Yenwith Whitney
Yenwith K. He had been an enthusiastic 18-year-old Bronx local that has grown probably a mostly white college and you can regional church. Immediately after graduating high-school during The second world war, the guy enrolled in the fledgling black colored aviation program.
My personal first real experience with black babies was staying in the fresh new army sky corps. It absolutely was my personal very first profound exposure to being part of a classification that has been exclusively black.
Of a lot commanders don’t want blacks performing far from menial labor within the The second world war. It failed to consider blacks had been wise sufficient to do things such fly planes. We grabbed my first learning Biloxi, Skip. I got not ever been about Southern area ahead of plus it did not build myself happy to get into Biloxi. It told you prior to i ran South, we just had you to definitely mission getting there and that were to train. Aren’t getting in virtually any kinda issues.
Off Biloxi, Whitney continued to apply from the Tuskegee Institute’s 66th Sky Push Flying College within Tuskegee Institute inside the Alabama.
There can be only one material we wanted and that is bringing all check my source of our wings. For many who washed out, it was many disastrous situation that could happen to you. We started out having 64 inside our class, however, just twenty-six got its wings and you may finished. Which had been best day of my life. I got achieved some thing significant.
In 1944, he went on to serve as a good pilot in one of five every-black colored combatant units in the 332 Combatant Class (“Yellow Tails”), assigned to the fresh every-black colored 301st Combatant Squadron, of your own fifteenth Heavens Force. Into the battle, Whitney flew 34 treat objectives when you look at the Europe once the an effective fighter airplane pilot escorting big bombers, generating an air Medal and you may three Clusters to have his solution.
Autographed 3×5 postcard depicting Tuskegee Airman Yenwith Whitney of your own 332 Fighter Classification (“Reddish Tails”), assigned to the new all of the-black colored 301st Combatant Squadron, of 15th Air Force, california. 1944.
Post-Battle
Even after generating an atmosphere Medal and you may about three Groups to possess their provider, Whitney try incapable of score employment having a commercial airline following battle.
I was aggravated. I found myself exactly as accredited because the others. I signed up for an informed college or university I could remember.
He used on MIT under the GI Statement and you can are acknowledged. For the 1949, Whitney made a great Bachelors during the Aeronautics and Astronautics (Course XVI) of MIT into the 1949.
After getting his training of MIT, Whitney worked for Republic Aircraft on the worry analysis, up coming on the EDO Organization for the architectural design of routes floats. When you look at the 1958, the guy and his awesome family relocated to Cameroon, where Whitney coached mathematics and you can physics on a beneficial Presbyterian mission. The household returned to Nyc ten years later, whether or not Whitney proceeded working for the new Joined Presbyterian Church during the fraction training and you may around the world education inside Africa, this new You.S., and you can Asia. Whitney and additionally generated an excellent Master’s studies when you look at the mathematics training and an effective doctorate when you look at the International Education out of Columbia College or university.
Just after his old age inside the 1992, Whitney turned energetic to the MIT Alumni Organization, where he had been inside it to their national solutions committee. The guy served on the panel off directors of MIT Pub away from Southwestern Fl, given that an useful specialist, so that as president regarding Black Alumni/ae out of MIT (BAMIT).
“Once i went along to MIT, I became well treated and had an effective knowledge of the fresh new dormitory, the fresh fraternity, along with intramural football,” the guy informed MIT Technical Feedback. “Yet , there were just around three most other black colored people whenever i was at MIT, this is the reason I happened to be very shopping for BAMIT. In my opinion BAMIT try a very important section of MIT and you may important to own black colored college students.”