Minuteman Press of Berkeley, California is proud to have been able to publish in February 2012 the book Victory, Tales of a Tuskegee Airman by Les Williams and Penny L. Williams.

Leslie "Les" Alan Williams served as one of the first Black pilots with the Tuskegee Airmen. He went on to earn a law degree from Stanford University and also operated a dance studio.

Co-author Penny L. Williams is the daughter of Les Williams. She is a journalism educator who earned her bachelor's and master's degrees from Stanford University.

With the world on fire, Black people living in the United States put aside their grievances at home to fight for freedom abroad during World War II. One of the Les Williams wants to trade his dancing shoes to become a pilot.

But at twenty-two years old, Williams finds himself drafted into the Army. Relying on some of his gifted footwork, however, he enrolls in the Tuskegee Institute. There he becomes part of an elite group of Black men whose mission is to prove they can excel as combat pilots.

Williams is now a member of the Tuskegee Airmen. The group will fly more than 15,500 sorties and almost 1,600 missions. Its members will earn 150 Distinguished Flying Crosses, Legions of Merit, eight Purple Hearts, and the Red Star of Yugoslavia. Their accomplishments will change the course of American history.

Explore one family's rich history and discover how a group of Black men opened the door to a better future in Victory.