Wilson V. Eagleson

Wilson Vashon "Swampy" Eagleson II (February 1, 1920 – April 16, 2006), was a United States Army Air Force officer and combat fighter pilot with the 332nd Fighter Group's 99th Fighter Squadron, best known as the Tuskegee Airmen. One of 1,007 documented Tuskegee Airmen Pilots, Eagleson was credited with two confirmed enemy German aerial kills and two probable aerial kills.

In the early 1950s, Eagleson saved the entire crew of a large U.S. Air Force cargo plane after anti-aircraft flak struck it, seriously wounding the pilots. After assuming the aircraft's controls, Eagleson safely navigated the aircraft to the Philippines. For his heroics he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Early life and family Eagleson was born on February 1, 1920, in Cincinnati. Eagleson Sr. also became one of the U.S. Army's first African American officers. and incidental civil rights activist in the late 19th century/early 20th century; All of Halson V. Eagleson Sr.'s five sons attended Indiana University at Bloomington, Indiana, including Preston, Indiana University's first African American intercollegiate athlete. In 1934, Eagleson II moved from Bloomington to Durham, North Carolina to live with his grieving mother. Eagleson II attended high school in Henderson, North Carolina. Eagleson II and Geraldine had four children: Wilson V. Eagleson III, Gerald B. Eagleson, Diedra A. Coney, and Helen F. Eagleson. They also had 15 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren, and 4 great-great-grandchildren. They later divorced.

Military career On January 19, 1942, the football player-built Eagleson II enlisted in the U.S. Army as an infantry soldier. He flew an astounding 350 missions. On August 15, 1944, during a bomber escort mission over Southern France, Eagleson II's aircraft was struck by anti-aircraft flak near Saint-Tropez, causing it to lose coolant.

Unit assignments 1942–1942, US Army (USA), Ft. Walters, TX; Ft. Benning, GA 1942–1943, AAF MOS 770, Aviation Cadet Flight School, Tuskegee AAF The Smithsonian Institution displays some of Eagleson II's World War II memorabilia.