One of the last Tuskegee Airmen dies at 95

By Teddy Grant Published: March 10, 2021

One of the last Tuskegee Airmen dies at 95

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One of the last remaining Tuskegee Airmen in Arizona died last week, according to Fox 10. He was 95.

Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Robert Ashby passed away at his home on March 5. He was the first African-American hired by Frontier Airlines after he retired from the air force, according to reports.

Ashby enlisted in the Army Air Corps Aviation Cadet program when he was 17 and was called to active duty in August 1944 following his graduation from Ferris High School in New Jersey. Later that year, he began his aviation training in Tuskegee, Alabama.

He joined Frontier Airlines in 1973 as a second officer pilot and worked up the ranks before becoming a captain. He retired from Frontier Airlines in 1986 at 60-years-old, becoming the first Black pilot to reach the mandatory requirement age.

He is survived by his wife, Dorina and their three sons, according to reports.