Beckley veteran recognized as Tuskegee Airmen in surprise ceremony

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Raleigh County veteran received the Congressional Gold Medal Wednesday in Washington, D.C. in a surprise ceremony attended by all five members of West Virginia’s congressional delegation.

John Watson, 96, of Beckley, was a member of the famed Tuskegee Airmen in World War II but he was never formally recognized.

That all changed Wednesday when Watson arrived with other veterans on Capitol Hill as part of a veterans honor flight. He was given the gold medal and a red jacket. Watson said he didn’t know how to go about being recognized so he began researching it a few months ago.

“I’ve been rather a one man active person trying to get some remembrance of the Tuskegee Airman and this is the utopia of all of it,” Watson told Fox News. “This is wonderful. I really enjoyed this.”

U.S. Senator Joe Manchin’s office helped confirm Watson’s membership. He was an aircraft crew chief.

“John really wasn’t sure. He knew he was there. He knew he did his duty and he did it well and they exceeded but he was never honored as a Tuskegee Airmen.

The Tuskegee Airmen were the first African-American military aviators in the U.S. military.





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