Tuskegee Airman to lead the National Memorial Day Parade in D.C after a three year hiatus

After a brief pause of three years, the National Memorial Day Parade has wrapped D.C in a whirlwind again. One thing that has piqued the public's interest globally is that the parade will be led by First Lt. James H. Harvey III, a pilot with the renowned African American Tuskegee Airmen 332nd Fighter Group. Harvey is a decorated Korean War aviator.

He has flown many American fighter planes, like F-47 and F-51, even though he wasn't in combat during the second world war. Along with his three buddies, he was selected to fly in the first gunnery competition hosted by the Air Force, "Top Gun" style.

They were flying the old F-47 against a team piloting the newer F51s and F82s in a propeller competition outside Las Vegas in 1949 May. He was just 25, enjoying the intense competition when an F82 crashed, killing its two pilots. Although Harvey's team won the competition by scoring the most overall points, they didn't get the credit for forty years.


At the grand age of 98, he is all set to be the Grand Marshal of the Memorial Day Parade, which pays tribute to the armed forces and all those who laid their lives in the service to the Country. The parade will also feature the band of the U.S army called Pershing's Own. It will start from Seventh Street, go along Constitution Avenue, and end at Seventeenth Street.

The senior vice president of the American Veterans Center, Tim Holbert, expressed how proud they are to be back after the traumatic events of the Pandemic and its aftereffects. He said that the Country needed an event like this where everyone could come together and feel united, especially because many events aren't going to come back.