Beaver Falls Park Renamed After Late Tuskegee Airman

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BEAVER FALLS (KDKA) -- A park in Beaver Falls now honors the memory of a late Tuskegee Airman.

At a ceremony over Memorial Day weekend, the park was renamed Lieutenant Calvin Smith Memorial Park.

A plaque at the park reads, "Lt. Calvin Smith Memorial Park is named in honor of Beaver Falls resident and city councilman Calvin Smith who served with distinction with the Tuskegee Airmen group during WWII. Despite racial discrimination both within and outside the U.S. Army, The Tuskegee Airmen persevered and served our great country with honor and dignity."

Ahmses Maat and Newt Smith II, Smith's sons, remembered their father's service to the community.

"Calvin was one of principles and education," Maat said. "I would always remember him reading books. I would always remember him playing chess."

"He did people's taxes. He was a councilman, a constable," Newt said. "Everybody knew him."

Smith is also remembered as a fighter for racial equality. He was one of 103 black officers arrested for entering an all-white officers club in 1945.