Tuskegee Airmen instructor Sherman Rose dies
DOTHAN — Sherman Rose, who served as flight instructor for the Tuskegee Airmen, has died in Dothan. He was 88.
Rose was among the first African-Americans to receive pilot training as part of the U.S. government's Civilian Pilot Training Program, which led directly to the formation of the Tuskegee Airmen.
He later worked as a flight instructor at Fort Rucker for 20 years, continuing to break down racial barriers.
Alabama NAACP President Ed Vaughn attended church with Rose and called the loss of his friend "tragic."
"He was a class act and always a gentleman," Vaughn told the Dothan Eagle in a Thursday story. "I just loved the man. Mr. Rose certainly has lived an exemplary life. He was a patriot. He made history."
Rose died Wednesday at Southeast Alabama Medical Center.
The Tuskegee Airmen were an all-black unit trained at Moton Field and helped break racial barriers while gaining fame escorting bombers in World War II.
Former Dothan mayor James Grant said Rose contributed much to Dothan and the nation as a whole.
