Tuskegee Airmen Memorial of the Greater Pittsburgh Region Inc.

BiographyThe Tuskegee Airmen Memorial of the Greater Pittsburgh Region, Inc. (TAM) was founded in 2010 to organize events and memorials dedicated to the nearly 100 Western Pennsylvania pilots who served among the first African American aviators in the United States army. The airmen, who faced incumbent racial segregation and prejudice within the U.S. military and at home, were ultimately one of the most celebrated pilot units of World War II. Western Pennsylvania is home to more Tuskegee airmen than any other region of the United States.

The Tuskegee Airmen Memorial of the Greater Pittsburgh Region Inc. developed from research conducted on the airmen by historian Regis D. Bobonis, TAM’s senior founder and chair. Bobonis undertook the project in 1993. By 2008, Bobonis’ research had evolved into an effort to establish a permanent memorial to the airmen. In 2013, TAM launched a commemorative exhibit at the Pittsburgh International Airport and dedicated the Tuskegee Airmen Memorial in Sewickley Cemetery in Sewickley Township, Pa. The Tuskegee Airmen Memorial is the largest of its kind in the United States, and displays the names of each pilot whose service has been affirmed by Bobonis’ research. TAM continues to support events and educational programming dedicated to the memory of the Tuskegee airmen in the Pittsburgh region.