Florida Senate - 2013                            (NP)    SR 1926
       
       
       
       By Senator Montford
       
       
       
       
       3-05881-13                                            20131926__
    1                          Senate Resolution                        
    2         A resolution recognizing Tuskegee Airman Cornelius
    3         Davis, an American hero and a great Floridian.
    4  
    5         WHEREAS, Cornelius Davis, the youngest child of James and
    6  Annie Davis, was born March 12, 1921, in Blountstown, and
    7         WHEREAS, Cornelius attended grade school and middle school
    8  in Blountstown and graduated from Booker T. Washington High
    9  School in Pensacola, and
   10         WHEREAS, in 1941, Cornelius moved to Detroit, Michigan, and
   11  shortly thereafter began working for Ford Motor Company, joining
   12  United Auto Workers Local 600, and
   13         WHEREAS, Cornelius received military leave from Ford Motor
   14  Company to join the Army Air Corps and, in October 1942, began
   15  basic training, first in Fort Custer, Michigan and, then, in
   16  Tuskegee, Alabama, followed by training as an airman at Buckley
   17  Field, Colorado, and
   18         WHEREAS, Cornelius earned his place as a proud member of
   19  the Tuskegee Airmen, the first African-American military
   20  aviators in the United States Armed Forces, and
   21         WHEREAS, before the Tuskegee Airmen, no African American
   22  had become a United States military pilot, and
   23         WHEREAS, the Tuskegee Airmen were subject to racial
   24  discrimination, both within and outside the army, and
   25         WHEREAS, despite the discrimination and adversity they
   26  experienced, the Tuskegee Airmen trained and flew with great
   27  distinction on behalf of the United States, flying more than
   28  15,000 combat sorties, destroying 261 enemy aircraft, and
   29  receiving more than 900 medals, and
   30         WHEREAS, Cornelius was stationed with the 301st Fighter
   31  squadron in the 332nd Expedition Operations group in Michigan,
   32  the 553rd fighter squadron in South Carolina, and the 99th
   33  Flying Training squadron in the 477th Fighter group, and
   34         WHEREAS, while on his way to participate in the invasion of
   35  Japan, Cornelius learned that World War II was finally over, and
   36         WHEREAS, Cornelius left the service from Madison Field,
   37  Ohio, and went on to live a full and honorable life, and
   38         WHEREAS, Cornelius Davis has earned his place as a part of
   39  Florida’s and America’s history, NOW, THEREFORE,
   40  
   41  Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
   42  
   43         That we recognize one of Florida’s great treasures,
   44  Cornelius Davis, and honor him for his service to our nation.