Person:Charles Feaster (3)

Tuskegee Airmen Engineer Dies at 94 in Xenia. Article including color photograph.

With his fellow Tuskegee Airmen, he was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 2007. Met President Obama at Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base.

Ohioans played decisive roles in WWII battles - Local veterans look back as 70th anniversary of V-E Day approaches.
REMEMBERING GREATNESS
May 3, 2015
Author/Byline: Barrie Barber Staff Writer
Section: Main
Page: A1

Tuskegee Airman meets the president - Barack Obama thanks Xenia’s Charles Feaster for his leadership.
HOMETOWN HERO XENIA
June 6, 2013
Author/Byline: Marie Kriedman Contributing Writer
Section: Greene County/Clark County
Page: OZER1

Salute to Tuskegee Airmen
January 17, 2012
Section: Local
Page: B2

Tuskegee Airmen honored 60 years later
March 30, 2007
Author/Byline: Jessica Wehrman Staff Writer
Section: NewsPage: A1

U.S. Public Records Index, 1950-1993, Volume 1
Record Image Index-only record
Name: Charles P Feaster
Birth Date: 23 Sep 1921
[23 Sep 1922]
Phone Number: 372-1662
Address: 325 E 3rd St, Xenia, OH, 45385-3429 (1993)

Kentucky, Birth Index, 1911-1999
Name: Charlie P Feaster
Date of Birth: 23 Sep 1922
Birth Place: Jefferson, Kentucky, USA
Mother's name: Maggie Harkins
Volume Number: 102
Certificate Number: 50892
Volume Year: 1922

1930 United States Federal Census
name: Charles P Feaster
Birth Year: abt 1923
Gender: Male
Race: Negro (Black)
Birthplace: Kentucky
Marital Status: Single
Relation to Head of House: Son
Home in 1930: Louisville, Jefferson, Kentucky
Map of Home: View Map
Street address: Burnett Ave
Ward of City: 3
Block: 703
House Number in Cities or Towns: 634
Dwelling Number: 333
Family Number: 374
Attended School: Yes
Father's Birthplace: South Carolina
Mother's Birthplace: Kentucky
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members:
Name Age
Treasvant Feaster 47
Maggie M Feaster 39
Charles P Feaster 7
Gloria J Feaster 5
Linda A Feaster 3
[3 1/12]
Treasvant Feaster 1
[1 2/12]

1940 United States Federal Census
Name: Charles Feaster
Age: 17
Estimated birth year: abt 1923
Gender: Male
Race: Negro (Black)
Birthplace: Kentucky
Marital Status: Single
Relation to Head of House: Son
Home in 1940: Louisville, Jefferson, Kentucky
Map of Home in 1940: View Map
Street: Burnett
House Number: 634
Inferred Residence in 1935: Louisville, Jefferson, Kentucky
Residence in 1935: Same House
Sheet Number: 7A
Father's Birthplace: South Carolina
Mother's Birthplace: Kentucky
Attended School or College: Yes
Highest Grade Completed: High School, 3rd year
Weeks Worked in 1939: 0
Income: 0
Income Other Sources: No
Native Language: English
Social Security Number: No
Usual Occupation: Student
Usual Industry: School
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members:
Name Age
Turrant Feaster 28
Maggie Feaster 37
Charles Feaster 17
Glorin Feaster 15
Linda Feaster 13
Tresvant Feaster 11

U.S. World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946
Record Image Index-only record
Name: Charles P Feaster
Birth Year: 1919
Race: Negro, citizen (Black)
Nativity State or Country: Kentucky
State of Residence: Kentucky
County or City: Jefferson

Enlistment Date: 28 Mar 1941
Enlistment State: Alabama
Enlistment City: Maxwell Field Montgomery
Branch: Air Corps
Branch Code: Air Corps
Grade: Private
Grade Code: Private
Component: Regular Army (including Officers, Nurses, Warrant Officers, and Enlisted Men)
Source: Civil Life

Education: 1 year of college
Civil Occupation: Actors and actresses
Marital Status: Single, without dependents
Height: 67
Weight: 136

http://www.ci.xenia.oh.us/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/80
(Issued 17 October 2014 by Mayor Marsha Bayless).

ti: Tuskegee Airman, Xenia resident Charles Feaster passes away
au: Nathan Pilling and Scott Halasz.

