jr according to Daily News.

The ABS Newsletter — Stories that matter, in your inbox.

Independent journalism still matters.

We hope this story was worth your time. For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed Black-owned and independently run. We didn't get here by waiting on ad budgets that were never built to prioritize us. Our readers did that.

Corporate support for Black media has always been thin. Outlets like ours get roughly 1% of the $170 billion spent on U.S. advertising each year, and that margin is shrinking further as advertisers walk back the DEI-linked commitments they made in 2020. That's the backdrop. It's not why we're asking.

The wider picture isn't any steadier. Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under, it's rarely the ones built to center a Black perspective from the ground up that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Give once Give monthly Support another way

Latest from Atlanta Black Star

Back to top