Wilson V. Eagleson

Eagleson's grandfather, family patriarch Halson V. Eagleson Sr., was a highly successful eastside Bloomington barber, founder of an African American orphanage, and incidental civil rights activist in the late 19th century/early 20th century; All of Halson V. Eagleson Sr.'s five sons attended Indiana University at Bloomington, Indiana, including Preston, Indiana University's first African American intercollegiate athlete.

Eagleson moved to New York where he raised horses and golden retrievers on his family farm. He later relocated to Goldsboro, North Carolina where he worked at Belk's men's clothing department. Eagleson died on April 16, 2006, in Dudley, North Carolina, at the age of 86. He was interred at Markham Memorial Gardens in Durham, North Carolina.

In February 1972, Eagleson II retired from the military.

In the early 1950s, Eagleson saved the entire crew of a large U.S. Air Force cargo plane after anti-aircraft flak struck it, seriously wounding the pilots. After assuming the aircraft's controls, Eagleson safely navigated the aircraft to the Philippines. For his heroics he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Early 1950s, Eagleson II saved the crew of an U.S. Air Force cargo plane when anti-aircraft flak struck it, seriously wounding the pilots. Assuming the controls, Eagleson II safely flew the plane to the Philippines. The U.S. Air Force awarded Eagleson II the Distinguished Flying Cross for his heroics.

In late 1943, he was assigned to the 99th Fighter Squadron as a replacement pilot in North Africa's Casablanca. During the Battle of Anzio, Italy in January 1944, the U.S. Air Corps credited Eagleson II with two confirmed enemy German aerial kills and two probable aerial kills. He flew an astounding 350 missions. On August 15, 1944, during a bomber escort mission over Southern France, Eagleson II's aircraft was struck by anti-aircraft flak in northern Italy, causing it to lose coolant. Eagleson II parachuted from his severely damaged aircraft. He was rescued and driven back to Ramitelli Air Field by U.S. troops who saw Eagleson II parachute and land nearby.

On May 1, 1943, Eagleson II married Geraldine R. Thornton, a student at Tuskegee Institute. He named his P-40 Warhawk "Gerry" in honor of Geraldine. Eagleson II and Geraldine had four children: Wilson V. Eagleson III, Gerald B. Eagleson, Diedra A. Coney, and Helen F. Eagleson. They also had 15 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren, and 4 great-great-grandchildren. They later divorced.

On April 29, 1943, Eagleson II graduated as a member of the Single Engine Section Cadet Class SE-43-D, receiving his wings and commission as a 2nd Lieutenant. The U.S. Army Air Corps assigned Eagleson II to the 332nd Fighter Group's 99th Fighter Squadron. During his time at Tuskegee, Eagleson II developed a reputation for being a wild guy, performing various task to work off the numerous demerits he received for walking around with an untucked shirt.

On January 19, 1942, the football player-built Eagleson II enlisted in the U.S. Army as an infantry soldier. After two tours at Fort Walters, Texas as a trainee and a cadre, respectively, U.S. Army transferred Eagleson II to Fort Benning, Georgia for Officer Training School in 1942. During officer candidate school, Eagleson II's commander had a reputation for summoning officer candidates to his office, "washing them out" and reassigning them after a failed examination. One day, the commander called Eagleson II, informing Eagleson II of admittance to the Aviation Cadet program at Tuskegee Army Air Field in Tuskegee, Alabama.

After graduating from high school, Eagleson II attended West Virginia State College. In 1938, Eagleson II acquired his civilian pilot's license at West Virginia State College, the first of six historically black colleges and universities authorized by the Civil Aeronautics Authority to create an aviation program." After being denied entry into the U.S. Army Air Corps as a pilot, Eagleson II moved back to Bloomington where he attended Indiana University for a year.

In 1933, Wilson Vashon Eagleson Sr. was killed in a car accident in West Virginia, where he taught chemistry at West Virginia State College In 1934, Eagleson II moved from Bloomington to Durham, North Carolina to live with his grieving mother. Eagleson II attended high school in Henderson, North Carolina.

Wilson Vashon Swampy Eagleson II (February 1, 1920 – April 16, 2006), was a United States Army Air Force officer and combat fighter pilot with the 332nd Fighter Group's 99th Fighter Squadron, best known as the Tuskegee Airmen. One of 1,007 documented Tuskegee Airmen Pilots, Eagleson was credited with two confirmed enemy German aerial kills and two probable aerial kills.

Eagleson was born on February 1, 1920, in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was a scion of the prominent Eagleson family. His father, Wilson Vashon Eagleson Sr., in 1916, became one of the first African Americans in Indiana University's Reserve Officer Training Corps program. Eagleson Sr. also became one of the U.S. Army's first African American officers. Eagleson's mother, Frances Marshall Eagleson, was Indiana University at Bloomington, Indiana's first African American woman graduate.