More Names Added To Sewickley Tuskegee Airmen Memorial

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SEWICKLEY (KDKA) -- More names could be added to the Tuskegee Airmen Memorial in Sewickley after historians discovered another man from Pennsylvania who served the elite group.

Dozens of people gathered at the site of the memorial Saturday at an event organized by a group called ASALAH, the Association for the Study of African-American Life and History.

The group shared facts about the memorial and the discovery of Sergeant Elliot Culp, who served with the all-black Tuskegee Airmen project.

"He was an airplane mechanic servicing the P-51 fighters flown by the Tuskegee Airmen 99th pursuit fighter squadron," Marlene Branson, of ASALAH Western PA, said.

Culp was one of more than 100 men from western Pennsylvania who served in the project, an experiment to prove that African-Americans could participate in combat, including serving as pilots in World War II.

To honor the airmen from western Pennsylvania, the monument was erected in Sewickley, listing their names. There were more men from western Pennsylvania who were Tuskegee airmen than from anywhere else in the country.

In addition to Culp, Lawrence Anderson's name will also be added to the memorial, and as historians continue their research, more names could be added to honor the Tuskegee Airmen who served their country.