Azellia and Hulon White

Hulon Lincoln “Pappy” White was a native Texan. He was born on December 10, 1912 to Henry White and Lela F. Askey White in Gonzales, Texas. He earned his pilot’s license in 1941 and between 1941 and 1945, he was a civilian employee of the Army Air Corps in Tuskegee, Alabama. At the Tuskegee Army Air Base, he was a mechanic and instructor for cadets, many of whom went on to serve in the 332nd Fighter Group, the “Tuskegee Airmen.”

This World War II unit is likely familiar to most readers. On April 3, 1939 President Franklin D. Roosevelt had approved Public Law 18 that expanded the Army Air Corps and allowed for the creation of training programs at Black colleges that would qualify their participants for service in the Air Corps. Tuskegee Institute already had an air field and was selected for this program.

The cadets at Tuskegee were volunteers. Participants were trained to be pilots. Those who completed their training went on to serve as pilots as well as navigators, or bombardiers in Europe during World War II. Between 1941 and 1946 some 1,000 Black pilots were trained at Tuskegee. The 332nd Fighter Group was made up of four fighter squadrons, the 99th, the 100th, the 301st and 302nd. During World War II, the 332nd group proved to be quite capable, their services were desired, they were highly decorated and they served with distinction. (1)

Hulon White had married the former Azellia Jones, also a Gonzales resident and native Texan, in 1936. Azellia was born on June 8, 1913 to Sam Houston Jones and Patsy King Jones. She was the ninth of their ten children. The Jones were a family of sharecropping farmers and Azellia’s mother was a midwife. Hulon and Azellia had known each other since they were children.

Hulon had taken a job with the Air Corps. The couple was living in Tuskegee in 1941 when the air base was visited by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt on a tour. Earlier that year, the United States War Department had created the 99th Pursuit Squadron (part of the 332nd) to be located and trained at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. The purpose of Mrs. Roosevelt’s visit was to see and publicize the progress of this unique war effort. While Mrs. Roosevelt was there, she asked to take a flight and, over the objections of the Secret Service, she enjoyed a one hour flight with Chief Civilian Flight Instructor Charles Alfred Anderson. Press coverage was helpful in publicizing the Tuskegee operation. Both Hulon and Azellia were there when Mrs. Roosevelt’s visit and flight occurred in late March, 1941. Azellia was particularly inspired to learn to fly. Many accounts remark that Azellia was very bright and a quick learner. She trained unofficially under Hulon and other instructors and learned to fly while she and Hulon were living in Alabama.

The aircraft she first flew was made by Taylorcraft, originally a company out of Pennsylvania. In military roles it was primarily used for observation. It was a high winged aircraft with fixed landing gear and a tail wheel. Azellia spoke fondly of the Taylorcraft and how easy it was to fly. “First thing you know, you’re flying” she said.

After the end of the war, Hulon, Elton R. Thomas and Ben Stevenson founded and operated a business in Houston known as The Sky Ranch Flying Service. White, Thomas and Stevenson are sometimes referred to as Tuskegee Airmen, but unless that that term is used broadly and not only limited to those who had combat roles, the three all appear to have been members of the support staff. However, this is not intended to diminish in any way the importance of their participation at Tuskegee.

The Sky Ranch facility was a new airfield and appears to have been created on undeveloped farm or ranch land south of Houston. According to maps of the day, it did not exist prior to 1944. Their business operated for around three years before it was forced to close due to a change in government funding (“the G. I. Bill”) which narrowed its focus to formal education whereas it previously could also be used for vocational education such as flight training. During the short existence of The Sky Ranch, Houston was still considerably racially segregated. The business was said to have served as an unofficial airport for Black residents, offering flying instructions, cargo services and some passenger flights.

Azellia had earned her private pilot’s license sometime in 1946 in Alabama. She is called the first Black female pilot to be licensed to fly in Texas. Azellia loved to fly and it is said of her that she “found freedom in the skies.” She is considered a pioneer among African American women flyers to be regarded in the same conversation as Bessie Coleman and Willa Brown. Bessie Coleman had received her pilot’s license in France in 1921 and Willa Brown received her license in 1938 in the United States.

After The Sky Ranch venture, Hulon went back to school and earned both a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree at Texas Southern University, where he worked for many years as an instructor at Texas Southern. He and Azellia enjoyed flying their Cessna 172. Hulon was a co-founder of a local flying club named the Bronze Eagles Flying Club and a national group of Black pilots and aircraft owners called Negro Airmen International, Inc.

Hulon passed away in Houston in 1995 at the age of 83. His burial details are currently unknown. Azellia survived him another twenty-three years until her own passing in 2019 at the incredible age of 106. At the time of her death, she had been living in a nursing home in Sugar Land. The couple had no descendants. Their one child, a son, had died in infancy and all of Azellia’s siblings had predeceased her.

Azellia’s honors include being inducted into the Texas Aviation Hall of Fame (2) in 2018. She also received the Trailblazer Award from the Black Pilots of America. Another interesting honor is having the Aviation Science Lab named for her at Houston Independent School District’s Sterling High School which also has posted an interview of her. Sterling is a “magnet school” and offers classes focused on aviation for its students from the 9th through the 12th grade. At the Sterling Aviation Early College High school, students can study aviation by flight simulation, formal flight hours, classroom and lab sessions. According to its website, students also receive private flight lessons, training on instruments and other ground school training. It is a fitting honor that Azellia’s name is associated with this school.

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Notes:
(1) Tuskegee Airmen Facts, https://www.tuskegee.edu/support-tu/tuskegee-airmen/tuskegee-airmen-facts
(2) Texas Aviation Hall of Fame: https://lonestarflight.org/hall-of-fame/
(3) Sterling Aviation Early College High School: https://www.houstonisd.org/Page/177753

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