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Episode #614 of Hometown Heroes, airing February 6-10, 2020, marks Black History Month by focusing on the contributions of some of the more than 900,000 African-American men and women who served in the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II.

100-year-old Charles McGee conducted the pregame coin flip for Super Bowl LIV in Miami at the start of this week, then was celebrated inside the House chamber during President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address. Recently promoted honorarily to the rank of Brigadier General, McGee flew over 400 missions in three wars. Watch the brief video below, produced by the U.S. Air Force, in which McGee summarizes his World War II contributions as one of the famed Tuskegee Airmen.

McGee’s turn in the spotlight came just weeks after an honor for another African-American World War II veteran which was more than 75 years in the making. During a ceremony on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. day at Pearl Harbor, the newest American aircraft carrier, CVN-81, was officially named in honor of Navy Cross recipient Doris “Dorie” Miller, a native of Waco, TX. It becomes the first carrier ever named for an African-American, as well as the first one named for an enlisted man. Miller was awarded the Navy Cross for his heroics aboard the battleship USS West Virginia on December 7, 1941. Three years later, he was killed in action while serving on the USS Liscome Bay. You’ll hear excerpts from the ceremony honoring Miller, as well as perspective on his significance from Dr. Regina Akers, historian with the Navy History and Heritage Command. Watch the official U.S. Navy video below for more of Miller’s legacy:

This episode of Hometown Heroes also features memories from the late Monte Irvin, the Baseball Hall of Famer who served in the Army during World War II.

As a result of his service in Europe and the toll it took on him, Irvin passed up the opportunity to become the first African-American player in the majors. Jackie Robinson became that torch-bearer instead, and you’ll hear Irvin’s praise for the way Robinson handled it. Jackie Robinson also wore the Army uniform during World War II, while Larry Doby served in the Navy before becoming the first African-American player in the American League. You can link to the complete original 2010 Hometown Heroes interview with Monte Irvin here.

This episode of Hometown Heroes concludes with 97-year-old Fitzalbert Marius of Fresno, CA. Born in Panama and raised in Harlem, NY, Marius practiced as a cardiac surgeon in Fresno for more than 50 years. More than 11,000 heart patients would have missed out on his skilled hands in the operating room, if he did not survive his World War II service with the 725th Medical Sanitary Company in the Pacific. But as you’ll hear, so of the most mind-blowing and dangerous moments of his time in the Army came before he ever shipped overseas, as a result of a bizarre case of mistaken racial identity. Dr. Marius first shared his story on Hometown Heroes in 2018. You can link to Part I of his story here, then make sure to access Part II as well.
—Paul Loeffler