By Jeff Mullin, Senior Writer

Prior to the signing of Executive Order 9981 by President Harry Truman in July of 1948, segregation was the order of the day in the United States military.

At Vance Air Force Base, then known as Enid Army Air Field, the segregated unit was the 76th Aviation Squadron. These were largely support units providing air base defense or dealing with supplies, ammunition or transportation.

The storied Tuskegee Airmen broke the color barrier for fighter pilots in the Army Air Corps during World War II, but the world’s first black fighter pilot first flew many years before.

Cpl. Eugene Jacques Bullard was rejected by the U.S. Army because of his race, but flew for the French Air Service as part of the famed Lafayette Escadrille during World War I. The unit mainly was com-prised of Ameri-can volunteers.

Bullard’s father had been a slave, while his mother was a member of the Creek tribe. He had two aerial victories before America even entered the war.

He called himself “The Black Swallow of Death.”

Gen. Daniel “Chappie” James Jr. was the Air Force’s first black four-star general, while Lt. Gen. Benjamin O. Davis Jr. was the first of the Tuskegee Airmen to reach the rank of general.

Vance’s history includes a number of prominent black airmen.

Frederick D. Gregory was assigned to Vance as an H-43 helicopter rescue pilot from Octo-ber 1965 to May 1966. He went on to log more than 6,976 hours in more than 50 types of aircraft, including 550 combat missions in Vietnam.

Gregory was selected as an astronaut in 1978 and, in 1985, became the first black space shuttle pilot when he flew aboard Challenger. Later he became the first black shuttle commander in 1989 during a mission aboard Discovery. He went on to serve as NASA deputy administrator and was acting administrator for a time.

Michael P. Anderson graduated from pilot training at Vance as a member of class 87-08. He went on to log more than 3,000 flying hours, largely in the KC-135. He was selected as an astronaut in 1994.

He went into space aboard the shuttle Endeavor in January 1998.

In early 2003, Anderson and six other astronauts flew aboard the shuttle Columbia. All were killed when the shuttle broke up during re-entry into the earth’s atmosphere over north Texas. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

Maj. Christina “Thumper” Hopper graduated from pilot training at Vance in 2000. She became the first black female to be selected for fighter training out of Vance.

She became the first black female F-16 pilot and earned the Air Medal for her actions during the first days of Operation Iraqi Freedom. She completed a mission of destroying a primary Iraqi Republican Guard supply line despite the fact her jet had been struck by lightning, disabling the aircraft’s threat warning system that would have alerted her if her F-16 was targeted by surface-to-air missiles.

Lloyd “Fig” Newton joined the Air Force in 1966 and completed pilot training at Williams AFB, Ariz., a year later.

He flew 269 combat missions during the Vietnam War, including 79 missions over North Vietnam.

In 1974 he became the first black pilot chosen to fly with the Air Force Thunderbirds.

Newton came to Vance in July 1988 as commander of 71st Air Base Group. In May 1989 he became commander of 71st Flying Training Wing. In those days the two posts were separate, not becoming one until Oct. 1991.

Newton, who retired as a general, served as a member of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission.

Vance’s most recent black wing commander was Brig. Gen. A.J. Stewart, who was at Vance from Aug. 2002 to Aug. 2003. Stewart was a command pilot with more than 3,000 hours in various aircraft, primarily the KC-135.

Stewart now is commander of Air Force Recruiting Service at Air Education and Training Command headquarters in San Antonio.

The Air Force’s first Hispanic ace was Capt. Manuel J. Fernandez Jr., who flew 124 combat missions in Korea from September 1952 to May 1953 with the 4th Fighter Interceptor Wing.

Linda Garcia Cubero was the first Hispanic woman to graduate from any of the nation’s service academies. She graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1980.

Oklahoma’s strong American Indian heritage is linked to that of the Air Force. Maj. Gen. Clarence L. Tinker, for whom Tinker Air Force Base is named, was one-eighth Osage. Tinker, who died on a flying mission after the battle of Midway in June 1942, was the first American Indian promoted to general in the Army.

Ben Nighthorse Campbell, who went on to serve as both a U.S. senator and representative, is a Cheyenne who served in the Air Force in Korea.

Asian-American Hazel Ying Lee was one of 38 Women Airforce Service pilots who died in the line of duty during World War II.

Hoang Nhu Tran, a one-time boat person refugee from Vietnam, was valedictorian of the Air Force Academy’s 1987 graduating class.