C. ALFRED "CHIEF" ANDERSON

Anderson (1907-1996) borrowed $2,500 from friends and relatives, bought a used airplane, and taught himself to fly in 1929. In 1933, he became the first African American to earn a commercial pilot's license, and with Dr. Albert E. Forsythe-an Atlantic City, NJ surgeon--completed a series of long-distance flights in 1933 and 1934 to promote black aviation. In 1940, Anderson instructed students from Howard University for the Civilian Pilots Training Program (CPTP) until he was recruited by Tuskegee Institute in Alabama to act as its chief primary flight instructor. His 40-minute flight with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt during her Tuskegee visit in 1941 was the catalyst that led to the training of the first African American military pilots, the "Tuskegee Experiment". He also flew Vice President Henry Wallace from Tuskegee to Atlanta during that period. In 1946, he organized Tuskegee Aviation, Inc., to service aircraft until he was forced out of business by the state's attorney general in the late 1950s. He nevertheless continued to fly and co-founded Negro Airmen International in 1970 to encourage others to enter the field of aviation. He died at his home in Tuskegee after a lengthy bout with cancer.

MICHAEL P. ANDERSON

Anderson (1959-2003) was a Lt. Col. in the USAF, born in Plattsburgh, New York, but considered Spokane, Washington, to be his hometown. Selected by NASA in December 1994, he first flew aboard Shuttle mission STS-89 (1/22-31/98), which was the eighth Shuttle-Mir docking mission. On STS-107 (1/16/03-2/1/03), which was a 16-day flight dedicated science and research mission, the crew successfully conducted approximately 80 experiments. The STS-107 mission ended abruptly on February 1, 2003 when Space Shuttle Columbia and her crew perished during entry, 16 minutes before scheduled landing. He is survived by his wife and children. Anderson enjoyed photography, chess, computers, and tennis.

JAMES H. BANNING

Banning (1899-1933) was born in Oklahoma and learned to fly at Raymond Fisher's Flying Field in Des Moines, Iowa, becoming the first African American aviator to obtain a license from the U. S. Dept. of Commerce. Banning left Ames, Iowa, to live in Los Angeles in 1929 and served as the chief pilot for the Bessie Coleman Aero Club, named after a pioneer black woman flyer. In 1932 he and his mechanic Thomas C. Allen completed the first transcontinental flight by black aviators in an airplane pieced together from junkyard parts. Though making the 3,300-mile trip in less than 42 hours aloft, the trek actually required 21 days to complete because the pilots had to raise money each time they stopped. The next year Banning was a passenger in a biplane, sitting in the front open cockpit without controls, during a San Diego air show. The white Navy pilot at the controls, trying to impress his more accomplished passenger, pulled the nose of the tiny plane up into a steep climb. The plane stalled and fell into a fatal spin in front of hundreds of horrified spectators.