The trip between Atlanta, Georgia and Montgomery, Alabama on I-85 is one Pretty and I have made at least a gazillion times in our years of wandering back and forth between Texas and South Carolina. We have our favorite welcome centers, rest areas, cheap gas prices with freshest candy bars convenience stores, and I am always impressed when Pretty remembers the exact location of a Zoe’s restaurant in every town that has one.

Between Auburn and Montgomery, however, there is a road sign we always pass that says Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site next exit. The conversation usually goes Hey, we need to see that, but we don’t have time. We’ll do it later.

“Later” finally showed up yesterday on our trip to New Orleans.

During WWII more than 10,000 African-American men and women worked at Moton Field to train military aviators, both pilots and bombers, for the war. The military at that time was still racially segregated, but patriotism was not.

Pretty, Spike and Charly survey Moton field

The dogs and I sent Pretty to tour the actual hangars and bring us up to date on the history, so she gets credit for the interior photos.

Red Tails the nickname for Tuskegee fighters

The airmen were educated in town at what was then known as the Tuskegee Institute and transported by bus every day to Moton Field which is a few miles from downtown. We followed that route from the National Historical Site to have a look at Tuskegee University today.

Also a National Historic Site –

started by Booker T. Washington

Where modern architecture of today’s campus…

…meets history around the corner at

Booker T. Washington’s home

The gates of learning still open wide

to preserve the rich heritage

 of the historically black university that is Tuskegee