Tuskegee Airman Joe Little returns to Eatonton

On Wednesday, Sept. 30, a new bronze statue of Eatonton's own Tuskegee Airman, Hiram Little will be unveiled at 11 a.m. in the Veterans Memorial Garden, 304 W. Marion St., Eatonton, GA. The statue was made by Atlanta sculptor Basil Watson, and made possible by Grady and Simone Jones, Kevin Tompson-Hooper, and donations from members and organizations of the community.

Smith Communications, Inc. is sharing this article from our archives, in which a reporter met and chatted with Little and his family.

By Lynn Hobbs

EATONTON, Aug. 8, 2013 — Eatonton’s own Tuskegee Airman, Hiram “Joe” Little visited his hometown July 31 with family. Now 94 and living in Atlanta with his daughter, Little hasn’t been to Eatonton in several years because his health has declined and he has slight dementia.

Hiram Little smiles in a rocking chair after reminiscing with family at the old Walker home in Putnam County last Wednesday. Surrounding him are family members, front row from left, Mamie and Julia Walker, back row from left, Justin Little, Lizzie Walker and Marshall Little. Photo by Lynn Hobbs

But he came last week with his son, Marshall Little, grandson Justin Little, and first-cousin-once-removed Dr. Mamie Lee Walker, and visited Southern Manor Farms. Southern Manor is the childhood home of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Alice Walker, and the house has a room that’s a museum of the Walker family and one corner is dedicated to Hiram Little and the Tuskegee Airmen.

Little served in the U.S. Army Air Corps from 1941 to 1945, assigned to the 99^th Fighter Squadron at Tuskegee, where he installed and maintained weapons systems on fighter aircraft, according to a previous Eatonton Messenger article and the Atlanta Chapter of Tuskegee Airmen, Inc. He later became a navigator-bombardier as a crew member and flight officer on a B-52 Bomber of the 477^th Bomber Group.

In 1945, Little was one of 101 men who refused to sign an order acknowledging the officers club was segregated. The refusal led to his arrest and eventually to an administrative reprimand being placed in his file. When the Air Force officially removed the reprimands in 1995, Little refused to have his removed, saying he didn’t want anyone to forget what had happened, so he wouldn’t remove the evidence.

“I did things I thought were the right thing to do at the time. If I looked back, I’d do it again,” Little said last Wednesday.

Years after the war in 1965, Little was selected to go to Mississippi to make sure procedures were being correctly followed for the first election after the Voting Rights Act.

In 2007, Little and the remaining Tuskegee Airmen were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal by President George W. Bush, honoring their unique military record during WWII that inspired revolutionary reform in the U.S. Armed Forces.

The Tuskegee Airmen Congressional Gold Medal features three Airmen in profile (officer, mechanic, pilot) alongside an eagle & the years 1941-1949. The reverse side depicts the 3 iconic aircraft flown by the group: the P-40, P-51, & B-25.

President George Bush salutes Hiram Little during the Tuskegee Airmen Congressional Gold Medal ceremony, March 29, 2007 at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda.

Little also scored the highest grade on the test for the U.S. Post Office, according to Marshall, and became one of the first black supervisors in the Atlanta U.S. Postal Service. He worked there more than 30 years until he retired in 1978.

“He had a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Morehouse College, but there were no jobs available for a black chemist in the South back then, so he went to the post office,” Marshall said. “To us, it’s really no surprise that he was successful.”

Because Little had been a charter member of Troop 94, the first Boy Scout troop in a black school in Atlanta when he was young, he remained active volunteering with the Boy Scouts until recent years when he was no longer able to do so. Little also averaged 30 appearances a year talking to schools, scout and church groups about his experiences.

But his family doesn’t remember hearing a lot of Little’s Civil Rights heroics. Marshall said it didn’t become a big deal until Marshall was already grown, and he doesn’t remember any “hoopla.”

“To me, he’s always been just grandpa,” Justin added matter-of-factly.

But Justin does remember one experience. He said he was in 10^th grade and walking down the hall at school when he heard that some Tuskegee Airmen were speaking in a classroom.

“And I went in there, and there was my grandpa,” Justin said. “I said ‘That’s my grandpa, what’s he doing here?’”

Little and his late wife, Mozelle, had three children. Marshall is in law enforcement with the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office. Daughter Anderly has her masters in finance and

bachelors in math; and, son Hiram, Jr. was an IT Specialist for Atlanta Metro until his death in 2000. Little has seven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

“He has no health issues at all. And he made it to 89 living on his own, he’s really amazing,” Marshall said.

Following their visit at the Southern Manor Farms, the family planned to drive by Texas A.M.E. Church and see the sign dedicated to Little. Little said his mother used to bring him to Texas A.M.E. homecoming every year in his uniform to show him off.

“So we’ve been here a lot. It’s good to be back,” Marshall said.

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Hiram Little died Feb. 18, 2017. He is buried in Lincoln Cemetery in Atlanta.

This article was written and published in The Eatonton Messenger newspaper in August 2013 and is the property of Smith Communications, Inc. No portions of the story or photos may be copied or used without written permission from the publisher.