Armour G. McDaniel; Among First Black Army Air Corps Pilots

Armour G. McDaniel, 73, one of the first black pilots in the Army Air Corps. McDaniel was among the early flight class graduates at Tuskegee, Ala., Army Air Field in 1943 after joining the Army Air Corps in 1942. He was stationed in Italy with the all-black 332nd Fighter Group, which provided air cover for ships entering the Naples harbor and escorted bombers into Germany. He was held prisoner of war for about 30 days when his plane was shot down in March, 1945. McDaniel commanded several units including air, sea and rescue operations in Alaska in the late 1950s until his retirement in 1964. He was a recipient of the Purple Heart and his achievements were recognized by the Smithsonian Institution. In Indianapolis on Sunday of undisclosed causes.