Charles B. Hall

Supreme Allied Commander and General Dwight Eisenhower, visiting troops in North Africa with senior officers including General Jimmy Doolittle and General Carl Spaatz, visited the 99th Fighter Squadron's base to personally congratulate Hall after his victory. Major General John K. Cannon, Commanding General, Twelfth Air Force, also personally congratulated Hall.

Hall died on November 22, 1971 in Oklahoma City at the age of 51. Hall was interred at Spencer, Oklahoma's Hillcrest Memorial Gardens in the Garden of Devotion section, Lot 160, Section B, Grave #3. The local paper made little mention of Hall's history in World War II.

In 1949, Hall worked at Tinker Air Force Base until 1967 before landing a role at the Federal Aviation Administration in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He later became a well-known insurance agent in Oklahoma City.

After leaving the military, Hall moved to Chicago where he worked as an insurance agent. In 1948, Hall moved to Oklahoma where he briefly worked at a drug store and managed a restaurant. Like many African American World War II veteran pilots, Hall could not find substantive jobs with the commercial airlines or commercial transport company based on his race.

On January 27 and 28, 1944 in Anzio, Italy, large formations of German FW 190s raided Anzio. The 99th Squadron downed eleven enemy German aircraft. Now a captain, Hall downed two German FW 190s, raising his aerial victories to three. Hall earned the Distinguished Flying Cross for his valiant achievements.

Later in 1944, Hall arrived back in the United States, traveling extensively on an official tour to boost the sale of war bonds. Hall later returned to Tuskegee as a flight instructor. In 1946, Hall left the U.S. Army Air Corps with the rank of Major.

On his eighth mission in the European Theater/Mediterranean Theater on July 2, 1943, Hall and his squadron escorted B-25 medium bombers on a raid on Castelvetrano Airfield in southwestern Sicily, Italy. Flying in a P-40, Hall shot down a German Focke-Wulf Fw 190 Würger. Hall became first African American combat fighter pilot to shoot down an enemy aircraft. After Hall's victory, the 99th Fighter Squadron, in lieu of Champagne, awarded "Buster" Hall the last chilled bottle of Coca-Cola on base at that time. Hall's victory was the 99th Fighter Squadron's sole aerial victory in 1943.

Hall became the first African American fighter pilot to earn the Distinguished Flying Cross. He became an immediate star of the African American press. On July 10, 1943, Pittsburgh Courier war correspondent Edgar T. Rouzeau ran a lead that celebrated Hall’s July 2, 1943 aerial victory. The Courier‘s piece with a massive headline, “99th PILOT DOWNS NAZI PLANE”, featured editorial cartoonist Sam Milai's compelling cartoon depiction of Hall in his flight gear. Other African American publications including the Baltimore-based Afro-American, the Chicago Defender, the New York Amsterdam News, the Atlanta Daily World ran similar leads highlighting Hall's exploits.

On December 14, 1942, Hall married stenographer Maxine Jessie Parish Hall in Vigo County, Indiana. There is no documented information on Hall's marriage and probable divorce to Maxine. Hall also married an Emma Jeanne Hall Ackiss. There is no documented information on Hall's marriage and probable divorce to Emma. Hall had a daughter, Peggy Ann Hall-Lofties, born August 9, 1956 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma with ex-fiancé Ida Mae Mucker (February 2, 1929- April 24, 1987). The couple's marriage plans were discussed but never took place.

In 1941, Hall enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps as an aviation cadet, serial number 0790457, at Lawrence, Indiana's Fort Benjamin Harrison. In 1942 he was assigned to Tuskegee, Alabama to attend Advanced Flight Cadet Training at the Tuskegee Army Airfield. On July 3, 1942, Hall graduated from the program's fourth Cadet Class Single Engine Section SE-42-F, earning his wings and a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant. He was then assigned to the 332nd Fighter Group's 99th Fighter Squadron. Hall was briefly assigned to the 324th Fighter Group.

Hall was a 1938 graduate of Brazil High School, where he excelled in academics, football and track and field. Hall attended Eastern Illinois University, majoring in Pre-Medicine. While at Eastern Illinois, Hall participated in sports and worked a job as a waiter.

Hall later married Lola Delois Miles Hall (February 18, 1933 - August 7, 1997), an Oklahoma City, Oklahoma native. Hall and Lola were married until Hall's death. The Halls had one biological child together, Kelli Ann-Hall Jones, born December 1961. and Charles also had one stepdaughter by his wife Lola, Sherri Lynn Hall-Harris from his wife's previous relationship.

Hall was one of only nine 332nd Fighter Group pilots with at least three confirmed kills during World War II.

Charles Blakesly "Buster" Hall (August 25, 1920 – November 22, 1971) was an American combat fighter pilot and U.S. Army Air Force/U.S. Air Force officer with the 332nd Fighter Group's 99th Fighter Squadron, best known as the Tuskegee Airmen or "Red Tails".

Hall was born on August 25, 1920 at his parents' home on 742 N. Columbia Street in rural Brazil, Indiana, Clay County. He was the son of Mississippi native Franklin Hall, a kiln-burner, and Mississippi native Anna Blakesly Hall.