Surviving Tuskegee Airman Turns 100 on Independence Day

One of the few surviving Tuskegee Airmen — and one of the four original Top Guns — turned 100 on Independence Day surrounded by friends, family, and television cameras for the big event.

Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Harry T. Stewart Jr. celebrated his centennial milestone on Thursday with a party that the Detroit chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen and the Tuskegee National Historical Museum hosted, ABC Detroit reported. 

Reflecting on aging, Stewart told the outlet that “it’s not too easy to get used to yet.”

“I wanted it to happen very fast when I was a teenager, but now, I want it to slow down a little bit,” the veteran said with a smile.

After deploying to Italy in 1944 and being assigned to the 332 Fighter Group for black airmen, Stewart completed 43 Long Range Bomber escort missions and destroyed three enemy aircraft, according to the local outlet. 

While many people may picture Hollywood actor Tom Cruise when they think of Top Gun, the famous movie pulled inspiration from real-life military aviation programs that airmen like Stewart pioneered. 

“We flew together in Las Vegas at the first Top Gun,” Stewart said, referring to when the Tuskegee Airmen competed in the military’s first Top Gun competition at Las Vegas Air Force Base, Nevada, on May 2, 1949.

His group was not recognized as the competition’s winner until April 1995, 46 years after winning the Weapons Meet, according to the Chicago Tuskegee Airmen chapter. 

Nearly 80 years later, Stewart still has a sharp mind and is a great patriot.

“I think I love it just as much. I loved it then; I love it now,” Stewart said about the United States. “I think we still have a way to go, no question about it, and I think we got to be vigilant, as we were in the past.”

“We are just blessed to have this day, this moment in time to celebrate him, his accomplishments, his history, his legacy, and all he’s done for America and Americans,” Tamara Perrin of Tuskegee Airmen Inc. told ABC Detroit at Stewart’s party.

With all of the loved ones and supporters that came out to celebrate him on the Fourth of July, Stewart was overjoyed.

“I’m awed. I’m just overwhelmed with it. I think it’s wonderful,” he said.