LeRoy Battle

LeRoy Battle (December 31, 1921 – March 28, 2015) was a World War II pilot, teacher, and jazz musician. He was a Tuskegee Airman and one of the African American officers involved in the Freeman Field Mutiny.

Early life

Family Battle was born in Harlem to Walter Battle and Margie Goldwire (later Margie Battle-Smith). His father owned a candy store, and his mother worked as a cook and beautician. In order to take music lessons, he joined a Boy Scout troop run through the Bethany Baptist Church.

After graduating from Tuskegee, Battle took a six-week gunnery program at Tyndall Field, where he learned to shoot down attacking planes. Battle and the other nineteen refused, despite the threat of court-martial. He wanted the team's marching band and cheerleaders, the Redskinettes, to be desegregated. Battle encouraged two of his band members to audition for the Washington Redskins band. Both men complained about the application process, claiming the Redskins organization was not sending out applications to African Americans. Joel Margolis, the Redskins business manager said that "not many colored apply, Last year we had fifty one tryouts and only one was colored." Battle said that advertising towards colored applicants were being ignored by the Redskins.

In 1959, Prince Edward County, Virginia shut down its public schools to avoid racial integration.

During the period 1992–1996 Battle worked in sessions with Eva Cassidy. On Cassidy's (1992) album The Other Side, recorded with Chuck Brown, Battle is credited with trombone on "Let the Good Times Roll", organ on "I'll Go Crazy", and trumpet on "Red Top". Battle is also credited with engineering Cassidy's 1996 album Live at Blues Alley.

In 1995, Battle published his autobiography, "Easier Said". They later divorced. He and his second wife, Alice Elizabeth Holt, had two children, LeRoy Battle Jr. and Lisa Battle-Singletary. Battle and Holt married in 1958 and remained together until her death in 2014. At the time of his death, Battle had five grandchildren. He was a member of the Adams United Methodist Church in Harwood, Maryland.

A resident of Harwood, Battle died at the Anne Arundel Medical Center in Annapolis, Maryland on March 28, 2015.