On November 30th the Honor Bell was tolled for US Army Air Corps 2nd Lt Franklin Macon, a Tuskegee Airman. This virtual tolling was the first of its kind, held at Fort Logan National Cemetery in Denver Colorado while Macon was being interred at the US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.
Macon grew up in Colorado Springs and trained at the airfield north of town that today operates as the USAF Academy’s training field. He enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1943, beginning his military flight training in 1944 as part of Tuskegee’s class 45A. He flew a number of aircraft including the bi-wing Stearman, the Piper Cub, and the PT-6 Texan. He believed in the Tuskegee motto:
Aim high | Believe in yourself | Use your brain | Never quit | Be ready to go | Expect to win
Macon had a long, successful career after his time with the Air Corps, returning to Colorado Springs, where he died at the age of 97.