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{{Short description|American Tuskegee Airman fighter pilot (1920–2008)}}
{{refimprove|date=April 2008}}
{{Infobox Military Person
{{Infobox military person
|name=Charles W. Dryden
|name=Charles W. Dryden
|image=US Navy 060504-N-1561L-002 Ships Serviceman Vincent Ibiam, left, poses for a photo opportunity with visiting Tuskegee Airman retired Lt. Col. Charles Dryden, Sr., during Recognition Day Fleet Week USA events aboard USS San Anto.jpg
|image=
|caption=Charles Dryden (seated) aboard USS ''San Antonio'' <br>(May 2006)
|caption=
|birth_date= {{Birth date|1920|9|16}}
|born= September 16, 1920
|died= June 24, 2008<ref>[http://www.macon.com/149/story/387826.html Tues, Jun., 24, 2008 "Famed Tuskegee Airman dies in Atlanta" By Gene Rector- Macon Newspapers]</ref>
|death_date= {{death date and age|2008|6|24|1920|9|16}}<ref name="Rector_20080624">{{cite news |url=http://www.macon.com/149/story/387826.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130814070648/http://www.macon.com/149/story/387826.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2013-08-14 |date=2008-06-24 |title=Famed Tuskegee Airman dies in Atlanta |first=Gene |last=Rector |publisher=Macon Newspapers |accessdate=2008-06-26}}</ref>
| spouse= Marymal Morgan Dryden
|placeofbirth= New York, New York
| children= Charles a.k.a. Thumper Dryden, Keith Dryden, Eric Dryden, George Bingham, Kenneth Bingham, Tony Bingham, Cornelia-Rose White
|placeofdeath= Atlanta, GA
| birth_place= [[New York City]], [[New York (state)|New York]]
|nickname= "A-TRAIN"
| death_place= [[Atlanta, Georgia]]
|allegiance=[[United States]]
| placeofburial= [[Arlington National Cemetery]]
|branch=[[United States Army Air Forces]]<br />[[United States Air Force]]
| placeofburial_label= Place of burial
|serviceyears=
| nickname= "A-TRAIN"
|rank=Lieutenant Colonel
| allegiance=[[United States|United States of America]]
|unit=
| branch=[[United States Army Air Forces]]<br/>[[United States Air Force]]
|commands=
| serviceyears=
|battles=[[World War II]]
| rank=[[Lieutenant colonel (United States)|Lieutenant Colonel]]
|awards= Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame inductee
| unit=
|relations=
| battles=[[World War II]]
|laterwork=
| awards= [[Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame]] inductee
| laterwork=
}}
}}


'''Charles Walter Dryden''' (September 16, 1920 – June 24, 2008) was a [[U.S. Army Air Force]] officer and one of the original combat fighter pilot with the [[332nd Fighter Group]]'s [[99th Fighter Squadron]],a component of the [[Tuskegee Airmen]].<ref name="togetherweserved">{{Cite web|title=U.S.A.F. Veteran Online Memorial {{!}} TWS Roll of Honor|url=https://airforce.togetherweserved.com/usaf/servlet/tws.webapp.WebApp?cmd=ShadowBoxProfile&type=Person&ID=172037|access-date=2021-07-17|website=airforce.togetherweserved.com}}</ref> Among the [[United States]]' first eight African American combat fighter pilots, Dryden is notable as a member of the Tuskegee Advance Flying School (TAFS)'s Class Number SE-42-C, the program's 2nd-ever aviation cadet program.<ref name="togetherweserved"/><ref name=CAF2>{{cite web|title=Tuskegee Airmen Pilot Roster|url=https://cafriseabove.org/the-tuskegee-airmen/tuskegee-airmen-pilot-roster/|access-date=2020-08-11|website=CAF Rise Above}}</ref>
Ret. Lt. Col. '''Charles W. Dryden''' (US Air Force, Retired) was one of the [[Tuskegee Airmen]]. Dryden earned his wings in 1942, and served in the [[U.S. Army Air Corps]] in [[World War II]]. He is the author of his biography, A-Train: Memoirs of a Tuskegee Airman. <ref>[http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?r=1&ISBN=9780817312664&ourl=A%2DTrain%2FCharles%2DW%2DDryden Weds, Jun. 23, 2008 "A-Train: Memoirs of a Tuskegee Airman" By Charles W. Dryden]</ref>.


