About 50 people turned out Saturday morning to honor a Williamsburg native, who was a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, an all African American fighter squadron that was formed in WWII.
“This is part of the American Democracy Weekend, and the focus is on honoring the contributions African-Americans have made to the American Democratic process,” said Frankie Ball, one of organizers for the ceremony to honor Roy M. Chappell.
Chappell lived in Williamsburg until he was five years old before he moved to Michigan with his family.
Chappell attended Kentucky State University before joining the army in WWII, and became a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, an all African American fighter squadron.
Before 1940, African Americans were barred from flying for the U.S. military, but after pressure from civil rights organizations and the black press, the military formed the all African-American pursuit squadron based in Tuskegee, Alabama, in 1941. The group became known as the Tuskegee Airman.
“Mr. Chappell was historical, and this is an historical event,” Whitley County Judge-Executive Mike Patrick told the crowd during Saturday’s ceremony. “How many people get the adjective historical used by their name? How many of them were from Williamsburg, Kentucky? In reading about Roy Chappell, I feel that he was an ordinary man that fought through some extraordinary barriers. He was a man with a dream to be a flyer.
“He was a member of a group with that same dream, but with the added vision of proving that they could do it as well as anyone, that mission was accomplished. It seems to me that all during his life, Roy dared to dream that things could be better. Through persistence and dedication, he overcame barriers not just for himself, but for many others.”
After his service in the military, Chappell returned to KSU to complete his degree, and met his wife there, Dr. Lucy Chappell, who is well known in the field of social work in the Chicago area, Ball noted.
An education center was recently named in Roy Chappell’s name at KSU.
“My father was a historic person before I even knew he was a Tuskegee Airmen, before I even knew of all the accomplishments that he had. He was my father, and he was at the top of the totem poll,” said Camille Chappell, Roy Chappell’s oldest daughter.
“He was not just a Tuskegee Airmen, but he was also a devoted husband and father. He also was an educator. I followed in his footsteps.”
Ed Powe, a KSU official who helped organize the event, noted that the Kentucky Historical Society will be placing a historical marker near the site of Roy Chappell’s childhood home, which is near Briar Creek Park.
Powe noted that the bronze, historic marker won’t be ready until sometime after October, so the ceremony placing the marker will be postponed until February during the first week of Black History Month. “Hopefully, we might even have a street named after Roy Chappell. They are working on it right now,” Powe added.
Ron Spriggs, an official historian of the Tuskegee Airmen, gave a PowerPoint presentation at the Cumberland Inn prior to Saturday’s ceremony, and left a historical display that will display in the museum portion of the inn for the several weeks.
Pilots from the Tuskegee Airmen’s Chicago DODO chapter, which Roy Chappell helped found, did four flyovers during the ceremony in honor of Chappell. After the ceremony, the two planes used in the flyover were on display at the new Whitley County Airport, and about 15 youngsters got to go up in the planes.