One of the Last Surviving Tuskegee Airmen Requests Birthday Cards for His 100th Birthday
Retired Sgt. Victor W. Butler is turning 100 this month, and the WWII vet only has one wish: birthday cards.
Butler is believed to be the last surviving Tuskegee Airman in Rhode Island, WJAR reports.
"Oh, I'll read every one of them," he told the Providence-based news station.
Butler was a mechanic for the legendary Tuskegee Airmen, the first all-Black unit of the WWII Army Air Forces.
"The airfield was very nice. It was the visit to the town that was bad," he recalled to WJAR. "Being in Tuskegee, Alabama, it wasn't very acceptable to white people for black soldiers to be walking around."
More than 900 men trained at Tuskegee from 1940 to 1946. About 450 deployed overseas and 150 lost their lives during that period.
"You could say that one of the things we were fighting for was equality," the late Charles McGee told The Associated Press in 1995. "Equality of opportunity. We knew we had the same skills, or better."
Courtesy WJAR
Butler, who enjoys doing puzzles to "occupy the time," shared a little bit of well-earned wisdom.
"Just enjoy life as it is. Be thankful," he told WJAR. "I'm thankful that I have a nice wife, and a nice home to live in."
"There are so many people that have lost their home and I am very fortunate to have a nice home and wife and my family who come to visit me often," he added.
Courtesy WJAR
Butler is turning 100 on May 21. If you would like to send him a birthday card, you can mail it to:
Victor W. Butler
C/O Gary Butler
P.O. Box. 3523
Cranston, RI 02910
