Major Ken Wilson shares his stories about Lt. Col. Bill Thompson and the Tuskegee Airmen while looking over his personal memorabilia collection.
Major Ken Wilson recalls the day he met Lt. Col. Bill Thompson in Chicago. As a then-cadet in the Chicago State University ROTC program, he was taking a military history class. His instructor told him they were going on a field trip to take the Tuskegee Airmen to their original location.
“I thought we were going to Tuskegee,” he said. “I didn’t realize we were headed to Rantoul.”
Thompson was one of the original six Tuskegee Airmen from the 99th Fighter Squadron, a group of determined young men who volunteered to form the nation’s first crop of African American military airmen.
Then, in his early 20s, Wilson recalls being awestruck by meeting the war hero. He laughed a little as he remembered the lieutenant colonel’s parting words that day.
“The next time I see you, I want to see you as a lieutenant, and I want to see you fly,” Thompson said briskly. “You have no idea what we went through. Now days you have opportunities, so I don’t want to hear any excuses.”
From 1941 to 1946, nearly 1,000 African American pilots were trained at Tuskegee. “That group never lost a bomber,” said Wilson proudly. “That’s their legacy, and I just want to keep it going.”
Wilson stayed in touch with Thompson through the years. He remembers he couldn’t wait to tell Thompson that he had been named an active Army officer in December 1994 and was accepted to flight school, which began in January 1995.
“I was so excited to tell him: I’m a pilot! I’m going to flight school!” Wilson said. “He didn’t congratulate me. He said, ‘The door is open. You’d better not flunk out!’”
Two years later, Wilson graduated as a second lieutenant from the U.S. Army and was a pilot. He fondly reflects that Thompson was his mentor through it all. At the time of Thompson’s death in 2006, Wilson was on active duty in Iraq. When he learned of the death of his mentor, he visited Thompson’s son to pay his last respects.
“His son gave me a shoebox full of memorabilia.” Wilson said. “I really almost broke down, and I don’t break down.”
Wilson displayed his memorabilia with the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville campus community Nov. 4-6 during the University’s 2nd Annual Veterans Tribute.
Today, Wilson is an assistant professor of Military Science at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. He decided to tell his story about Thompson and share his memorabilia as an opportunity to educate the greater community.
“It’s not about me,” he said. “I felt to keep his legacy going, I needed to spread the word and share his story. I want to do the same thing he did—inspire others.”