/ Modified mar 10, 2021 10:32 p.m.

Robert Ashby, 1 of 3 surviving Tuskegee Airmen in Arizona dies at 95

Lt. Col. Ashby retired in 1965 and went on to be an airline pilot and flight instructor.

Robert Ashby - Tuskeegee Airman Lt. Col. Robert Ashby - Tuskeegee Airman
Courtesy of Luke Air Force Base

One of three surviving members in Arizona of the famed all-Black Tuskegee Airmen has died.

The Archer-Ragsdale Chapter Tuskegee Airmen confirmed that Robert Ashby died Friday at his home in Sun City. He was 95.

Ashby enlisted at age 17 in the Army Air Corps, which later became the U.S. Air Force. He went to Tuskegee, Alabama, for aviation training in 1944 and later served in all-Black units.

Lt. Col. Ashby retired in 1965 and went on to be an airline pilot and flight instructor. Ashby is believed to be the first Black pilot with a major airline to reach mandatory retirement age.

By posting comments, you agree to our
AZPM encourages comments, but comments that contain profanity, unrelated information, threats, libel, defamatory statements, obscenities, pornography or that violate the law are not allowed. Comments that promote commercial products or services are not allowed. Comments in violation of this policy will be removed. Continued posting of comments that violate this policy will result in the commenter being banned from the site.

By submitting your comments, you hereby give AZPM the right to post your comments and potentially use them in any other form of media operated by this institution.
AZPM is a service of the University of Arizona and our broadcast stations are licensed to the Arizona Board of Regents who hold the trademarks for Arizona Public Media and AZPM. We respectfully acknowledge the University of Arizona is on the land and territories of Indigenous peoples.
The University of Arizona