I no longer get the paper. Since I started blogging, I have begun getting most of my news online and when my subscription to the Gazette expired, I figured I’d save a few trees and let it go. That isn’t to say that I won’t read hard copy news. It was this residual enjoyment of newsprint that led me to pick up the “Metro” section today at my brother-in-law’s house during my nieces birthday party. That and the fact that a stirring game of “Freeze Butterfly Dancing”(I don’t know either) didn’t appeal to me.In my perusing the paper, I came across the obituary of one Clarence Laudric Shivers. He was a resident of Colorado Springs and died at the ripe old age of 84, but it was the length of his write-up and a small picture of him in what appeared to be a WWII-era pilot’s helmet that caught my eye. I’m aware that in the past decade or so, unfortunately, it has not been uncommon for WWII flyers to appear in obituaries, but it was the fact that Lt. Colonel Shivers was a strikingly handsome black man (in both his younger and older pictures) that peaked my interest. It isn’t that I have any extraordinary interest in black males, but as a bit of a military history buff, I do know that the combo of black skin, pilot wings and the Second World War generally means one thing: Tuskegee.
The Tuskegee program exists in that unique realm of military history where it overlaps with racial, social and cultural development. The Tuskegee airmen were the first group of black men (and only men, the military take its social engineering one step at a time) given the opportunity to become Army Air Corp pilots. They would form their own units as the Army was still officially segregated and were pushed even harder by their instructors to determine if there was any truth to the age-old and bigoted view of blacks as inferior. The Tuskegee airmen went on to prove themselves in battle as some of the most decorated and successful bomber escort pilots of the war. Shivers continued his march of achievement becoming a successful painter and sculptor, a respected activist and a selfless philanthropist in the Colorado Springs area. His sculpture commemorating the Tuskegee Airmen can still be seen on display at the Air Force Academy where it has been since 1988.
Please take the time to read the linked articles commemorating Lt Colonel Clarence Shivers’ incredible and historic life.
http://www.gazette.com/display.php?id=1330204
http://www.koaa.com/news/view.asp?ID=6668
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I'm glad you brought this one up. Our grandfathers were part of this great generation, and they are quickly disappearing. I hope that our society will not forget their legacy as quickly as they disappear.
ReplyDeleteI realize that this isn't the right place to post this comment...but I noticed you had a link to Vahalla Training Center. Considering your extremely funny post about Norwegian Rampart '96 unemployment, I thought I'd let you know where that term comes from. Bear with me if you already know:
ReplyDeleteValhalla (Old Norse Valhöll, "Hall of the slain") is Odin's hall in Norse mythology. Odin is the chief Norse god in mythology and who's son is Thor. Valhalla is "located" in Gladsheim and is the home for those slain gloriously in battle (known as Einherjar). When KIA they are welcomed by Bragi (god of poetry) and escorted to Valhalla by the valkyries (minor female deities, kind of like angels).
Until next time on Aaronpedia...
Thanks for the explanation. I actually think this place is a great venue for a greater understanding of Valhalla. Pagan beliefs aside, in our language Valhalla has come to be understood as sort of a heaven for warrior. John 15:13 states, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” This applies equally if that friend for whom one lays down their life is simply their neighbor or fellow citizen. Even in the pagan Scandinavian understanding for morality, they knew that there was an inherent honor to dying in battle, presumably at the side of your friends.
ReplyDeleteIn the context of the death of a warrior like Lt Colonel Shivers, I’m glad you gave me the opportunity to make the correlation.
I was fortunate enough to meet one of these great aviators and hear him speak. He also signed a book entitled Black Knights that is probably well worth the read.
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