Dryden was one of the first African American U.S. military pilots to engage in aerial combat against an enemy combatant, sharing this honor with [[99th Fighter Squadron]] pilots Sidney P. Brooks, [[Willie Ashley]], Lee Rayford, Leon C. Roberts and [[Spann Watson]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tuskegee Airmen Soared to New Heights |url=https://www.army.mil/article/3028/tuskegee_airmen_soared_to_new_heights |access-date=2023-11-14 |website=www.army.mil |date=8 May 2007 |language=en}}</ref>
Dryden was born in [[New York City]] in 1920 and graduated from its [[Stuyvesant High School]]. He earned degrees in [[political science]] from [[Hofstra University]] on [[Long Island]] and [[public law]] from [[Columbia University]] in New York City. He was also awarded an honorary doctorate by Hoftstra in 1996. In between, he taught air science at [[Howard University]] in [[Washington, D.C.]]. <ref>[http://www.redtail.org/airmen/tusk_stories.html#dryden The Red Tail Project]</ref>

{{clr}}
He is the author of the autobiography, ''A-Train: Memoirs of a Tuskegee Airman''.<ref>{{cite book |date=August 2002 |title=A-Train: Memoirs of a Tuskegee Airman |first=Charles W. |last=Dryden |isbn=978-0-8173-1266-4 |page=420 |publisher=University of Alabama Press}}</ref>

==Early life and family==
Dryden was born on September 16, 1920, in [[New York City]].<ref name=HM>{{cite web|url=https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/lt-col-charles-dryden|title=Lt. Col. Charles Dryden|publisher=The History Makers|date=20 September 2004|accessdate=21 September 2021}}</ref> He was the son of Violet Adina Buckley Dryden and Charles Levy Tucker Dryden, both educators and immigrants from [[Jamaica]] who taught college on the island.<ref name=BlackPast>{{cite web|url=https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/dryden-charles-walter-1920-2008/|title=Charles Walter Dryden (1920-2008)|publisher=Black Past|author=Robert Fikes|date=25 December 2018|accessdate=21 September 2021}}</ref><ref name=HM/><ref name=NGE>{{cite web|url=https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/government-politics/charles-dryden-1920-2008|title=Charles Dryden (1920-2008)|publisher=The New Georgia Encyclopedia|date=12 October 2007|accessdate=21 September 2021}}</ref> His father served as a [[sergeant]] in the Jamaican military during [[World War I]].<ref name=NGE/>

Dryden attended the predominantly white Stitt Junior High School where he served as Class President.<ref name=BlackPast/> He also attended [[Peter Stuyvesant High School]], graduating in 1938.<ref name=HM/><ref name=BlackPast/>

Dryden was married twice,with three sons from his first marriage and was survived by his wife of over 30 years, Marymal Morgan Dryden, married by Dr.Benjamin E.Mays of Atlanta,ga. They shared three stepsons and a stepdaughter with 2nd wife Marymal Morgan Dryden.<ref name=HM/>

==Military service, Tuskegee Airmen==
In August 1941, the [[U.S. Army Air Corps]] (USAAC) admitted Dryden to its aviation cadet training at the Tuskegee Army Flying School in [[Tuskegee, Alabama]].<ref name=HM/> On April 29, 1942, graduated from the Tuskegee Advance Flying School (TAFS)'s Class Number SE-42-C - Single Engine Section, earning his silver wings and commission as a [[2nd Lieutenant]].<ref name=HM/> He and fellow graduates, 2nd Lt Sidney P. Brooks and 2nd Lt [[Clarence C. Jamison]], became the first eight African American combat fighter pilots in history.<ref name=CAF2/> He was then assigned to the [[99th Fighter Squadron]], later attached to the [[332nd Fighter Group]]. He earned his nickname "A-Train" from band leader [[Duke Ellington]] famous tune and Dryden's roots in New York City.<ref name=NGE/> He named his [[P-40 Tomahawk]] aircraft, "A-Train.<ref name=Arlington>{{cite web|url=http://arlingtoncemetery.net/cwdryden.htm|title=Charles W. Dryden Lieutenant Colonel, United States Air Force|publisher=Arlington National Cemetery Site by Michael Robert Patterson|accessdate=21 September 2021}}</ref>

