explore -WSS

explore

author：Wikipedia 2025-10-02 23:47:51 - browse：11825

OVIEDO, Fla. -- Raymond Cassagnol, a Haitian pilot and a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, the famed group of Black military aviators during World War II, has died. He was 102.

Cassagnol died June 24 at his home in Florida, according his daughter, Dominique Cassagnol Ballacchino.

Cassagnol was one of three Haitian servicemen initially selected to join an experimental program in Tuskegee, Alabama, for Black soldiers seeking to train as pilots after the Army Air Corps was forced to admit Black Americans.

The Haitian serviceman wrote in his memoir that he was shocked by the prejudice he encountered in the American South and opted to stay close to the training field.

“During that time, color prejudice was in full swing, and even the church did not escape segregation: Whites in the front, blacks in the back. Nevertheless, the choir members were blacks, and the soprano was applauded at the end of Mass. This is why I was careful not to frequent places where I could be humiliated,” he wrote in “Memoires d’un Revolutionnaire.”

Cassagnol graduated from the Tuskegee program and received his pilot wings on July 28, 1943. He returned to Haiti and flew missions for his country, patrolling for submarines.

A revolutionary who opposed the brutal Duvalier dictatorship, Cassagnol later immigrated to the United States in 1960s to keep his family safe.

“I fought all the dictators,” he told the Orlando-Sentinel in 2000 of his service during and after World War II.

Ballacchino said her father was courageous and dedicated to his family and the cause of Haiti.

“He never gave up. He never gave up. He was always a fighter,” Ballacchino said.

More than 900 men trained at Tuskegee from 1940 to 1946. The Tuskegee Airmen have been the subject of books, movies and documentaries highlighting their courage in the air and the discrimination they faced in the United States while fighting for freedom abroad.

Previous article： Bright Health sells Medicare Advantage business to Molina
Next article： Pediatricians' group reaffirms support for gender

focus

WSS

Jailed Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny gets 19 more years in prison

Judge in Trump's Jan. 6 case gives attorneys 2 weeks to propose trial date

Sudan conflict brings new atrocities to Darfur as militias kill, rape, burn homes in rampages

Teacher posts viral 'school supply rant' with advice for parents

Snowpack in the West is melting rapidly. Where will all that extra water go?

What AstraZeneca

hotspot

explore

hotspot

How one medical school became remarkably diverse

'Weather

Affirmative action in medical school literally saved lives

Many immigrants are left out of maternal health programs

BioMarin wins approval for gene therapy to treat hemophilia A

Fla. should 'correct' controversial slavery curriculum: Republican Rep. Byron Donalds

Medical leaders decry Supreme Court decision on affirmative action

Fla. should 'correct' controversial slavery curriculum: Republican Rep. Byron Donalds

Duchenne breakthrough therapy leaves behind pioneering families

California Joshua trees severely burned in massive wildfire

entertainment

Fla. should 'correct' controversial slavery curriculum: Republican Rep. Byron Donalds

Calls for Trump's election interference trial to be televised part of long debate

New company forms to vet health AI models, root out weaknesses

What to know about 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3' as it hits Disney+

Doctors in states that ban abortion can still help patients

Medical mystery: When an infection after surgery isn’t what it seems

focus

knowledge

entertainment

focus