USU Scholar meets the men who saved his father's life in WWII

Douglas Robb stands with two Tuskagee Airmen who escorted his father in WWII
By Sharon Holland 

Retired Lt. Gen. (Dr.) Douglas Robb was poised to enjoy an evening event sponsored by the Air Force Academy Society of Washington, DC, that included a discussion and question-and- answer session with four of the famed Tuskegee Airmen.

But the casual evening talk turned into something a little more personal for Robb.

An old photo of the 463rd Group Staff that includes Robb's father
463rd Group Staff.
Left to right, Lt. Col. Harry Robb, Grp. Oper. Off.; Lt. Col. Elmer Stambaugh, Exec. Off.; Capt. Jon Seele, Asst. Grp. Adjutant; Capt. Pete Losi, Spec. Services Off.; Maj. James Patton, 772nd Sqdn. CO; Capt. Angelo Mastrangelo, Grp. Flt. Surgeon; Maj. Emerson Tolle, 774th Sqdn. CO; Col. Frank Kurtz, Grp. CO; Capt. Fred Higginbotham, Grp. Bombardier; Maj. C. G. Winn, Asst. Grp. Oper. Off.; Lt. Arthur Vierling, Grp. Weather Off.; Capt. McElroy, Pers. Equip. Off.; Lt. Col. S. R. Roper, Deputy Grp. CO; Maj. C. R. Haas POW Returnee; Maj. Tom Farrell, Grp. Adjutant.

Robb, a Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) Scholar-in- Residence and
former director of the Defense Health Agency, listened to the discussion by retired Col. Charles McGee, Mr. Major Anderson, Mr. William Fauntroy, and Mr. Walter Robinson. These pilots of the 332nd Fighter Group, or the “Red Tails,” escorted bombers during World War II. Their successes during the war – having one of the lowest loss records of all fighter groups – ultimately paved the way for the eventual integration of the Armed Forces.

The men discussed their missions flown in support of the 463rd Heavy Bombardment Group, 15th Air Force -- escorting the B-17Gs out of Selone Field, Foggia, Italy, from March 1944 to April 1945. Robb’s father, Lt. Col. Harry Robb, was the Operations Officer for that group, the 463rd Bombardment Group, during that same time. In other words, these courageous men, sitting in front of Robb, had escorted and protected his own father during WWII.

A photo of Harry Robb when he was younger
Lt. Col. Harry Robb. (Image 
Credit: Douglas Robb)
Robb personally thanked the four Tuskegee Airmen on behalf of his father for a "job well done" and also on behalf of all the sons and daughters of the 463rd Bombardment Group crew members who, he said, "just might not be here today had the 332nd Fighter Group ‘Red Tails’ not worked their air superiority magic against the Messerschmidt Bf 109, Focke Wolfes 190, and Me 262 German fighters...thus allowing the safe return of my father's crew and many of 463rd Heavy Bombardment crews from their assigned targets."