During [[World War II]], Dryden and his squadron flew numerous combat patrol and bomber escort missions in [[North Africa]] and the [[Mediterranean Theater of Operations|Mediterranean Theater]] including Italy and Sicily.<ref name=HM/> On June 9, 1943, he led a flight of six pilots engaging enemy fighter aircraft in aerial combat over Pantelleria, Sicily. It was the first time in aviation history that black American pilots of the U.S. Army Air Corps engaged aircraft in combat.<ref name=HM/>

After he was transferred him back to the United States in [[Walterboro, South Carolina]], Dryden and numerous other African American officers were angered when they saw German prisoners-of-war with greater freedom and access on the racially-segregated base than African-American military members. After performing a low-level flight maneuver over the base in protest, the USAAC court-martialed him.<ref name=BlackPast/><ref>{{Cite web |title=Profiling Heroes: More Tuskegee Airmen Fighter Pilots |url=https://www.lucasfilm.com/news/profiling-heroes-more-tuskegee-airmen-fighter-pilots/ |access-date=2023-11-14 |website=Lucasfilm |date=27 November 2020 |language=en-US}}</ref>

After World War II, he became a professor of Air Science at [[Howard University]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.redtail.org/airmen/tusk_stories.html#dryden
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071208074537/http://www.redtail.org/airmen/tusk_stories.html#dryden |archivedate=2007-12-08 |title=Red Tail Project - America's Flying Tribute to the Tuskegee Airmen |publisher=Commemorative Air Force|accessdate=2008-06-26}}</ref><ref name=HM/> During his 21 years in the U.S. military, he served in Korea as a reconnaissance pilot, Japan, Germany and several bases in the [[United States]].<ref name=Arlington/><ref name=BlackPast/>

In 1962, he retired from the [[U.S. Air Force]] with the rank of [[Lieutenant Colonel (United States)|lieutenant colonel]].<ref name=NGE/> He logged over 4000 military flight hours during his [[U.S. Air Force]] career.<ref name=HM/><ref name=NGE/>

==Post-military==
In 1955, he earned his Bachelors of Arts degree in political science from [[Hofstra University]]. He also earned a master's of arts degree in public law and government from [[Columbia University]].<ref name=HM/>

He served as a director of the Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame which inducted him in 1998.<ref name=HM/>

In 1997, he authored his autobiographical book, "A-Train: Memoirs of a Tuskegee Airman."

==Honors==
* In 1996, [[Hofstra University]] awarded Dryden an honorary doctorate.<ref name=HM/>
* In 1997, the then-Georgia Secretary of State [[Max Cleland]] designated Dryden the "Outstanding Georgia Citizen."<ref name=HM/>
* In 2007, then-US President [[George W. Bush]] and the [[US Congress]] awarded Dryden and other surviving airmen the Congressional Gold Medal.<ref>{{cite web|title=Congress, Bush Honor Tuskegee Airmen|date=30 March 2007|website=NPR|url=https://www.npr.org/2007/03/30/9237362/congress-bush-honor-tuskegee-airmen|access-date=19 January 2024}}</ref>

<gallery>
Image:20-02-475-dryden.jpg|Plaque of Dryden at the [[Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame]]
Image:21-11-012-dryden.jpg|Painting at the [[Museum of Aviation (Warner Robins)|Museum of Aviation]]
</gallery>

==Death==
Dryden died of natural causes on June 24, 2008, in [[Atlanta, Georgia]], at the age of 87.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-09-15 |title=Charles W. Dryden |url=https://cafriseabove.org/charles-w-dryden/ |access-date=2023-11-14 |website=CAF RISE ABOVE |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=Arlington/> Former Atlanta mayor and U.S. ambassador [[Andrew Young]] delivered Dryden's eulogy. Dryden was interred at [[Arlington National Cemetery]], Section 59, Site 3370, in [[Arlington, Virginia]], [[Arlington County, Virginia]].


