Tuskegee Red-Tail Pilot Honored, Colonel Paul Green's Year Celebrated

The Norton Air Force Base Museum hosted an event called “From an Orphanage to a USAF Base Commander” to honor Colonel Paul Green, a former Tuskegee airmen, on Aug. 20. This is the 5th “Evening at the Museum” event Norton Air Force Base has hosted in the past few weeks. Prior to hosting Colonel Green’s speech, the Norton AFB Museum hosted a Berlin Wall dedication as a celebration of the piece's addition to their collection. Colonel Green’s lecture covered the difficult living situations experienced in the 1920s by colored individuals. Audience members agreed that Colonel Green's speech left them feeling inspired as he shared his story of focus on achieving his goals despite the many road blocks set before him. From the day he became an orphan to the day he was told he couldn’t get a job after graduating high school, Colonel Green's shared that he never accepted defeat. He was determined to put the skills he learned from the orphanage to good use. When the draft called Colonel Green to duty, he was more than happy to join the armed forces. This was the beginning of the path that would lead him to becoming a Tuskegee Airman and eventually, a US Air Force Base Commander. The event attracted locals from throughout the Inland Empire, many of whom were fellow Tuskegee Airmen. Retired Air Force Colonel Smith, who was in attendance and belongs to the Tuskegee Airmen Chapter of the Inland Empire, shared, “the largest archive of Tuskegee Airmen is at the University of California, Riverside and its valued at over 60 million dollars.”