Armour McDaniel | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Birth name | Armour G. McDaniel, Sr. |
| Born | (1916-07-07)July 7, 1916 |
| Died | November 12, 1989(1989-11-12) (aged 73) |
| Buried | |
| Years of service | 1942–1964 |
| Rank | Lieutenant colonel |
| Alma mater | Virginia State University,Temple University andRider College |
Armour G. McDaniel, Sr. (July 7, 1916 – November 12, 1989) was an American military officer who served as a U.S. Air Forcelieutenant colonel and commanded the332nd Fighter Group's301st Fighter Squadron, aTuskegee Airmen unit. McDaniels also served as the Commandant of Cadets atTuskegee Army Airfield. He fought inWorld War II and was briefly held as aprisoner of war inNazi Germany.[1]
Armour G. McDaniel, Sr. was born July 7, 1916, inMartinsville, Virginia, to Charlie and Mary Earley McDaniel.[2]
He attended bothLucy Addison High School inRoanoke, Virginia, and the Piedmont Christian Institute (high school).[3][4]
He attendedVirginia State University, graduating with a B.S. in business administration. He also graduated fromTemple University with a P.A. in economics, and received his teacher qualification fromRider College in Princeton, New Jersey.[5]
He returned to Martinsville, Virginia, to teach English, history and social science at an all African-American high school until the beginning of World War II.[5]
McDaniel attended flight training at Tuskegee Army Airfield inTuskegee, Alabama, as a member of its Class 43-A-SE, one of the first flight classes at the airfield.[6] After completing training on January 14, 1943, he was deployed to Italy in December 1943 as a member of the all-African American332nd Fighter Group's301st Fighter Squadron, best known as the "Tuskegee Airmen."[7] The squadron's mission was to provide air cover for Allied ships using Naples harbor and escort Allied bombers into Germany's strategic targets.
On March 24, 1945, Col.Benjamin O. Davis Jr. led 332nd Fighter Group pilots on a 1,600 miles (2,600 km) bomber escort mission from theFoggia Airfield Complex's Ramitelli AirField in Italy to protect Fifteenth Air Force bombers on a mission to attack a tank assembly plant inBerlin, Germany. When fighters scheduled to take over escort duties failed to show up and Davis's plane began to suffer engine problems, requiring him to head back to Ramitelli, McDaniel, now a captain, assumed command from Davis, leading the pilots to Berlin despite theirP-51 aircraft running low on fuel. As they neared Berlin, he and his pilots were attacked by 25 GermanMe 262 fighter jets. They downed three German jets, suffering no losses to their U.S. bomber fleet. Nonetheless, the Germans shot down and captured McDaniel and another P-51 pilot. As McDaniel parachuted from his aircraft, he fractured both legs.
The Germans initially imprisoned McDaniel atNuremberg, Germany,Munich, Germany, and ultimately atStalag VII-A near Moosburg, Germany, for over 30 days. He was eventually liberated byGeneral George Patton'sUS Third Army on April 29, 1945.[8][9][2]
In January 1945, McDaniel became the 301st Fighter Squadron's commanding officer, replacing Major Lee Rayford, who returned to the United States.[5] In 1946, McDaniel became the commandant of cadets at the Tuskegee Army Air Field. McDaniel was later stationed inAlaska, where he led several units.
In 1964, McDaniel retired from the active duty Air Force as alieutenant colonel. He later worked for the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare in New York City as a civil rights specialist.[9]
AfterWorld War II, McDaniel married Faye J. Wilson McDaniel (1935–2019) ofFayetteville, Tennessee. McDaniel had three children: Armour G. McDaniel, Jr. (1952–1989), Gregory McDaniel and Gwendolyn Jackson. He also had four step-children: Delmer Jerome Edmonds, Jr., Kevin L. Edmonds, Donald E. Edmonds and Regina F. Majors.
McDaniel died on November 12, 1989, inIndianapolis, Indiana. He is interred atArlington National Cemetery in Section 65, Grave 2822. His wife, Faye, is buried alongside him in Arlington.[10]
