Robert Ashby (Tuskegee Airman)

Robert Ashby
Born
Robert Ashby

July 17, 1926
Yemassee, South Carolina, U.S.
DiedMarch 5, 2021(2021-03-05) (aged 94)
Sun City, Arizona, U.S.
Resting placeCremated
Occupations
  • Military officer
  • fighter pilot
Years active1944–1965

Robert Ashby (July 17, 1926 – March 5, 2021) was a U.S. Army Air Force/U.S. Air Force officer and pilot with the all-African American 332nd Fighter Group – Tuskegee Airmen.[1][2] He was one of the 1007 documented Tuskegee Airmen Pilots.[3]

Hired by Frontier Airlines in 1973, Ashby became one of the first few African Americans to work as a commercial airline pilot for a major commercial airline.[1][4] During his new-hire training class at Frontier, Ashby trained with Emily Howell Warner, the first female ever to be promoted to airline captain at a major commercial airline.[4]

Ashby was first and only Tuskegee Airmen to work as a commercial airline pilot captain with a major commercial U.S. airline.[1]

On March 29, 2007, Ashby and the collective Tuskegee Airmen received the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian award presented by U.S. Congress.[4]

  1. ^ a b c "Robert Ashby". CAF Rise Above. 18 October 2018. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  2. ^ Crowther, Linnea. "Robert Ashby (1926–2021), Tuskegee Airman who was the first Black pilot for Frontier Airlines", Legacy.com, March 11, 2021. Accessed February 6, 2022.
  3. ^ "Tuskegee Airmen Pilot Roster". CAF Rise Above. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  4. ^ a b c "Legendary Tuskegee Airman and Retired ALPA Member Robert Ashby Flies West". Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA). 31 March 2021. Retrieved 22 September 2021.