A decorated World War II fighter pilot reached a major milestone this Fourth of July.
Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Harry T. Stewart Jr. turned 100 years old. Eighty years ago, he earned distinction in the skies of Europe as a member of the famed Tuskegee Airmen.
WXYZ The Detroit chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen and Tuskegee National Historical Museum paid tribute with a one-of-a-kind birthday present for one of the last surviving Tuskegee Airmen.
“It’s not too easy to get used to yet,” Stewart said. “I wanted it to happen very fast when I was a teenager but now, I want it to slow down a little bit.”
WXYZ Deployed overseas to Italy in 1944 and assigned to the 332 Fighter Group, Stewart flew 43 Long Range Bomber escort missions into central Europe and was credited with destroying three enemy aircraft in aerial combat, and one of the original four Top Gun.
“We flew together in Las Vegas at the first Top Gun,” Stewart said.
WXYZ Decades later at 100, Stewart is still as sharp as a tact with a memory like an elephant and a big sense of humor.