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Walter Crenshaw, Jr., the oldest living documented original Tuskegee Airmen, passed away Oct. 7, 2016, at the Veterans Hospital in Los Angeles. He was 106-years-old.
As a member of the famed group, he served as an Administrative Assistant to the Provost Marshall at Tuskegee Army Air Field where he oversaw the induction and background checks on the initial 500+ recruits and came to know each cadet on a personal basis.
Walter Crenshaw’s distinction was lauded by many organizations more than 50 years later. In 2008 at the age of 99, he witnessed his military achievement enshrined in the National Historic Site of the National Museum of the Tuskegee Airmen in Tuskegee, Alabama.
He was honored by the California African American Museum in 2009. In 2013, the city of Torrance presented Crenshaw with a bronze replica of the Congressional Gold Medal, to which he replied, “It’s about time!”
President George W. Bush and the U.S. Congress bestowed the original Congressional Gold Medal to all Tuskegee Airmen, including Crenshaw, in a ceremony on March 29, 2007. The medal is now displayed at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) in Washington, D.C.
Also, 51 of Walter’s original documents from his Tuskegee days are displayed at the NMAAHC. The exhibit includes his photographs, identification cards; training materials, travel orders and meal vouchers.
A memorial service will be held for Crenshaw on Friday, November 18, at 11:00 a.m., at First A.M.E. Church in Los Angeles. He was a long-time member of FAME and attended services as much as possible.
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Source: LA Sentinel
