Juneteenth is a special time to reflect upon and appreciate our freedom, but the 2025 rendition of this holiday was even more memorable for about 300 people who gathered on June 19 to celebrate the opening of The Tuskegee Airmen: America’s Freedom Flyers.
The event included the ceremonial renaming of Chestnut Street to Tuskegee Airmen Way, and a special proclamation from the mayor declaring June 19, 2025, as Tuskegee Airmen Day in St. Louis. This exhibit runs through Nov. 2.
A dedicated section titled ‘Hometown Heroes’ honors 91 Tuskegee Airmen with ties to the St. Louis region, including James L. McCullin Jr., George H. Carper II, and Lewis J. Lynch.
“This is not just a military history exhibit — it’s a civil rights story, a St. Louis story and an American story,” said Mark Sundlov, managing director of Soldiers Memorial Military Museum. “The Tuskegee Airmen [a group of African American military aviators who fought in World War II] broke barriers and set a new standard for courage and excellence under extraordinary circumstances.”
A 30-foot mural celebrates the Tuskegee Airmen of St. Louis. Artifacts that attract both adults and youth are the three 1/6 scale model planes including: the Steerman, the plane many of the Tuskegee Airmen trained on; the famous and glamorous P-51 Mustang; and the new T-7A, the newest fighter-trainer used by the Air Force and built in St. Louis by Boeing and bedecked with the beautiful red-tail.
Sundlov hopes young visitors will feel inspired to fight for what is right, to recognize injustice, and push back against it.
As a traveling exhibition, some of the content was already established. The content for the “Hometown Heroes” section shares the story of St. Louisans and was all new content for this rendition of the exhibition. The development of that content was led by Hugh J. White Chapter of The Tuskegee Airmen Inc.
“There was no better-suited organization, or knowledgeable team, to develop this content,” said Sundlov.
Images and interpretive panels celebrate the resilience and impact of the trailblazing servicemen who fought for freedom abroad and equality at home. St. Louis Tuskegee Airmen chapter president Yolandea Woods knew George H. Carper II. She would visit him at the St. Louis Veterans Home. During her research, Woods said she found some of the Tuskegee Airmen and Airwomen graduated from Sumner or Vashon High School.
“The Tuskegee Airmen proved with their ‘Watch Me’ attitude that they could set the bar high and achieve,” Woods said with pride. According to Woods, the Tuskegee Airmen won the first Gunnery Competition in 1949.
Robin Williams, the exhibit’s curator, hopes visitors will have a powerful, emotional experience.
“The portraits and images of the Airmen are larger than life — colorful, vibrant, and engaging,” said Williams. “These iconic and impactful visuals are designed to draw people in and make them want to learn more about each Airman’s story.”
Williams made sure the panels and artifacts tell the dynamic stories of the airmen. One of those dynamic stories includes proving a former first lady right.
First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt didn’t believe the 1925 War College report, which claimed Blacks could not fly. She visited the Tuskegee Institute and Moton Field, where she took a long plane ride with flight training director Chief Anderson.
After this experience, she not only knew Blacks could fly, but that they were excellent and accomplished under his tutelage. She insisted that President Roosevelt get them involved in the war effort.
“We are notably showcasing over 90 St. Louis Tuskegee Airmen. That is something for St. Louisans to be very proud of,” said Williams. “I don’t call that an exhibition. I call it a social movement.”