Annette John-Hall: Pilots know patriotism's cost

The presidential race has ignited plenty of debate about just what it means to be a patriot.

In the last year, we've discovered that patriotism has had more definitions than Webster.

Is it symbolism? Knee-jerk flag-waving and flag-pin accessorizing? Is it snapping to hand-over-heart attention whenever "The Star-Spangled Banner," "America (My Country, 'Tis of Thee)", or "America the Beautiful" is played? (I learned in elementary school that the hand was placed over the heart only for the Pledge of Allegiance. You mean all these years I've been unpatriotic, too?)

It should be as simple as love for country and caring enough about it to sacrifice - not that most Americans would take it that far or give it much thought in their own lives.

But according to the latest polls, voters have disparate views of who they think is patriotic: 62 percent of black voters believe Barack Obama is very patriotic, compared with 32 percent of white voters.

When it comes to John McCain, well, no contest. A whopping 73 percent of all voters believe he's a patriot.

Miltary service automatically gets you a patriot card, most voters say. Love of country is hardly ever questioned if you served it like McCain, a former combat pilot, did.

Well, not exactly.

The hundreds of Tuskegee Airmen gathered here through Sunday for their annual national convention have a different story to tell.

I'm guessing most of the America right-or-wrong, flag-pin-wearing patriots could not recite their history.

The Tuskegee Airmen overcame the barriers of racism to become the country's first black military pilots, ground crew and mechanics from 1941 to 1945, when America thought African Americans lacked the intelligence, skill, courage and, yes, patriotism to serve.

Like McCain, most were fighter pilots. Command pilots, in fact - officers given the military's highest rating. They were warriors who flew missions abroad, serving their country with distinction.

Yet because they were black in a time of Jim Crow segregation, they couldn't get served a cup of coffee here at home.

Makes you wonder, even as Obama attempts to become the first African American president, if his skin color shades him with the residue of "otherness" that the Tuskegee Airmen had to endure.

Here's the thing about flag-waving patriotism: Symbolism is no substitute for patriotism when you're denying constitutional rights to a group of citizens - especially those defending your rights - which was how our nation operated not too long ago.

"They talk about blacks being unpatriotic, which is the biggest crock," says Eugene Richardson, 82, an Airman from Mount Airy who taught middle school math and science before retiring in 1991.

You want to talk to true patriots? Talk to Richardson, retired Maj. John L. Harrison, 87, and retired Maj. Bertram Levy, 85, Tuskegee Airmen from Philadelphia.

Their loyalty and steadfastness to their country - despite their country's disdain and outright racism toward them - did not weaken their patriotism. It strengthened it.

"There we were, having to fight our government for a chance to fight for our government," Richardson says.

They share the life experiences that dinged away at their dignity: Of proudly wearing their Air Corps uniforms, adorned with officer's bars and pilot's wings representative of their hard-earned accomplishments. Yet white enlisted men would refuse to salute them.

Of how German prisoners of war on work detail could get service at restaurants in the South but not the ones who helped capture them - the Tuskegee Airmen.

Of how, after fighting for their country abroad, they were ordered to the back of the bus at home - or to the front train, where the engine and all the exhaust was.

"I'm in my uniform, my bars and my wings, and the conductor says, 'That uniform don't mean a damn thing to me,' " Richardson recalls. "So who was unpatriotic?"

Despite all the abuse, they were determined to serve their country. Last year, President Bush awarded all Tuskegee Airmen the Congressional Gold Medal and apologized for the country's mistreatment of the patriots.

"All of us were concerned about disproving the stereotype," Harrison, a 23-year career military man says. "I never had hate in my heart when I faced discrimination. I would subconsciously say, 'God bless you.' "

So who is a patriot?

Based on history, it shouldn't be surprising that blacks and whites define patriotism differently. It doesn't mean blacks are any less patriotic.

Airman Levy, like Obama, believes patriotism means being loyal to ideals.

"Patriotism to me is the lifeblood belief in culture that people subscribe to - the interaction with other humans," explains Levy, a retired Realtor from South Philadelphia. "Patriotism means I can maintain my culture. It gives me a chance to add the spice of my culture to the melting pot."

It also means questioning the country you've so bravely served and have a stake in when you see it not living up to its constitutional promise.

Which is the advice these Tuskegee Airmen would give Obama. That, along with the same encouragement they used to give to one another:

Stay steadfast.

To hear personal stories from Tuskegee Airmen, go to http://go.philly.com/tuskegeeEndText