DECORATED TUSKEGEE AIRMAN HARRY STEWART JR. PASSES AWAY AT 100
Lt. Col. Harry Stewart Jr. was a World War II hero and one of the last remaining Tuskegee Airmen. He passed away peacefully on February 1, 2025, at his home in Michigan. The “Top Gun” pilot is one of the most decorated during WWII, and is one of only four Tuskegee Airmen to have three air-to-air kills in a single day.
Harry Stewart Jr. Joins the Legendary Tuskegee Airmen
If you live to be 100 years old, you’re going to experience more than most but Harry Stewart, Jr. didn’t even need the century he received to have lived quite a full life.
The Virginia resident loved planes from an early age, often watching them as a child after moving to Queens, New York.
“I used to walk over to the airport as a kid and hand out near the fence there and watch the planes take off and land and fantasize about my being the pilot of that aircraft flying people to different places. Then later when WWII was about to start, there was a squadron or company of P-39s Airacobras that was stationed there, and I took a big interest in that,” said Stewart.
When he turned 18 years old, Stewart joined the military during WWII, enlisting in 1943, as a part of the Army Air Corps.
Stewart would go on to train with the legendary Tuskegee Airmen before receiving his wings in 1944.
His assignment would place Stewart with the 301st Fighter Squadron, a group of Aviators who were in the legendary 332nd Fighter Group, otherwise known as “The Red Tails.”
Throughout his military career, Stewart completed 43 flying missions and earned both the Distinguished Flying Cross and an Air Medal during WWII.
Easter in Europe
Of the 43 missions Stewart took part in, it was April 1, 1945, where he had one of his greatest impacts in the war.
It was Easter Sunday and while escorting a formation of B-24s to attack a site in St. Pölten, Austria. However, while traveling back, German Focke-Wulf Fw-190s attacked the group, leading to dog fights among the crews.
Not only did Stewart shoot two of the German fighters out of the sky, but he eliminated a third due to his inventive flying skills.
“I sneaked up on the two guys and I hit them both. It was just at that time I looked around and, my God, there was this 190 on my tail. You could see it right behind my head. I just couldn’t shake him and I had dove down to the ground as close as I could get, and into a tight turn and the guy was following me,” recalled Stewart.
As a result of the maneuver, Stewart received credit for the kill when the German plane was unable to pull out and ended up crashing.
Sacrifice and Precision
Harry Stewart Jr. remains one of the most impressive pilots to ever defend our nation, and the evidence of this continued even after the end of WWII.
Stewart helped form the 332nd Fighter Group along with three others, who would head to Nellis AFB in 1949 to compete in the first-ever Top Gun Weapons contest trophy.
Despite others opting for more modern jets, the group of Black pilots won the event while flying P-47s.
However, just as his flying skills followed him after the war, so too did the unfortunate horrors Stewart had to endure as well.
Despite his heroics on that fateful Easter dogfight, his fellow aviator, 2nd Lt. Walter Manning was shot down. In fact, three of the eight planes didn’t make it.
However, what makes the fate of Manning so haunting is that although he was able to escape his aircraft and survive the fall, he couldn’t survive captivity.
Due to the strong presence of Nazis in the area, instead of just being a prisoner of war, troops lynched Manning in Linz-Hörsching, Austria.
In 2017, Stewart would get a chance to return for a ceremony in Austria honoring Manning with a dedicated memorial in the same city he was used for pushing a racist, hateful message all those years ago.
Rest in Peace Lt. Col. Harry Stewart, Jr., May You Never Be Forgotten
The legacy and sacrifice of men like Lt. Col. Stewart are the real reasons our nation is a celebrated beacon of freedom and greatness.
Unfortunately, with things, such as President Trump’s DEI ban, we risk the erasure of history involving trailblazing heroes, such as the Tuskegee Airmen.
Despite temporarily having videos featuring the Tuskegee Airmen removed from Air Force basic training, fortunately, efforts to remember their sacrifice have been ongoing to reinstate their history as part of the education troops receive.
Everyone is entitled to an opinion but losing Lt. Col. Harry Stewart, Jr. should serve as a stark reminder that including such history and education is far more than a political matter but rather essential for honoring those who have defended our nation from tyranny.
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