Sen. Voinovich Praises Presentation Of Congressional Gold Medal To Tuskegee Airmen
Press Release

By: George Voinovich
Date: March 29, 2007
Location: Washington, DC


SEN. VOINOVICH PRAISES PRESENTATION OF CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL TO TUSKEGEE AIRMEN

Today, the Tuskegee Airmen were presented the Congressional Gold Medal in honor of their distinguished military record. The Congressional Gold Medal is the highest civilian award by the legislative branch of the U.S. government and is awarded to individuals who perform an outstanding deed or act of service toward the security, prosperity and national interest of the United States. U.S. Senator George V. Voinovich (R-OH) and his wife Janet attended the ceremony, which included honors for 22 Ohio recipients.

"I am so pleased that these outstanding men are finally getting the recognition they deserve from our nation's highest legislative body," Sen. Voinovich said. "I had the honor of presenting the Governor's Award for Public Service to the Tuskegee Airmen in 1997. Their dedication, patriotism and service resonates just as strongly today as it did back then. On behalf of every Ohioan, I'd like to offer a special word of gratitude for their sacrifices. The Tuskegee Airmen fought for the liberty we so often assume as our birthright, and they willingly did so during a time when that liberty was not fully extended to them and their families. Even with this high honor, we will never be able to fully repay them for their sacrifices."

The Ohio recipients of the Congressional Gold Medal are: Thomas Austin Sr. of Cleveland; Harold Brown of Hilliard; Hilton Carter of Columbus; Herndon Cummings of Dublin; Edward Doran of Cincinnati; Leslie Edwards Sr. of Cincinnati; Charles Feaster of Xenia; Robert Harvey Sr. of Dayton; Lawrence Hawkins of Cincinnati; Clarence Jamison of Shaker Heights; John Leahr of Cincinnati; Edward Lunda of Akron; Malcolm McCoy of Lima; Eddie McLaurin of Beavercreek; David McPheeters of Cincinnati; Robert Peeples of Columbus; Alvin Pittard of Cincinnati; Betty Tibbs of Newark; William Watkins of Columbus; Charles Westmoreland of Cincinnati; Edward Willett of Yellow Springs; and Charles Williams of Dayton.

The "Tuskegee Experiment" began when, against a backdrop of rigid segregation during the Second World War, nearly 1,000 African-American men were recruited into an Army Air Corps program that trained them to fly and maintain combat aircraft. President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered that the program be created, overruling his top generals.

The military aviators were trained at an isolated complex near Tuskegee, Alabama, and were not allowed to practice or fight with their white counterparts. Under the command of Colonel Benjamin David Jr., who later became the first black general in the U.S. Air Force, 450 of the fighter pilots escorted allied bombing missions over strategic targets in Europe.

The Tuskegee Airmen distinguished themselves from their white counterparts by painting the tails of their airplanes red, which led to them being dubbed the "black red-tail angels." They never lost a bomber to enemy fighters during their nearly 1,600 missions with the 12th Tactical U.S. Army Air Force and the 15th Strategic U.S. Army Air Force. They did not escape all the casualties of combat, however, losing 66 of their fellow fighter pilots in battle with another 32 being forced down or shot down to be captured as prisoners of war.

Four squadrons of Black Aviators became the 332nd Fighter Group, the largest such unit in the 15th Air Force, and collectively they earned 150 Distinguished Flying Crosses, Legions of Merit and the Red Star of Yugoslavia. After the war, the ground crews and administrative staff of the 332nd Fighter Group were stationed as the former Lockbourne Air Base just outside of Columbus, Ohio.

Many of the men and women associated with the 332nd remained in the military, and spearheaded the effort to integrate the armed forces in the United States with their own integration into the U.S. Air Force in 1949. For all intents and purposes, this was the real beginning of the civil rights effort in the United States — their trail-blazing leading the way for so many others.

Several of the Tuskegee Airmen continued to distinguish themselves in the military — three were elevated to "flag rank," and three others, all lieutenant colonels, share the distinction of having flown combat missions in the Second World War, the Korean Conflict and the War in Vietnam. Many others returned to civilian life to achieve positions of leadership.

Today, a monument in Memorial Park at the Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, a statue in Honor Park at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and a museum in Historic Fort Wayne in Detroit, Michigan, all commemorate the achievements of this distinguished group.

In addition, the Tuskegee Airmen, Inc. National Scholarship Fund helps high school seniors who excel in math and science and need financial assistance pursue college careers in math, science or engineering.


Source: http://voinovich.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=NewsCenter.PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=9f71f396-802a-23ad-40c8-88efff66cf36&Region_id=&Issue_id=