NASA Engineer Helps Preserve Tuskegee Airman's Memory
Courtesy of U.S. Air ForceA Bell Aircraft Corp. P-39Q Airacobra similar to the one flown by 2nd Lt. Frank Moody, a member of the Tuskegee Airmen. This aircraft is on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio.
As Erik Denson cleared off algae and mussels from a tattered wing at the bottom of Lake Huron a military star came into sight, and his emotions took over.
The wing belonged to the plane of 2nd Lt. Frank Moody, a Tuskegee Airman who died in a crash while training more than 70 years ago.
“That almost brought tears to my eyes, to see that piece of it and realize the significance that these folks gave their lives for this effort,” said Denson, a NASA engineer and PADI Divemaster.
Denson has been on nearly 800 dives since 1992, with his passion for the sport taking him from the Caribbean to the South Pacific.
Reaching a depth of 28 feet with visibility at about 30 feet in Lake Huron last August, Denson may not have been on his most tropical or thrilling dive, but it was what he considers the most meaningful.
Courtesy of NASAErik Denson
Denson, along with six others, documented the wreckage of Moody’s Bell P-39Q Airacobra fighter plane, mapping the site that spanned over 500 feet and inventorying any aircraft parts with photographs over six days. The Tuskegee Airmen were the first black military pilots in the United States. They earned the nickname based on the training base in Tuskegee, Ala., but many were sent for additional training in Michigan during World War II.
“The Tuskegee Airmen are heroes to me,” said Denson. “These are men that gave their lives to their country — something they believe in — at a time when their country didn’t believe in them. We really wanted to give respect and pay tribute to not just Lt. Moody, but all of the Airmen.”
As the lead instructor of Diving with a Purpose, a maritime archeology program, and an African-American, Denson was thrilled to volunteer when NOAA sought out underwater archeologists for the trip.
Denson and the team documented the wreckage that spanned over 500 feet for six days, mapping the site and inventorying any aircraft parts with photographs.
“To see the way the wreckage was scattered, it brought it home that this was a violent ending,” said Denson.
The group did not retrieve any artifacts on their dives, but may return to acquire pieces for the Tuskegee Airmen National Museum in Detroit. Denson hopes to visit the nearby St. Clair River to document the wreck of another Tuskegee Airman next year.
