By Tyler Wilson, Museum Volunteer
Photograph of Tuskegee Airmen, undated. Doswell is pictured third from left in back row. Courtesy of Jack Morris, III
Few residents of Lynchburg know that a member of the famed “Tuskegee Airmen” lived and worked in the Hill City for decades after World War II. Edgar Doswell, Jr., is the only known local resident who served in the distinguished squadron formed in Tuskegee, Alabama, in 1941.
Before World War II, African American men were barred from flying for the United States military. Due to mounting pressure during the war, the government decided to form a special unit that included all Black navigators, pilots, bombardiers, and support personnel. The men were educated at Tuskegee Institute and trained at airfields near the school.
Edgar Doswell, Jr., was born in Roanoke, Virginia, in 1921. At age 22 he enlisted in the United States Army Air Force and was accepted into Tuskegee Institute, in order to become a pilot. He graduated in 1945 as a member of the Tuskegee Airmen.
Detail Showing Doswell in center courtesy of Jack Morris, III
While Doswell did not graduate in time to see combat during the war, he was a member of one of the most renowned Air Force units in American history. According to an interview given by his daughter Cassandra Zurlippe in 2009 in the Lynchburg News & Advance, Doswell was disappointed not to have been old enough to fight before the war ended: “He hated that… A lot of guys he trained with were part of the war effort, but he wound up getting left out.”
Following the end of the war, Doswell settled in Lynchburg and took advanced math and science classes at Dunbar High School. He also began working at Preston Glenn Airport as a flight instructor. During his years in Lynchburg, he worked at a series of restaurants and with the Lynchburg Post Office, from which he retired in 1983. Much of Doswell’s involvement with the Tuskegee Airmen was not widely known beyond family and those who were very close to him until after his death in 2009.
Pilot wings belonging to Doswell courtesy of Jack Morris, III
The Tuskegee Airmen were not only a significant part of the United States war effort, but they also are a compelling example of African Americans serving their country during a time when the ideals espoused by our nation were not made available to all. Tuskegee Airmen helped pave the way for full integration of the U.S. military through their efforts and successes. Among their many accomplishments, they lost fewer escorted bombers to enemy aircraft than other fighter escort groups in World War II. Edgar Doswell serves not only as a link between Lynchburg and the Tuskegee Airmen, but also as a moving reminder of the integral role African Americans have played in the history of our nation and our city.
Gravestone of Doswell in Lynchburg Baptist Cemetery courtesy of Jack Morris, III
Sources:
Haulman, Daniel L. “Tuskegee Airfields During World War II,” Air Force Historical Research Agency, 4 Feb 2015 edition
Laurant, Darrell. “An Elegy for the Unknown Airman,” Lynchburg News & Advance, July 23, 2009, updated February 19, 2013
Morris, Jack, III, grandson of Edgar Doswell, Jr.
