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 / Modified mar 10, 2021 10:32 p.m.

Robert Ashby, 1 of 3 surviving Tuskegee Airmen in Arizona dies at 95

Lt. Col. Ashby retired in 1965 and went on to be an airline pilot and flight instructor.
by Associated Press

Robert Ashby - Tuskeegee Airman Lt. Col. Robert Ashby - Tuskeegee Airman
Courtesy of Luke Air Force Base

One of three surviving members in Arizona of the famed all-Black Tuskegee Airmen has died.

The Archer-Ragsdale Chapter Tuskegee Airmen confirmed that Robert Ashby died Friday at his home in Sun City. He was 95.

Ashby enlisted at age 17 in the Army Air Corps, which later became the U.S. Air Force. He went to Tuskegee, Alabama, for aviation training in 1944 and later served in all-Black units.

Lt. Col. Ashby retired in 1965 and went on to be an airline pilot and flight instructor. Ashby is believed to be the first Black pilot with a major airline to reach mandatory retirement age.

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