Mississippian John L. Hamilton was born in 1919. He enlisted on July 15, 1942, and graduated from the U.S. Army Air Corps’ Tuskegee Flight School in Alabama in May 1943 with the rank of second lieutenant Hamilton quickly saw action in World War II. First Lt. Hamilton received the Purple Heart after sustaining leg injuries in a dive-bombing mission at the Allied invasion of Italy in 1944. He died November 21, 1982.

The Congressional Gold Medal is the highest civilian recognition awarded by the U.S. Congress. This medal was presented to the Tuskegee Airmen, African American pilots flying for the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. Awarded on March 29, 2007, the medal recognized their “unique military record that inspired revolutionary reform in the Armed Forces.” 

JOHN L HAMILTON

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