Ne-Yo Quotes

My grandfather was a Tuskegee Airman. He flew with the 100th Fighter Squadron.

But I was very disappointed that I didn't get a chance to go overseas with that group, might not have gotten back but I wanted very much to go because there's not much of a record of the exploits of the first Negro fighter group.

The great thing that I appreciate - the fact that my godfather, William 'Sticky' Jackson, was a Tuskegee Airman because my father was first born in Ozark, Alabama. The sacrifices and the commitment of those men made it possible for myself and many others.

Growing up, I didn't really know who the Tuskegee Airmen were.

My grandfather was a general in the Nationalist Chinese Air Force during World War II, and I grew up hearing the pilot stories and seeing pictures of him in uniform.

I ended up in the Army Air Corps in the Pacific, operating out of Ayuka field in Hawaii.

Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.

From the days of biplanes and silk scarves, the aviator has been the archetype of masculine glamour. Aviators have personified national ideals, from French elan to Soviet party discipline. They've inspired lust and admiration. They've turned sunglasses and short, utilitarian leather jackets into fashion statements.

I would like to mention that I have flown the 262 first in May '43. At this time, the aircraft was completely secret. I first knew of the existence of this aircraft only early in '42 - even in my position. This aircraft didn't have any priority in design or production.

The United States Air Force didn't even become a separate service until 1947.

Everybody knows about Pearl Harbor. The thing that really fascinated me is that through this tragedy there was this amazing American heroism.

I grew up listening in awe to stories of their wartime adventures. My granny, Joan, was a journalist and wrote amazing letters to my grandpa when he was a prisoner of war, while my nana, Mary, was a Land Girl, then a Wren. They were so independent, resilient and glamorous.

My daddy was a World War I pilot, and I just wanted to be able to fly like he did.

Perhaps in combat overseas, we [Blacks] would have more freedom and respect than we had experienced at home.

It is better to die fighting than to live begging.

I would go in the university stacks and pull out books like 'Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War II' when I was 12 or something, and I'd spend hours reading about the engines in some of those planes.

I think it's long overdue, and I believed that Doris Miller should have been honored a long time ago.

My grandfather served as a pilot with the Army Air Corps, and he was shot down over Normandy in August 1944.

I met lot of fighter pilots and heard their breathtaking experiences. They risk their lives for our well being. Not many understand the risks involved.

By their victory, the 3rd, 4th and 5th Marine Divisions and other units of the Fifth Amphibious Corps have made an accounting to their country which only history will be able to value fully. Among the Americans who served on Iwo Island, uncommon valor was a common virtue.

If you want to understand America, it's slavery.

Your grandfather is and will always be your hero, your inspiration. He fought in World War II, came home to Little Rock, Arkansas, and worked for 50 years as a mailman in the segregated south. Not once did he get a job promotion in five decades. But he kept working all the same.

When I look at Lake Michigan each July, I imagine the men of the Indianapolis visible on the horizon; dark heads, struggling arms, a cry and whirl of a world being remade. I feel an overwhelming sense of sadness, accompanied by a desire to yell out that they will be rescued.

My father, Reginald Francois, was a D-Day veteran. He never submitted to bullying by any German, and neither will his son.

I lost a great uncle in World War II who was with the Royal Canadian Air Force.