Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today introduced a bill to name the VA Medical Center in Memphis for Lt. Col. Luke J. Weathers Jr., a heroic fighter pilot and member of the Tuskegee Airmen.
A 1939 graduate of Booker T. Washington High School in Memphis and of Xavier University in New Orleans, Colonel Weathers volunteered for training Black pilots in 1942, and began escorting bombers over Italy in 1944 in a P-51 fighter. He is credited with shooting down several German planes, including two Messerschmitt 109 fighters while escorting a damaged B-24 bomber. He received the Air Medal with seven clusters, the Distinguished Flying Cross and the American Theatre Victory Medal. He returned home to Memphis to a hero’s welcome and was the first Black man to receive the key to the city. Colonel Weathers, a member of the Air Force Reserves, joined the Federal Aviation Administration and served as an air traffic controller until his retirement in 1985.
In 2007, Colonel Weathers and the Tuskegee Airmen were honored with a Congressional Gold Medal. Colonel Weathers passed in 2011 at the age of 90 and was buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery outside Washington, D.C. Memphis International Airport dedicated a memorial plaque in his name in 2012.
Congressman Cohen made the following statement:
“Naming our VA Medical Center for Colonel Weathers will inspire all of Memphis and everyone who visits the facility with his remarkable heroism and dedication to his country. I attended his moving interment at Arlington and heard more inspiring stories of his bravery and strength of character. I cannot think of a better man to honor with this permanent tribute than Colonel Weathers, and I look forward to seeing the measure soon becoming law.”
The Tennessee state chapters of the American Legion, the Disabled American Veterans (DAV), and the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) have all endorsed this proposal.
Original source can be found here.
