Tuskegee Airmen Honored at Sewickley Cemetery

In 1941, the U.S. military tried something unprecedented: The Navy conscripted and trained a corps of African-American fighter pilots. These pilots were dubbed the , and although the military was still segregated, the Airmen became heroes of World War II and a dramatic prelude to the civil rights movement.

Seventy years later, will honor the Tuskegee Airmen with a stone monument, prominently displayed in the Sewickley Cemetery on Broad Street.

Instead of a statue or plaque, the memorial will feature two black granite blocks, etched with the names of Western Pennsylvania servicemen. Between them will stand a third block depicting two fighter planes in mid-dogfight. This landscape, painted with photorealistic accuracy and vivid colors, is the work of Ray Simon of Columbiana, Ohio. The painting’s canvas consists of 40 porcelain tiles.

What began as a simple historic inquiry has ballooned into a landmark for the ages. Everything started with Regis Bobonis Sr., an 85-year-old retired journalist and member of the , who wanted to trace African-American roots in Sewickley.

“I never envisioned that I would play such a role in this historic finding,” Bobonis said. “When we started our study, we wanted to see what contributions African-Americans made to the war [effort].”

As it turns out, Sewickley contributed eight Tuskegee Airmen, to the happy surprise of Bobonis and his historical society colleagues. News of this heritage quickly spread, inspiring WQED to produce a special TV documentary, Flyboys: Western Pennsylvania’s Tuskegee Airmen.

By 2008, the project had gained national attention, for the “Sewickley Eight” and for the (at least) 70 Tuskegee Airmen from Pittsburgh and its environs.

Of the three memorials built or planned in honor of the Airmen, Sewickley’s will become the largest in the country.

To outsiders, this monument might seem surprising. Sewickley isn’t known as an epicenter of African-American life, and Tuskegee is a town located in Alabama, known for the Tuskegee Institute, which Booker T. Washington founded to train and educate freed slaves.

No pilots were trained in Western Pennsylvania. So why Sewickley?

Bobonis points out that Sewickley has a very rich African-American history, beginning in the 19th century.

“There was always a lot of work here,” Bobonis said. “Consequently, a lot of the freed slaves and runaways settled here, because there were a lot of farms of various kinds.”

Bobonis had many relatives in Sewickley, which boasted the A.M.E. Zion Church, an African-American YMCA and the Avery Institute, which abolitionist Charles Avery and Rev. Daniel B. Matthews of Philadelphia founded. The historical society is named for Matthews.

“The wealthy of old Allegheny [City] had their summer homes here,” said Bobonis. Eventually, Allegheny City was forced to merge with Pittsburgh and became the North Side. “After the merger, a lot of those houses became permanent homes.”

The African-American population in Sewickley was sizable by the 1940s, when locals began to enlist in the military to fight in World War II.

Bobonis had relatives in Sewickley. After working for the Pittsburgh Courier and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Bobonis retired in 1987 and moved to Sewickley, where he bought a condominium.

“I had fond memories from when I used to visit my aunt,” he said.

Just as the history of Sewickley’s Tuskegee Airmen has exploded in the past few years, so too has the historical society’s ambitions. The original memorial was budgeted at $60,000, but as more Tuskegee Airmen have been discovered and national interest has grown, the monument is expected to cost about $250,000. Fund-raising has produced only a fraction of that amount.

The Matthews group, in collaboration with the Sewickley Historical Society and numerous other partners, is planning several benefits during the next few months. Groundbreaking is scheduled for October, and a dedication ceremony is expected in the spring.

The memorial comes in the nick of time: Not many Airmen remain, in Pennsylvania or anywhere else in the country. Bobonis is a World War II veteran, although he never piloted a plane.

“I was a Navy man,” he said with a laugh. “I never saw action, but I was honored to serve.”