2 Pilots discuss their childhoods and experiences in WWII -- challenges faced and exploits (1943-1945). Flight Officer Connie Nappier (left) and Lt. Col. Spann Watson, veterans of the legendary “Tuskegee Airmen” who broke the race barrier during World War II to become America’s first black aviators, shared their experiences of military service in Africa and Europe and segregation at home in a lecture presented on April 28 at the Student Center Theater. early 1,000 African-American airmen trained at the Tuskegee Army Air Field to serve in the U.S. Army Air Corps from 1941 to 1946. President Bush recognized the Tuskegee Airmen’s service to the nation with award of the Congressional Medal of Honor to members of the group in March 2007.