Eldrige F. Williams Collection, 1941-1992
Collection context
Summary
- Extent:
- 1 Paige Box
- Language:
- English
- Preferred citation:
Eldrige F. Williams Collection (AALRCC-2024.6), AARLCC Special Collections, Broward County Library.
Background
- Scope and content:
Papers and 12 original photographs from Lt. Col. Eldrige F. Williams' time in the United States Army and Air Force. The materials date from 1941 to 1992 and document Williams' experience as a Tuskegee Airman as well as his life after World War II. The photographs include a portrait of Captain Charles "Buster" Hall, the first Black pilot to down a German fighter, official Air Force photographs of Black military basketball, football, baseball, and tennis players and teams (including the Tuskeegee War Hawks), and photographs of Tuskegee airmen with their planes.
The papers include reproductions of Williams' military papers and newspaper clippings, as well as an original 1985 newspaper clipping of an article about Williams and a letter to Williams from the White House.
- Biographical / historical:
Lieutenant Colonel Eldridge F. Williams (1917-2015) was one of the first trainers of Tuskegee Airmen. He was born to cotton sharecroppers in Harris, Texas on November 2, 1917. He earned a degree in business from Western University in 1936, a second degree in education from Xavier Universiyt in 1941, and a Master's Degree from the University of Michicgan in 1941. That same year, Williams applied for flight training but was rejected due to poor eyesight. After that he joined an Black infantry unit and received combat enginer training at Fort Leonard Wood. He earned the rank of 1st Sergant and entered Officer Training School (OCS) at Miami Beach in 1942. Ater graduating from OCS he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant and assigned to the Tuskeegee Airmen Program as the Assistant Director of Physical Training. In 1944 he was promoted to Captain.
After WWII, Williams worked as the head tennis and basketball coach North Carolina A&T College He returned to military service in 1948 during the Berlin Airlift Crisis and served through the Korean War. In December of 1949, a year after President Harry Truman signed Executive Order 9981, which integrated the U.S. armed forces, Williams departed for his first integrated assignment on the island of Okinawa, Japan. He retired from the military service on November 30, 1963 with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
In 1964 at the age of 47 Williams began a second career as a teacher with the Miami-Dade County Public School System and retired in 1985. Lt. Colonel Williams also wrote an autobiography, "Without Wings I Soared." He was a member of several organizations including the Tuskegee Airmen; Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, and the Rotary Club of Miami-Kendall. He was also President of Lake Chara (Florida) Homeowners Association where he lived for 42 years. On March 29, 2007, Williams was presented the Congressional Gold Medal by President Barack Obama.
Lieutenant Colonel Eldridge Williams died in Miami, Florida on July 2, 2015 and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
- Processing information:
This collection received container level processing. This finding aid may be updated to reflect new descriptions as well as acquisitions to the collection.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Access and use
- Restrictions:
The Eldrige F. Williams Collection is open for research.
- Preferred citation:
Eldrige F. Williams Collection (AALRCC-2024.6), AARLCC Special Collections, Broward County Library.
- Location of this collection:
-
African American Research Library and Cultural Center, Broward County Library2650 Sistrunk BoulevardFort LauderdaleFL33311USA
