{"id":21514,"date":"2022-04-10T16:17:21","date_gmt":"2022-04-10T16:17:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2022\/04\/10\/sky-was-limit-for-first-black-aircrew-at-dover-air-force-base\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T20:37:37","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T20:37:37","slug":"sky-was-limit-for-first-black-aircrew-at-dover-air-force-base","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2022\/04\/10\/sky-was-limit-for-first-black-aircrew-at-dover-air-force-base\/","title":{"rendered":"Sky was limit for first Black aircrew at Dover Air Force Base"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">DOVER, Del. \u2014 It was a challenge that turned into a dare that eventually led to the takeoff of one of the most momentous <a href=\"https:\/\/www.af.mil\/About-Us\/Fact-Sheets\/Display\/Article\/1529718\/c-5-abc-galaxy-and-c-5m-super-galaxy\/\" target=\"_blank\">C-5A Galaxy<\/a> flights out of Dover Air Force Base on Jan. 30, 1986.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/baytobaynews.com\/stories\/sky-was-the-limit-for-first-all-black-flight-crew-at-dover-air-force-base,75176?\" target=\"_blank\">Retired Col. William \u201cBill\u201d Jordan<\/a>, now 79, vividly remembers the sequence of events that led to the first all-Black aircrew of a C-5A cargo plane leaving Dover bound for Germany that day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After all, he was chosen to lead the historic mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe way it got started was I was chair of the Black History Month Committee that year and one of the members of that committee had suggested that we bring a R&amp;B group down from Philadelphia and have a dance, and I was opposed to that,\u201d Mr. Jordan said. \u201cI said I didn\u2019t think the base would go for that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSo, a female NCO on the committee said, \u2018They never go for anything. I bet they won\u2019t go for an all-Black flight C-5 crew.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mr. Jordan said he was kind of put in a difficult spot and he committed that he would ask then-Col. Walter Kross, who was Dover Air Force Base\u2019s wing commander back then, if he would approve her idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Much to his surprise, Col. Kross OK\u2019d the proposal and history was put into motion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI guess the thing that made it so memorable for me was the fact that Col. Kross had the fortitude to authorize that flight in the face of a lot of people saying that he was making a mistake,\u201d Mr. Jordan said.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/military-honor\/black-military-history\/2020\/03\/01\/sons-of-tuskegee-airmen-share-history-lessons-with-students\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"222\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP20057712113550.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Sons of Tuskegee Airmen share history lessons with students<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Lt. Col. Howard Baugh\u2019s sons, Howard and Richard, recounted their father\u2019s story to a small group of Richmond Public Schools students and teachers on Feb. 25 at the Virginia War Memorial<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So, he and 17 other Black airmen representing Dover AFB\u2019s 3rd Squadron, 9th Squadron and Reserves, were selected and put into place to fly a routine mission to Germany in honor of Black History Month in February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The purpose of the flight was to symbolize the role Black airmen played in national defense commitments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In an article in The Airlifter, the base newspaper, published in 1986, then-Lt. Col. Jordan, who served as the flight commander, said, \u201cMembers of the crew wanted to fly an ordinary mission, not an \u2018around the flagpole mission.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere aren\u2019t any special events planned en route. The mission is a symbol of Black History Month, and we know it will inspire young Blacks to strive harder to achieve whatever their dreams may be.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the time, he also knew the flight would have its share of detractors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere are people who are going to try to turn this into something negative,\u201d he said. \u201cThere will be comments that it\u2019s tokenism or an attempt to segregate a crew. Neither statement is true.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Little did Mr. Jordan and other members of the all-Black flight crew know at the time about the interest level that many had involving the flight, including a young Black airman at an air base in Incirlik, Turkey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe most memorable thing about the flight was the second leg, when we went into Turkey,\u201d said Mr. Jordan. \u201cThere was an airman who couldn\u2019t believe there was going to be an all-Black flight and he stayed up all night at the base in Incirlik, Turkey, waiting to see that C-5 come in and land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHe was out on the flightline just looking to see the all-Black crew. He was a Black airman, so the fact that it meant so much to him and it meant so much to all the Air Force people that we ran across meant a lot to us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt was amazing. People were coming up to us and congratulating us and thankful that we did that flight.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When he looks back on that flight today, there isn\u2019t a whole lot that he would change, calling it an honor to be a part of history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe didn\u2019t want it to be just a symbolic flight. We wanted it to be a normal mission,\u201d Mr. Jordan said. \u201cIt was to show that on a day-to-day basis that we contributed to the regular Air Force mission \u2014 showing that we do this daily, and we can do this all the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI think the biggest honor for me was to see the performance of the entire crew. Everybody on the crew did a fabulous job. It\u2019s always a great honor to work with such a highly motivated and dedicated crew of people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/military-honor\/black-military-history\/2021\/02\/18\/these-forgotten-soldiers-might-have-been-the-first-black-troops-to-wear-union-blue-in-combat\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"157\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1st-South-1-Jan-1863_web.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">These forgotten soldiers might have been the first Black troops to wear Union blue in combat<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Advocates want the unit better recognized for its historic achievements.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Unfortunately, time is catching up to many who participated in the mission. Pilot Joe Lindsay died in January, and several others have also passed away over the years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Their exploits are still remembered \u2014 including another flight by a second all-Black air crew that took place years after the inaugural flight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Feb. 24, 1999, there was a C-5 reunion and recognition luncheon for both the flights at Dover Air Force Base.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf you ask me, it was a momentous flight,\u201d said Mr. Jordan, who now lives in Spotsylvania, Virginia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, he said it wasn\u2019t the most significant flight of his aviation career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMy service in Vietnam might be more significant than that flight,\u201d Mr. Jordan said. \u201cMy flying of air medical evacuations \u2026 One of my friends asked me what the most important mission I ever flew in the Air Force was, and I told her two missions where I saved two little girls who had been burned over 80% of their bodies, one down in New Orleans and one in Memphis, Tennessee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAnd the lady was shocked. She knew I had been down in Vietnam, and I\u2019d done all that and the Black flight (at Dover) \u2014 that flight was very significant to me, but was it the most significant thing in my Air Force career? No.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It was a challenge that turned into a dare that eventually led to the takeoff of one of the most momentous C-5A Galaxy flights out of Dover Air Force Base.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":43405,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":67,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"2":{"categories":["your-military","news","veterans","middle-column","home"],"primary_category":"your-military"}}},"categories":[101,24,89,16,26,21,67],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3916],"class_list":["post-21514","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-home","category-middle-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-veterans","category-your-air-force"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"VFQ7HHVXKZAIBPKLG7IHPFP36M","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-air-force\/2022\/04\/10\/sky-was-limit-for-first-black-aircrew-at-dover-air-force-base\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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