Member of famed Tuskegee Airmen dies at 100 from coronavirus

Theodore "Ted" Lumpkin Jr., a member of the Tuskegee Airmen whose service as a member of the all- Black unit during World War II helped desegregate the U.S. military, has died at age 100.

Lumpkin, a native Angeleno, died of COVID-19 on Dec. 26 at a hospital, just days shy of his 101st birthday, said his son Ted Lumpkin III.

"We're carrying on his [legacy], but it's an end of an era," his son said.
Lumpkin lived a full life. He was drafted into the military in 1942 when he was a 21-year-old student at UCLA. He was assigned to the 100th Fighter Squadron of the all- Black unit in Tuskegee, Ala., as a 2nd lieutenant with the U.S. Army Air Force.

He said his eyes weren't good enough to become a pilot, so he served as an intelligence officer, briefing pilots about missions during his overseas combat tour in Italy.

During his tenure in the military, he earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from USC. He met his wife, Georgia, while he was a student and got married soon after. Years later, he retired from the the Air Force Reserves as a lieutenant colonel.
The Tuskegee Airmen received the highest civilian recognition in 2007 with the Congressional Gold Medal. Nearly two years later, then- President Obama invited the surviving squadron members, including Lumpkin, to his inauguration.

Now, only eight original Tuskegee combat pilots and several support personnel are still alive, said Rick Sinkfield of the Tuskegee Airmen Inc.. All are in their 90s or older.