Tuskegee Airman Dies - Lt. Colonel Howard Lee Baugh, 88

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Lieutenant Colonel Howard Lee Baugh, one of the original Tuskegee Airmen, has died.

Baugh died Saturday at a suburban Richmond hospital after a brief illness. He was 88.

The Prince George County resident enlisted in the Army in 1942 and joined the all-black fighter group that trained at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama.

Baugh flew 135 combat missions as part of the 332nd Fighter Group's 99th Fighter Squadron in Sicily, Italy, during World War II. During his career, he won the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, the Air Force Commendation Medal and the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award. In 2004, he was awarded the French Legion of Honor.

A funeral is scheduled for September 4 in Petersburg. Burial will be later in Arlington National Cemetery.

Information from: Richmond Times-Dispatch, http://www.timesdispatch.com