WASHINGTON — One day after he was honored by President Trump at the State of the Union, Cleveland native Charles McGee was saluted by NASA.
As part of its celebration of Black History Month, NASA honored the retired Air Force Brigader General at a ceremony in the James Webb Auditorium at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
Charles McGee was born in Cleveland (where his father was serving as a Methodist minister) in 1919, and later went on to serve in World War II as one of the famed "Tuskegee Airmen." They were the first African-American pilots in the history of the U.S. Air Force, and McGee himself flew more than 130 combat missions fighting the Nazis in Europe. After the armed forces were officially integrated, McGee later served in the Korean and Vietnam Wars, and retired with the rank of Colonel.
McGee turned 100 years old this past Dec. 7, and 13 days later President Donald Trump signed a bill that gave the accomplished pilot an honorary promotion to Brigadier General. On Tuesday, just before the State of the Union Address, Trump welcomed McGee to the Oval Office and officially pinned the stars on his shoulders.
During the speech, McGee's great-grandson Iain Lanphier (who wants to join the new U.S. Space Force one day) received a special mention before the president recognized McGee himself. Unlike most other moments during the remarks, the entire room (Republicans and Democrats) gave McGee a loud standing ovation.
McGee was joined at Wednesday's ceremony by NASA astronaut Alvin Drew, also a retired Air Force colonel, who logged more than 612 hours in space on space shuttle Endeavour on the STS-118 mission in 2007 and space shuttle Discovery on STS-133 in 2011. The two will share their experiences on what it means to be a trailblazer and to inspire others to follow their dreams.
You can watch the NASA festivities in the player below: