Growing up on the campus of Hampton Institute, Richard Bolling assumed that his life and work would be similar to the blacks he grew up around. He figured that he’d become either a teacher or a civil servant.
But his destiny was in the clouds.
His life experiences have been documented in movies, written about in books and even exhibited at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
So on Sunday, Bolling – who lives in San Jose, Calif. – greeted friends and family who came to the Officers’ Club at Fort Monroe to help him celebrate his birthday. And he took some time to reflect on the 80 years that he’s walked this Earth – and flown above it.
He had been among the Tuskegee Airmen, a group of black men in the U.S. Army Air Force who trained in Tuskegee, Ala., during World War II. They made up the first black fighter squadron in the U.S. military.
The time that he served in the group had been an “honor,” he said – one that had been “thrust upon me.”
“Being born here, with Langley being so close, I’d seen the airplanes all my life,” he said, “but I never figured I’d become part of that. It just didn’t feel like it was possible.”
That was the time of segregation and the Jim Crow South. Bolling went to all-black Phenix High School and then attended Hampton Institute, now Hampton University.
With a segregated U.S. military, blacks had little opportunity to participate in activities such as aviation. But when the opportunity came Bolling’s way, he said, he made sure that he took advantage of it.
Bolling flew 70 combat missions, some routine, some very dangerous. He was awarded an Air Medal for his service.
His only regret is that he didn’t keep good records of all the people he met and things that he saw during his tour with the Tuskegee Airmen. But Bolling said he really didn’t realize that he and his fellow fliers were making history.
The 50 or so family members and friends from Hampton that helped him celebrate understood, however. Two doll-sized action figures of Tuskegee Airmen sat in display boxes on a table, with pictures of Bolling as a baby, a youth and a young aviator.
His nephew by marriage, Lamonte Newsome, gave four definitions of a “hero,” including “a person of divine ancestry” and “a person noted for courageous acts.” Bolling, he said, fit all those definitions.
Bolling was modest about his historical significance, though. As for the honor “thrust upon him,” he said, he’s still surprised that he was able to fly and go to war. He’s also glad that he lived through it.
He said, he’s fortunate to be a part of it all. And he’s fortunate to be back home to celebrate it in Hampton. “I’m thankful to have lived this long,” he said. “I’m really flattered that people appreciate what I’ve done.”
Judith Malveaux can be reached at 247-4793 or by e-mail at jmalveaux@dailypress.com
