The Tuskegee Airmen of WWII have been invited to the inauguration of the nation's first black president, the New York Times reports. Barack Obama has acknowledged his debt to the elite all-black force, whose heroes fought for a country that discriminated against them. Now in their 80s and 90s, it's unclear how many of the roughly 330 surviving members can make the trek to Washington.
"I didn’t believe I’d live long enough to see something like this," says a Tuskegee fighter pilot who flew missions over Italy. “I would love to be there, I would love to be able to see it with my own eyes.” Another called Obama’s election the "culmination" of their struggles.
(More Tuskegee airmen stories.)