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Jackson native ‘Montford Marine’ received Congressional Gold Medal 69 years later

By Ayesha K. Mustafaa

Staff Writer

One would be hard pressed to find an African American who had not heard of the historic Tuskegee Airmen, the black pilots who broke the color barrier during World War II, trained at Tuskegee, Ala., especially now that a 2011 movie was released in their honor.

Some may know about the Buffalo Soldiers who formed the 9th and 10th calvary and 24th and 25th infantry of the U.S. Army starting in 1866. Native Americans coined the phrase “Buffalo” soldier because of the texture of the men’s hair…. […]