==See also==
==See also==
{{Tuskegee Airmen articles}}
*[[List of Tuskegee Airmen Cadet Pilot Graduation Classes]]
*[[List of Tuskegee Airmen]]
{{portal|United States Army|United States Department of the Army Seal.svg}}
*[[Military history of African Americans]]
* ''[[Dogfights (TV series)]]''
* [[Executive Order 9981]]
* [[The Tuskegee Airmen|''The Tuskegee Airmen'' (movie)]]

{{Portal|Biography}}


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Reflist}}

==External links==

{{Commons category-inline|Charles W. Dryden}}

{{Tuskegee Airmen}}
{{Authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Dryden, Charles}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dryden, Charles}}
[[Category:African Americans in the United States military]]
[[Category:1920 births]]
[[Category:American military personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:2008 deaths]]
[[Category:Congressional Gold Medal recipients]]
[[Category:People from Atlanta]]
[[Category:History of Alabama]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Tuskegee, Alabama]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Atlanta, Georgia]]
[[Category:People from Tuskegee, Alabama]]
[[Category:Stuyvesant High School alumni]]
[[Category:Stuyvesant High School alumni]]
[[Category:Tuskegee Airmen]]
[[Category:Tuskegee Airmen]]
[[Category:Tuskegee University]]
[[Category:Tuskegee University people]]
[[Category:United States Air Force officers]]
[[Category:United States Army Air Forces officers]]
[[Category:United States Army officers]]
[[Category:Burials at Arlington National Cemetery]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]
[[Category:African-American aviators]]
[[Category:21st-century African-American people]]

Latest revision as of 20:05, 21 May 2024

Charles W. Dryden
Charles Dryden (seated) aboard USS San Antonio
(May 2006)
Nickname(s)"A-TRAIN"
Born(1920-09-16)September 16, 1920
New York City, New York
DiedJune 24, 2008(2008-06-24) (aged 87)[1]
Atlanta, Georgia
Place of burial
Arlington National Cemetery
AllegianceUnited States of America
Service/branchUnited States Army Air Forces
United States Air Force
RankLieutenant Colonel
Battles/warsWorld War II
AwardsGeorgia Aviation Hall of Fame inductee
Spouse(s)Marymal Morgan Dryden
ChildrenCharles a.k.a. Thumper Dryden, Keith Dryden, Eric Dryden, George Bingham, Kenneth Bingham, Tony Bingham, Cornelia-Rose White

Charles Walter Dryden (September 16, 1920 – June 24, 2008) was a U.S. Army Air Force officer and one of the original combat fighter pilot with the 332nd Fighter Group's 99th Fighter Squadron,a component of the Tuskegee Airmen.[2] Among the United States' first eight African American combat fighter pilots, Dryden is notable as a member of the Tuskegee Advance Flying School (TAFS)'s Class Number SE-42-C, the program's 2nd-ever aviation cadet program.[2][3]

Dryden was one of the first African American U.S. military pilots to engage in aerial combat against an enemy combatant, sharing this honor with 99th Fighter Squadron pilots Sidney P. Brooks, Willie Ashley, Lee Rayford, Leon C. Roberts and Spann Watson.[4]

He is the author of the autobiography, A-Train: Memoirs of a Tuskegee Airman.[5]

Early life and family[edit]

Dryden was born on September 16, 1920, in New York City.[6] He was the son of Violet Adina Buckley Dryden and Charles Levy Tucker Dryden, both educators and immigrants from Jamaica who taught college on the island.[7][6][8] His father served as a sergeant in the Jamaican military during World War I.[8]

Dryden attended the predominantly white Stitt Junior High School where he served as Class President.[7] He also attended Peter Stuyvesant High School, graduating in 1938.[6][7]

Dryden was married twice,with three sons from his first marriage and was survived by his wife of over 30 years, Marymal Morgan Dryden, married by Dr.Benjamin E.Mays of Atlanta,ga. They shared three stepsons and a stepdaughter with 2nd wife Marymal Morgan Dryden.[6]

Military service, Tuskegee Airmen[edit]

