Luke J. Weathers, Jr.

As Veterans Day approaches, it seems like a great time to talk about Luke Weathers, Jr.

As one of the original Tuskegee Airmen, Lt. Col. Luke Weathers, Jr., received the Purple Heart and the Distinguished Flying Cross with seven clusters for the dozens of missions he flew over Europe and North Africa during World War II.  He was honored with a parade on Beale Street for “Luke Weathers Day” on June 25, 1945, and received the keys to the city — all part of a larger effort to raise money for the war effort.  The campaign raised enough to pay for a B-24 Liberator, and it was named “The Spirit of Beale Street” in honor of the community that funded it.

After the war, Lt. Col. Weathers continued to break barriers, becoming the first African-American air traffic controller at the Memphis Airport, and helping to bring other minorities into the field.

Lt. Col. Weathers was buried at Arlington National Cemetery on January 20, 2012, with the full honors he deserved: a four-jet flyover in “missing man” formation, a horse-drawn caisson, a 21-gun salute, and the playing of “Taps.” We are extremely grateful to the Weathers family, especially his son, Luke III, for sharing these photos and stories with us.

Click here to view all of the images in Dig Memphis related to Luke Weathers, Jr.

Did you know…

…that after World War II, Memphis “adopted” a Dutch town known for its cotton manufacturing?  School children around Memphis filled cigar boxes with household items to ship to the families in Enschede, Netherlands, while clothes and books were collected to help replace that which was lost in the war.  Read all about it here:

For more information, the Memphis – Enschede Ties collection is available in the Memphis Room. Come take a look!