As the film hits its 10th anniversary, Lucasfilm take a look at the production of Red Tails, a passion project for George Lucas and a movie that told a key story in the history of the Second World War.
It is early morning at Ramitelli Airfield, Italian headquarters for the Tuskegee Airmen in World War II. About to take off on a dangerous mission, the pilots have gathered into a circle on the tarmac. David “Deke” Watkins (Marcus T. Paulk) leads them in a humble prayer. The men are linked arm in arm, and as the prayer ends, a battle cry ensues.
“Nothing’s difficult,” one voice says. “Everything’s a challenge,” the group sounds off. “Through adversity,” the voice cries, “to the stars!” the pilots respond. “From the last plane, to the last bullet, to the last minute, to the last man, we fight!” Marty “Easy” Julian (Nate Parker) yells. The group continues to repeat “We Fight!” before moving off, one by one, to their red-tailed P-51 Mustangs.
The pilots had heard these words before, spoken by their commanding officer, Colonel A.J. Bullard (Terrence Howard). The Colonel had just returned from Washington D.C. where he’d successfully lobbied to earn his pilots the chance to perform bomber escort missions. Some bigots in the establishment had resisted the idea of allowing Black pilots to take on such a high-priority assignment. Colonel Bullard persevered, and ensured that his squadrons would forgo the personal glory of chasing after enemy planes for the sake of protecting American bombers and their crews.
- Hardcover Book
- Szostak, Phil (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 256 Pages - 02/15/2022 (Publication Date) - Abrams Books (Publisher)
