- Collection:
- Veterans History Project: Oral History Interviews
- Title:
- Oral history interview of Hillard W. Pouncy Sr.
- Creator:
- Taylor, David
VerHoef, Sue Hardy
Pouncy, Hillard W., 1922- - Publisher:
- Atlanta, Ga. : Kenan Research Center, Atlanta History Center
- Date of Original:
- 2018-02-15
- Subject:
- World War, 1939-1945--Participation, African-American
World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American
Norden bombsight
Segregation--United States
Tuskegee Institute
United States. Army Air Forces. Bombardment Group, 477th
Association for the Study of African-American Life and History
Union Carbide Corporation - People:
- Davis, Benjamin O., 1880-1970
Rose, Sherman Twitchell, 1919-2008
Macon, Richard Douglas, 1921-2007 - Location:
- United States, Alabama, Macon County, Tuskegee, 32.42415, -85.69096
United States, Mississippi, Keesler Army Airfield - Medium:
- oral histories (literary works)
- Type:
- Moving Image
- Format:
- video/mp4
- Description:
- In this interview, Hillard Pouncy recalls his service in the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II. He remembers his growing up years, living with his grandparents in order to help them, and working his way through Tuskegee Institute (later Tuskegee University). He recalls hearing about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He knew that he would be unlikely to finish school because of the war and realized that volunteering for military service might provide him more choices than being drafted. He describes the formation of the Tuskegee Airmen; his early training; their poor treatment by white officers; and the mutual respect he developed with one of his white instructors. He "washed out" of pilot training and became a bombardier with the newly formed 477th Bombardment Group. They anticipated being sent to the Pacific, but the war wound down before that happened. He describes the Norden bombsight and how it was used. He remembers the racial tensions of the time and the Tuskegee Airmen who were arrested for attempting to integrate all-white officers' clubs. He describes his post-military education; his career as a chemist; and the impact his grandparents had on his life. He recalls stories his grandfather told about growing up the child of formerly enslaved parents. He remembers a conversation he had with a USAAF veteran many years after the war who described how a pair of P-51 fighters, flown by Tuskegee Airmen, safely escorted the man's crippled aircraft back to its base. This interview was conducted by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, Atlanta Branch.
Tuskegee Airmen; pre-flight school; Freeman Field Mutiny; B-25; P-51; discrimination;
Hillard Pouncy served in the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II. - Metadata URL:
- http://album.atlantahistorycenter.com/cdm/ref/collection/VHPohr/id/847
- Additional Rights Information:
- This material is protected by copyright law. (Title 17, U.S. Code) Permission for use must be cleared through the Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center. Licensing agreement may be required.
- Extent:
- 1:26:48
- Original Collection:
- Veterans History Project oral history recordings
Veterans History Project collection, MSS 1010, Kenan Research Center, Atlanta History Center - Holding Institution:
- Atlanta History Center
- Rights:
-
