
Two Tuskegee Airmen Residing in Georgia Lost
Earl Martin (94) and Edward Johnson (103)
Real Hero Report |
Tuskegee Airman Earl Martin was born October 21, 1924, in
Franklin, Louisiana, and passed on June 11, 2019, at age 94.
Martin was the son of the late Leonard Martin and Adlisha
Yarsant, and was reared by his aunt
Clarice Helen and Eugene Keys. He
attended Lincoln High School in Port
Arthur, Texas and Gilbert Academy
in New Orleans, Louisiana. On
November 27, 1953, he was united in
holy matrimony with the late Mable
Barlow. To this union was born three
children, Kenneth L. Martin, the
late Frederick Martin, and daughter
Gaylita Martin Strickland. On June
30, 1974, he married the late Janis
P. Martin, through which he gained
a stepdaughter, Von P. Boswell, and
stepson, John M. Pearson (Sharon).
This union was celebrated for 43 years.
Martin entered the U.S. Army Air
Corps in 1942, at age 17. During his military career, he was stationed
overseas on a P-51 Fighter Base in England. As a member of the 923rd
Engineer Aviation Regiment, 829th Engineer Battalion, his unit did
contributions to the war’s victory. Working long hours, they used their
on and keep up its assault on Germany. In France, his unit maintained
lines, a haven. They also spray-painted the 500-pound bombs dropped by
In 1945, after serving three years in the European Theater, he returned
stateside. Assigned to Chanute Field in Rantoul, Illinois, he received
specialized training and served as a Crew Chief on the Billy Mitchell
B-25 (medium) bomber, the Martin B-26 Marauder (medium) bomber,
and the AT-6 “Texan.” At Chanute, he met and worked with the all-black
477th Bombardment Group (a/k/a “Tuskegee Airmen”) on the B-25
aircraft. However, the war ended before the 477th could deploy overseas.
In 1949, the year after President Harry Truman signed Executive
Order 9981, leading to the “desegregation” of the U.S. military, he was
bomber aircrafts.
During the Korean War, he received technical training as an Aviation
Engineer Specialist and was sent from Ellington to Johnson Air Base
in Japan, where he worked on all American radar-type combat aircraft.
After serving in the Far East, he was assigned to Hamilton AFB in
California. He was Crew Chief on the Douglas C-47 military transport
aircraft, including being the Crew Chief to Brigadier General Monro
and numerous honors.
In the 1960s, he was sent from Hamilton to serve in the U.S. Missile
Command at Sheppard AFB in Texas. In his new vocation, maintaining
ICBM missiles, he earned outstanding recognition for his service with
the 577th Strategic Missiles Squadron at Altus AFB in Oklahoma. On
June 5, 1962, he was selected “Instructor of the Month” for the 3750
Technical (Missile) Training School at Sheppard AFB and promoted to
Master Sergeant.
After 24 years of Active Duty Service, serving in three wars
(WWII, Korean and Vietnam), on June 1, 1966, MSgt Martin retired
from the U.S. Air Force. His distinguished military career includes
numerous honors and awards. Among these, Letters of Recognition and
Commendations for his exceptional performance resulting in a patent,
the repair of a C-47, and the repair of an Atlas missile (rocket booster) in
record time.
In March 2007, he and his Tuskegee Airmen comrades, attended a
ceremony in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, where
President George W. Bush bestowed on them, collectively, the highest
Tcivilian honor, a Congressional Gold Medal. uskegee Airman Edward Johnson was born on February 26,
1916 in Madison Station, Mississippi, and passed on June 24,
2019, at age 103.
Johnson. He was married to Harriett Robinson Johnson for 52 years
until her death on February 7, 2002. He was preceded in his death by his
four brothers. He leaves three daughters, Ms. Julie Johnson of Atlanta,
Mrs. Edna J. Sartor of Elgin,
Illinois, and Mrs. Brenda J.
Crawford of Bowie, Maryland;
half-brother Clarence Johnson
of Jackson, Mississippi; three
grandchildren.
Johnson left home at the
age of 17 to obtain his high
school education at Tuskegee
Nia Haley Orr (15) with Tuskegee
Institute (Tuskegee) since his
Airman, Sgt Edward Johnson (92), at
local “colored” school only
Arbor Terrace at Cascade in Atlanta.
went through the 8th grade.
(Photo Courtesy of Zellie Rainey Orr)
He attended four years of high
school and four years of college at Tuskegee as a work-study student,
graduating in 1942. By graduation, he already had reported for his
military duty in the Army Air Corps at Tuskegee. He was accepted as an
aviation cadet, but was washed out due to strict quotas on the number
of pilots who could graduate with each class. However, he was able to
stay in the pilot program as a ground school instructor, where he trained
Trainer. He attained the rank of sergeant, continuing as an instructor until
after WWII, and was discharged in December 1945.
After his military service, Johnson pursued a career as an electrician
Atlanta. In 1947, he started his own business, Johnson and Wood Electric
Company, in partnership with a fellow Tuskegee graduate, the late
Charles Wood, Sr. Upon retirement, he closed his business and continued
to perform individual small projects and also worked with former
employees on larger projects, including wiring of MARTA train stations.
He spent his last years as a resident of Arbor Terrace at Cascade Assisted
Living Facility.
MSgt Earl Martin (right)
with Senior Pastor, Dr. C.
H. Braddy, and daughter
Gaylita Martin Strickland.
(Photo Courtesy of Now Faith
Apostolic Ministries)