WW2 Fallen - Tuskegee fighter pilot Faythe McGinnis

Lt. Faythe McGinnis, 99th Fighter Squadron, shown here on the day he graduated from flight school
and received his officer's commission.
http://stltoday.mycapture.com/mycapture/enlarge.asp?image=25501614&event=833684&CategoryID=0&picnum=16&move=B#Image 

Faythe McGinnis never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.

He was born on August 30, 1917 in Oklahoma. His parents were both born in Texas. His father worked as grocer and later as a laborer. Faythe had an older brother, two older sisters, a younger brother (who served in the army during the war), and a younger sister. By 1940 he had completed one year of college at Langton University while still living at home with his widowed mother. He would complete two more years of college, which included playing on the football team, before he enlisted in the Army Air Forces on February 19, 1942. This was a high level of education for blacks of his generation living in the south.

On July 3, 1942, Faythe became a lieutenant in the 99th Fighter Squadron which was equipped with P-40 Warhawks. This unit was formed and trained in Tuskegee, Alabama and its men became known as the Tuskegee airmen who went on to prove blacks were just as good as flyers as white pilots.

Lt. McGinnis was the very first casualty among the Tuskegee airmen. On September 12, 1942, while his mom was visiting him to celebrate his officer's commission, he crashed his plane into Soughalachoe Creek near Tuskegee and was killed. 

His grave is at Booker T. Washington Cemetery in Muskogee, Oklahoma.

Thank you Faythe for your sacrifice. Let's Earn It for Faythe.

On behalf of the fallen, if you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Thanks for your interest!

To mark having over 100,000 visits to my project to honor the fallen of WW2 on their 100th birthdate, I created this video to share. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY. Now more than 200 fallen have been profiled with more than 200,000 visits. Is there interest in seeing a similar video highlighting those from the group of second 100?

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