In August 1941, the U.S. Army Air Corps (USAAC) admitted Dryden to its aviation cadet training at the Tuskegee Army Flying School in Tuskegee, Alabama.[6] On April 29, 1942, graduated from the Tuskegee Advance Flying School (TAFS)'s Class Number SE-42-C - Single Engine Section, earning his silver wings and commission as a 2nd Lieutenant.[6] He and fellow graduates, 2nd Lt Sidney P. Brooks and 2nd Lt Clarence C. Jamison, became the first eight African American combat fighter pilots in history.[3] He was then assigned to the 99th Fighter Squadron, later attached to the 332nd Fighter Group. He earned his nickname "A-Train" from band leader Duke Ellington famous tune and Dryden's roots in New York City.[8] He named his P-40 Tomahawk aircraft, "A-Train.[9]

During World War II, Dryden and his squadron flew numerous combat patrol and bomber escort missions in North Africa and the Mediterranean Theater including Italy and Sicily.[6] On June 9, 1943, he led a flight of six pilots engaging enemy fighter aircraft in aerial combat over Pantelleria, Sicily. It was the first time in aviation history that black American pilots of the U.S. Army Air Corps engaged aircraft in combat.[6]

After he was transferred him back to the United States in Walterboro, South Carolina, Dryden and numerous other African American officers were angered when they saw German prisoners-of-war with greater freedom and access on the racially-segregated base than African-American military members. After performing a low-level flight maneuver over the base in protest, the USAAC court-martialed him.[7][10]

After World War II, he became a professor of Air Science at Howard University.[11][6] During his 21 years in the U.S. military, he served in Korea as a reconnaissance pilot, Japan, Germany and several bases in the United States.[9][7]

In 1962, he retired from the U.S. Air Force with the rank of lieutenant colonel.[8] He logged over 4000 military flight hours during his U.S. Air Force career.[6][8]

Post-military[edit]

In 1955, he earned his Bachelors of Arts degree in political science from Hofstra University. He also earned a master's of arts degree in public law and government from Columbia University.[6]

He served as a director of the Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame which inducted him in 1998.[6]

In 1997, he authored his autobiographical book, "A-Train: Memoirs of a Tuskegee Airman."

Honors[edit]

Death[edit]

Dryden died of natural causes on June 24, 2008, in Atlanta, Georgia, at the age of 87.[13][9] Former Atlanta mayor and U.S. ambassador Andrew Young delivered Dryden's eulogy. Dryden was interred at Arlington National Cemetery, Section 59, Site 3370, in Arlington, Virginia, Arlington County, Virginia.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Rector, Gene (2008-06-24). "Famed Tuskegee Airman dies in Atlanta". Macon Newspapers. Archived from the original on 2013-08-14. Retrieved 2008-06-26.
  2. ^ a b "U.S.A.F. Veteran Online Memorial | TWS Roll of Honor". airforce.togetherweserved.com. Retrieved 2021-07-17.
  3. ^ a b "Tuskegee Airmen Pilot Roster". CAF Rise Above. Retrieved 2020-08-11.
  4. ^ "Tuskegee Airmen Soared to New Heights". www.army.mil. 8 May 2007. Retrieved 2023-11-14.
  5. ^ Dryden, Charles W. (August 2002). A-Train: Memoirs of a Tuskegee Airman. University of Alabama Press. p. 420. ISBN 978-0-8173-1266-4.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Lt. Col. Charles Dryden". The History Makers. 20 September 2004. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  7. ^ a b c d e Robert Fikes (25 December 2018). "Charles Walter Dryden (1920-2008)". Black Past. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  8. ^ a b c d e "Charles Dryden (1920-2008)". The New Georgia Encyclopedia. 12 October 2007. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  9. ^ a b c "Charles W. Dryden Lieutenant Colonel, United States Air Force". Arlington National Cemetery Site by Michael Robert Patterson. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  10. ^ "Profiling Heroes: More Tuskegee Airmen Fighter Pilots". Lucasfilm. 27 November 2020. Retrieved 2023-11-14.
  11. ^ "Red Tail Project - America's Flying Tribute to the Tuskegee Airmen". Commemorative Air Force. Archived from the original on 2007-12-08. Retrieved 2008-06-26.
  12. ^ "Congress, Bush Honor Tuskegee Airmen". NPR. 30 March 2007. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  13. ^ "Charles W. Dryden". CAF RISE ABOVE. 2015-09-15. Retrieved 2023-11-14.

External links[edit]

Media related to Charles W. Dryden at Wikimedia Commons

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