Children: *Adelaide Emma Sons: *George L. III. *John Elwood *Craig Streator
George Levi Knox II ("Skipper" Knox)[1] (December 23, 1916 – November 4, 1964) was a U.S. Army Air Force/U.S. Air Force officer, combat fighter pilot and Adjutant with the all-African American332nd Fighter Group's 100th Fighter Squadron, best known as the Tuskegee Airmen. One of the 1,007 documented Tuskegee Airmen Pilots, he was a member of the Tuskegee Airmen's third-ever aviation cadet class, and one of the first twelve African Americans to become combat fighter pilots.[2][3] He was the second Indiana native to graduate from the Tuskegee Advanced Flying School (TAFS).[4]
He was born on December 23, 1916, in Indianapolis, Indiana, Marion County, Indiana. He was the son of Elwood Knox[7] and the grandson of runaway slave George L. Knox (who wrote a book about his experiences, Life as I Remember It: As a Slave and a Freeman, in 1895).[8][9]
In 1942, he married Yvonne Marguerite Wright Knox (August 27, 1919- August 18, 2002). They were the parents of four children: Adelaide Emma, George L. III., John Elwood and Craig Streator.[14][11][12]
Military service
World War II
Photo of a P-51 Mustang. The Tuskegee Airmen's aircraft had distinctive markings that led to the name, "Red Tails."[N 2]
In October 1941, he entered the U.S. Army Air Corps at Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indianapolis, Indiana.[10] On May 20, 1942, he graduated from Tuskegee Advance Flying School (TAFS)'s third-ever[16] Single Engine Section Class SE-42-E.[3][17][18] He was one of the first twelve African American combat fighter pilots.[3]
He was the second Indiana native to graduate from the Tuskegee Advance Flying School (TAFS).[4] After receiving his wings and commission as a 2nd Lieutenant,[19][17][18] he was promoted to First Lieutenant in December 1942.[20] In 1943 he was with the 332nd Fighter Group, became a flight leader, and was assigned to Selfridge Field, Michigan.[21] A year later, he was a member of the "first Negro bombardment organization", the 477th Bombardment Group; in 1944, the squadron had received two commendations for its achievements.[22] At the rank of Captain, he was the "squad's most experienced Negro flier".[22]
Freeman Field mutiny
In 1945, he was president of the court assembled to pass judgment on a "racial incident" at Freeman Field, in Seymour, Indiana.[6] He was one of ten officers to preside over the Freeman Field mutiny courts-martial, appointed by General Frank O'Driscoll Hunter: Colonel Benjamin O. Davis Jr., Captains George L. Knox II, James T. Wiley, John H. Duren, Charles R. Stanton, William T. Yates, Elmore M. Kennedy, and Fitzroy Newsum and 1st Lieutenants William Robert Ming Jr. James Y. Carter. Trial Judge Advocates were: Captain James W. Redden and 1st Lieutenant Charles B. Hall.[5]
After World War II, he headed the AFROTC program at Tuskegee Institute. In 1946, he held the rank of Major.[23] The highest rank he held, at his death in 1964, was lieutenant colonel;[12] he was a professor of air science at the officer training corps at Tuskegee.[11][12][24] He was a member of St. Philip's Episcopal Church in Indianapolis, and St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Tuskegee.[11][12][24]
^Benjamin O. Davis Jr. was dismissed from the court after a challenge, Knox was named president. See historic photograph with press release in section Freeman Field mutiny#Release of the 101.[6]
^The red markings that distinguished the Tuskegee Airmen included red bands on the noses of P-51s as well as a red rudder; their P-51B and D Mustangs flew with similar color schemes, with red propeller spinners, yellow wing bands and all-red tail surfaces.[15]
