Charles Lewis White, former educator and administrator and a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, died Sunday (Feb. 25, 2007) at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. He was 85 and a resident of Richmond Heights.
He was the oldest of four children born in St. Louis to Dr. Stanley K. White and Eleanor Camille Lewis. He was raised in the Ville neighborhood and graduated from Sumner High School. He earned a bachelor’s degree from what is now Harris-Stowe State University and a master’s degree from Washington University.
In World War II, White joined the Army and began training at Moton Field on the campus of Tuskegee Institute in Tuskegee, Ala. He graduated from flight school as a fighter pilot and second lieutenant. He was assigned to the 15th Strategic Air Force in southern Italy in September 1944 and flew with the 332nd Fighter Squadron, known as the “Red Tail Angels.”
White flew 65 long-range missions, and his squadron of P-51 Mustang pilots shot down 12 German planes. White was credited with destroying two enemy planes. He received a battlefield promotion to captain. His decorations included the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with seven oak clusters for meritorious achievement and seven Bronze Stars. This fall, White, along with the other Tuskegee Airmen, will get the Congressional Gold Medal.
White returned to St. Louis and taught in the St. Louis Public Schools for 15 years and then served 27 years as a principal, at Stevens Middle and the former Bates Elementary schools. He also became a real estate broker.
In 1992, he was honored at the St. Louis Science Center in a photo exhibit of African-American aviators.
White and his late wife, Mary Elizabeth Boyd, enjoyed world travel.
Among the survivors are a daughter, Diane Wilkerson of Richmond Heights; a sister, Lola Mann of Richmond Heights; and two grandchildren.