Detroit's Tuskegee Airmen National Historical Museum confirmed the passing of Lt. Col. Harry S. Stewart Jr., a World War II combat pilot and one of the last surviving members of the Tuskegee Airmen. Stewart, who was 100 years old, died peacefully in his Bloomfield Hills home on Sunday, FOX 2 Detroit reported.
Born on Independence Day in 1924, in Newport News, Virginia, Stewart enlisted in the Army Air Corps at 18, a young man eager to take to the skies, he later moved to New York City as reported by The Detroit News. During his service, he completed a notable 43 combat missions, later commemorated for shooting down three enemy aircraft in one day – a feat achieved by only four Tuskegee Airmen. Stewart also contributed to his squadron's victory in the Air Force's first Top Gun Aerial Combat competition in 1949.
After WWII, Stewart transitioned from the military to academia and into the corporate world. He pursued mechanical engineering at New York University, graduating in 1963. He eventually became Vice President at Detroit's ANR Pipeline Co., a detail shared by the Tuskegee Airman National Museum. Despite his qualifications as a pilot, he experienced the racial barriers of the era, facing rejections from commercial airlines due to his race.
Brian Smith, President and CEO of the Tuskegee Airmen National Historical Museum, extolled Stewart's lifelong service and character in announcements mourning his death. His legacy is enshrined in his military accomplishments and his co-authored memoir "Soaring to Glory: A Tuskegee Airman's Firsthand Account of World War II," published in 2019. According to The Detroit News, Stewart married Delphine Alice Friend Stewart, who unfortunately passed away before he did in 2015. Stewart is survived by his daughter, Lori Collette Stewart, and a collective of extended family and friends whose breadth and reach sprawled across the globe, the museum said.
No funeral arrangements have been made public at this time.
