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Tuskegee Airman 2nd Lt. Carroll Napier Langston, Jr. was born on September 25, 1917, in a modest household in St. Louis, Missouri. He was the only child of Carroll N. Langston, Sr., a respected figure in the local community, and Vivien Cashin, from Montgomery, Alabama. The family later relocated to Chicago, where Langston grew up and where he attended Hyde Park High School on the south side. He developed a strong interest in academics and athletics, eventually becoming a prominent member of the school’s baseball team before graduation in 1934.
After high school, Langston enrolled at Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio. There, he focused on the study of French and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1938. He also participated in various school activities, including sports.
In 1941, Langston enrolled at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where he earned a Bachelor of Laws degree. After graduation, he briefly practiced law in Chicago. Langston was also a Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity member, the first professional African American Greek-lettered fraternity founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1906.
With the onset of World War II, Langston attempted to join the U.S. Navy. He was rejected, however, because of his race. He then enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Force and was assigned to be trained at the racially segregated Tuskegee Army Air Field in Alabama, which at the time was the only center for Black military training related to aviation. On June 19, 1943, Langston married Marguerite Rebecca Wilson Finnell in Etowah, Alabama.
After completing his cadet training in 1943 (43-I-SE), Langston was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant and assigned to the 301st Fighter Squadron, 332nd Fighter Group. His exceptional piloting skills and dedication led to his deployment to Italy in January 1944, where he joined fellow airmen in critical missions as part of the Allied forces attacking Nazi German Army positions in Italy.
On June 7, 1944, during a combat mission aimed at striking enemy positions near Ferra, Italy, Langston piloted a P-47D Thunderbolt fighter airplane. He flew out of Ramitelli Air Base, destined for Ferra. In mid-flight, however, he encountered a severe engine malfunction that resulted in a loss of oil pressure and rising temperature, forcing him to bail out of the aircraft. Unfortunately, his parachute did not deploy correctly, preventing a safe descent. The plane crashed about 10 miles off the coast of San Benedetti, Italy. Langston was among 36 African American aircraft pilots on the mission that day, but he was the only one who did not return.
On June 7, 1944, 2nd Lt. Carroll Napier Langston, Jr. made the ultimate sacrifice for his country, dying in the line of duty. His loss was deeply felt by his family, friends, and comrades. His body was recovered on the beach nineteen days later by a U.S. Army ground patrol. He was 26 years old.
On June 10, 2017, Langston’s remains were interred in Greenwood Cemetery in Nashville, Tennessee. The military salute at his gravesite included a flag fold, a 21-gun salute, and the playing of “Taps.”
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