Military Figure. He was one of the original Tuskegee Airmen and fighter pilots with the 100th Fighter Squadron of the 332nd Fighter Group. Born Calvin Jack Spann, he enlisted in the US Army Air Corps in 1944 and graduated from the Tuskegee Institute in Tuskegee, Alabama with his pilot wings and a commission as a 2nd lieutenant. During World War II, he flew 26 combat missions in the European Theater of Operations, including the longest bomber escort mission of 15th Air Force, a 1,600-mile round trip mission on March 24, 1945, from Ramitelli, Italy, to Berlin, Germany. His military awards and decorations include the Air Medal (with one Oak leaf cluster), the Presidential Unit Citation, the European/African/Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, The American Campaign Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal. Following the end of the war, he returned to the US and worked in the pharmaceutical industry. In 2006 he received the Congressional Gold Medal from US President George W. Bush. He died at the age of 90.
Military Figure. He was one of the original Tuskegee Airmen and fighter pilots with the 100th Fighter Squadron of the 332nd Fighter Group. Born Calvin Jack Spann, he enlisted in the US Army Air Corps in 1944 and graduated from the Tuskegee Institute in Tuskegee, Alabama with his pilot wings and a commission as a 2nd lieutenant. During World War II, he flew 26 combat missions in the European Theater of Operations, including the longest bomber escort mission of 15th Air Force, a 1,600-mile round trip mission on March 24, 1945, from Ramitelli, Italy, to Berlin, Germany. His military awards and decorations include the Air Medal (with one Oak leaf cluster), the Presidential Unit Citation, the European/African/Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, The American Campaign Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal. Following the end of the war, he returned to the US and worked in the pharmaceutical industry. In 2006 he received the Congressional Gold Medal from US President George W. Bush. He died at the age of 90.
Bio by: William Bjornstad
Inscription
SPANN
Lt CALVIN J.
1924-2015
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