Ret. Air Force Col. Eugene Derricotte was one the path-breaking Tuskegee aviators who proved that African Americans belonged in the air along with their white counterparts. He was also a standout athlete and dental surgeon.
path-breaking aviators and ground crews
“Whenever we would go out, people would recognize them,” said Rick Sinkfield, president of the Tuskegee Airmen chapter in San Antonio. “They were rock stars. Wherever they went, crowds would follow.”He was born June 14, 1926, in Fostoria, Ohio, to Clarence and Bessie Derricotte. He was the second of their three sons. He graduated from Defiance High School in 1944 and enrolled in the University of Michigan the same year, but was soon drafted.
The result: As the war got under way, Black service members had to battle discrimination in both civilian life and in the military before they could fight the Nazis. Black troops in those times were relegated to noncombat jobs — even in the war zone. But the all-African American 332nd Fighter Group became a striking exception to the rule.
He set records for kick returns and interceptions and lettered on teams that won the 1948 Rose Bowl and Big 10 conference championships in 1947 and 1948. He was drafted to play professional ball with the Cleveland Browns but suffered a knee injury in training camp that cut short his career."He would always talk about the fact that he was the lead kickoff and punt return person," Sinkfield recalled.
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