Lemuel Custis
*Lemuel Custis was born on this date in 1915. He was a Black U.S. Army Air Force officer, combat fighter pilot, Squadron Operations, and police officer.
Lemuel Curtis was born in Wethersfield, Connecticut, as the only child of Mary C. Goodwin Custis and Charles Custis. Lemuel Rodney Custis attended Hartford's public schools, graduating from its high school. 1938, Custis graduated from Howard University with a Bachelor of Science Degree. In 1939, he returned to Hartford, hoping to obtain employment with one of Hartford's insurance conglomerates. In 1940, Custis became Hartford, Connecticut's first Black police officer. Custis left the Hartford Police Department to enlist in the U.S. Army Air Corps.
On July 19, 1941, Custis was admitted into the U.S. Army Air Corps Tuskegee Aviation Cadet training program's inaugural class, which started with thirteen at Tuskegee Army Airfield, Class 42-C-SE. On March 6, 1942, Custis and three other cadets and one student officer graduated from the program as Tuskegee Airmen: Captain Benjamin O. Davis Jr., 2nd Lt. Charles DeBow Jr., 2nd Lt. Mac Ross, and 2nd Lt. George S. Roberts ("Spanky" Roberts). Class 42-C-SE created America's first African-American U.S. Army Air Corps pilots. Custis served with the 332nd Fighter Group as the 99th Fighter Squadron's Squadron Operations Officer.
He flew 92 missions in World War II's European/Mediterranean Theater, including North Africa, Sicily, and Italy. On January 27, 1944, Custis and his Squadron covered the beaches during the Allies' invasion of Anzio, Italy, to help liberate Rome, Italy, from the Axis; Custis shot down an enemy German Focke-Wulf 190 aircraft, earning Custis an official victory and the Distinguished Flying Cross. During the battle, Custis's squadron mates shot down five out of 15 German Focke-Wulf 190s without incurring any losses. The U.S. Army Air Force transferred Custis to Tuskegee, where he served as an advanced flight instructor. In 1946, Custis received an honorable discharge from active duty, retiring with the rank of Major.
1951 Custis enrolled at the University of Connecticut's School of Law. However, in 1952, he left to work with the State of Connecticut Tax Department. In 1982, he retired as the Tax Department's Chief Examiner after a 30-year career. In 1995, he served as a film consultant for HBO's The Tuskegee Airmen. Custis was a member of the board of directors of Windsor Locks, Connecticut, and the New England Air Museum. He was also an advisor to the Connecticut Aeronautical Historical Association. In 2001, Central Connecticut State University awarded Custis an Honorary Doctorate in Humanities.
Lemuel Custis died on February 24, 2005, at the Brookview Health Care Center in West Hartford, Connecticut. Custis was the last surviving member of the first Tuskegee Airmen aviation cadet class.
