Honoring Heroes: Kokomo Unveils Mural of Tuskegee Airmen with Local Ties
In an ode to local courage, downtown Kokomo is taking forgotten history to new heights at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 14 for a grand unveiling of a monumental mural honoring five of the legendary Tuskegee Airmen.
Located at Dechert Law Office at 217 N. Main St., Kokomo, dozens of community organizations, including the Howard County Memorial Corporation, The Arts Federation and grants from the Community Foundation of Howard County helped this mural by Texas-based artist Malcolm Byers come to life.
The work features Howard County’s Lt. Col. Bennett Hardy, Lt. John McClure, Maj. John Cunningham, Sgt. Andrew Dunnigan Jr., and Gordon Morgan, all Tuskegee Airmen with local ties.
The Arts Federation’s CEO Tetia Lee, who helped arrange the artist’s stay, has witnessed day-in and day-out work from the artist, noting some of his days were more than 12 hours long to complete this project during the allocated time frame. But for Lee, all of the sleepless nights and long days, are now seeming to be worth it.
“I think it’s built up over the weeks he’s been here,” Lee said. “Knowing how important and personal it is to so many individuals, the families are still here and it’s been emotional to have them come by to see the progress and tell stories. It’s about the community and is possible because of its support.”
One significant part of this mural, organizers said, is the hope for it to continue telling lost and forgotten stories of the Tuskegee Airmen in our community and worldwide.
“While we leave this here as a reminder of who these guys were, we will take the traveling exhibition to other communities that speak to the airmen in that area,” said curator Robin Williams.
“We have 15,000 stories to tell and that’s the challenge. How do you pick and choose those stories? But by localizing the effort wherever we go, it's a way to amplify and humanize these stories,” Williams said.
More in-depth information about the airmen will be available in a curated historical exhibition at Grissom Air Museum at Grissom Air Force Base at 3 p.m. on Memorial Day Monday, May 27 through January 2025.