Charles E. McGee, Tuskegee Airman, Dies At 102

BETHESDA, MD — General Charles McGee, one of the last surviving Tuskegee Airmen and a Bethesda resident, died on Sunday.

He was 102. His son, Ron McGee told the Associated Press that he died peacefully in his sleep.

McGee is known for serving in three wars and flying in 409 combat missions — he helped to defeat the German Luftwaffe in World War II when he was a Tuskegee Airmen.

McGee graduated from the Tuskegee Institute in 1943. He served for 30 years as a member of the Army Air Corps and then the U.S. Air Force, AP reported.

“You could say that one of the things we were fighting for was equality,” McGee said to The Associated Press in a 1995 interview. “Equality of opportunity. We knew we had the same skills, or better.”

McGee was honored by the Montgomery County Council in 2020 for his service to the country and commitment to racial equity.

"I am proud to stand for the more than 900 pilots and the more than 14,000 people that supported us when our country needed the help and when there were so many who said, 'you cant do it,'" McGee said. "That keeps me out of the rocking chair today because that same message and the value lessons are good for the young people of today who are America's tomorrow. We need to stop telling them they can't do something and lead them in the direction that will allow us very shortly to put a woman on the moon and somebody on Mars."

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III called McGee an American hero on Twitter shortly after his death.

"While I am saddened by his loss, I'm also incredibly grateful for his sacrifice, his legacy, and his character," said Austin. "Rest in peace, General."

He is survived by his daughters Charlene McGee Smith and Yvonne McGee, 10 grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren and one great-great grandchild, AP reported His wife, Frances, died in 1994.