March 25, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 51 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Page H2785]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1930
                        HONORING ROBERT McDANIEL

  (Mr. VEASEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. VEASEY. Mr. Speaker, last week the city of Fort Worth said good-
bye to its last surviving member of the World War II Tuskegee Airmen, 
Robert T. McDaniel.
  Born in Fort Worth, Mr. McDaniel was a proud graduate of Fort Worth 
ISD, where he excelled as a student. In 1940, he finished as class 
president and valedictorian at the venerable I.M. Terrell High School.
  At a time when the military was still segregated and Black men were 
not welcomed in the service, Mr. McDaniel became a member of the first 
class of African American bombardiers in the U.S. Army Air Corps. He 
was part of a group of skilled Black airmen who flew combat aircraft in 
World War II.
  After serving his country, Mr. McDaniel returned to Fort Worth to 
teach at I.M. Terrell and later became a principal and a counselor. In 
this role, he worked to inspire a generation of leaders in Fort Worth's 
Black community that is countless.
  As many of his friends will tell you, Mr. McDaniel never boasted 
about his military service, and only a few people knew about his 
service to the Nation as a Tuskegee Airman.
  I know that we are going to miss Mr. McDaniel.
  I also wanted to touch on the fact that I will never forget when his 
wife, Hester, died. They were married for 55 years, and they were an 
institution in the Black community in Fort Worth. Everybody knew them. 
They were just a lovely couple. He was so sad when she passed away. 
They were always at each other's side.
  While we will miss Mr. McDaniel, we know that he is happy to be 
reunited with his wife, Hester McDaniel.
  My deepest condolences go out to his family and his friends as we 
reflect on the trails that he blazed and his deep commitment to our 
country.

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