The National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force’s monthly Mighty Talk series continues with Forgotten Souls: The Search for the Lost Tuskegee Airmen, with award-winning investigative journalist and author Cheryl Thompson. This program will take place on October 10th at 11:00 am at the museum.
The program is free to the public, but please register at https://forms.gle/1QdpqEfAkJvJDzh76
About the Presentation
The Tuskegee Airmen are legendary. These African American military aviators in the US Armed Forces earned high marks for their patriotism, their combat records, and their elite standards. Their contributions are now a vital part of African- American history, and an important factor in America’s success during WWII. Yet many black pilots who served in the 332nd Fighter Group overseas never returned from their missions, nor were they honored by the US government for their sacrifices for decades.
Forgotten Souls: The Search for the Lost Tuskegee Airmen examines the lives of the 27 pilots who went missing while battling the enemy abroad – and honors their lives, their sacrifices, and their legacy. This book serves as long overdue closure for the pilots who gave their lives.
With the help of family members to reconstruct the lives and legacies of these remarkable men who gave their lives, Thompson has crafted a narrative testament to these true American heroes. Built upon the stories of children, grandchildren, and family who open their doors and hearts to the author to tell their precious family stories, their most cherished memories and especially of their heartbreak, she paints a poignant picture of a generation of survivors who themselves are vanishing, who vividly remember those who never came back.
Forgotten Souls ensures that the sacrifices of these 27 lost Tuskegee Airmen are not lost to time.
About the Author
Cheryl W. Thompson is an award-winning investigative correspondent for National Public Radio, an associate professor of journalism at George Washington University, and author of Forgotten Souls: The Search for the Lost Tuskegee Airmen. She is the recipient of more than 40 journalism awards, including an Emmy, 5 National Headliners, and 3 from IRE (Investigative Reporters and Editors).
Cheryl W. Thompson is an award-winning investigative correspondent for National Public Radio, an associate professor of journalism at George Washington University, and author of Forgotten Souls: The Search for the Lost Tuskegee Airmen. She is the recipient of more than 40 journalism awards, including an Emmy, 5 National Headliners, and 3 from IRE (Investigative Reporters and Editors).
Thompson served as reporting coach for the Pulitzer Prize-winning NPR podcast No Compromise. During more than 20 years as a reporter for The Washington Post, she was part of teams that won two Pulitzer Prizes for national reporting. She served as a Pulitzer Prize juror for the Investigative Reporting category in 2022 and chaired the jury in 2023. Thompson is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., and Investigative Reporters and Editors, where she was elected the first Black president in 2018 and served an unprecedented three terms. She is also a founding and current board member of the Center for Collaborative Investigative Journalism and a member of the advisory board for the Fund for Investigative Journalism. She is currently a member of the National Press Foundation Board and the Spotlight DC Board, and a two-time graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
The daughter of a Tuskegee Airman, Thompson is a Chicago native who lives outside Washington, DC.