NEW YORK (WVEC) -- One of the last remaining Tuskegee Airmen has passed away at 95, the New York Daily News reports.
Floyd Carter Senior, who was born in Yorktown, Virginia, was a veteran of three wars and also served with the New York City Police for 27 years.
During World War II, the U.S. military selected Tuskegee Institute to train pilots because of its facilities and engineering and technical instructors, as well as a year-round flying climate. The first civilian pilot training program students completed their instruction in May 1940. The Tuskegee program was then expanded and became the center for African-American aviation during the war.
The Tuskegee Airmen overcame segregation and prejudice to become one of the most highly respected fighter groups of World War II.
SEE ALSO: Tuskegee Airman shares words of wisdom
The New York Daily News reports Carter rose to the rank of Air Force lieutenant colonel, years after joining Tuskegee University. He met his wife there, where she worked on an all-female repair crew, and the two were married at the air base in 1945.
In addition to serving in World War II, he also flew missions for the Berlin Airlift, and later in the Korean and Vietnam wars.
Carter joined the NYPD in 1953, according to the Daily News. He would earn his detective’s gold shield within three years, and retired in 1980.
He was honored with the Congressional Gold Medal in 2007 by President George W. Bush.
Carter is survived by his wife, two children, and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
