'Not forgotten': Black Student Union at SFCC calls for mural honoring Tuskegee airman

May 1-Dozens of students, veterans and locals gathered Wednesday at Spokane Falls Community College to hear the story of Lt. Col. Jack Daniels Holsclaw, a decorated World War II combat air pilot, Tuskegee airman and Spokane native.

The goal, SFCC Black Student Union President Jefferson Bekpo said, is to create a mural honoring Holsclaw in Spokane. The only thing recognizing him in the city today is a historical marker at the site of Holsclaw's childhood home at 2301 W. College Ave.

"We're here so we don't forget history," Bekpo said. "To make sure a piece of history remains."

Holsclaw was part of the Tuskegee Airmen, the first African American military aviators in the U.S. Army Air Forces during WWII, since Black crews were not allowed to serve alongside their white counterparts.

"We want to allow this man to continue to be alive. He might have passed, but he's alive because he's not forgotten," Bekpo said.

The event was put on by the Black Student Union and French Club at Spokane Falls Community College, headed up by French Club president Terri Harris and Bekpo.

"This is a story that, unfortunately, hasn't been told enough," Harris said. "... We would love to get a mural on the wall at the airport."

U.S. Navy veteran Mike Jones gave a detailed history on Holsclaw at the event.

Holsclaw was born in Spokane on March 21, 1918, and attended North Central High School. He was the first African American in the city to become an Eagle Scout, Jones said. Holsclaw attended several colleges, including Washington State College - now Washington State University - to play baseball. He was the second African American to earn a varsity letter in baseball at the college.

In 1939, Holsclaw transferred to Western States College in Portland to attend the chiropractic program, which he finished in 1942. On Oct. 5, 1942, he enlisted in the Army and entered flight school, where he trained at Tuskegee Army Airfield in Alabama, Jones said. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in July 1943 and was sent to Italy in December to fly in the 100th Fighter Squadron, 332d Fighter Group.

His P-51 plane was named "Bernice Baby" after his wife, Jones said.

Holsclaw went on to shoot down two German fighters during an aerial battle over Italy in July 1944 and received a Distinguished Flying Cross award. By that December, he had completed 68 combat missions. Holsclaw was promoted to captain in January 1945.

He became an Air Force ROTC instructor at Tuskegee Institute and Tennessee State College. His son, Glenn Holsclaw, was born in January 1952.

A message to Glenn Holsclaw was not returned.

Later, Holsclaw was assigned to Japan from 1954-57. His last assignment was serving as a chief in a training division at Hamilton Air Force Base in California from 1962 to 1964. He retired as a lieutenant colonel in December 1964.

Holsclaw died on April 7, 1998, in Arizona, where he and his wife lived.

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