A-Train: Memoirs of a Tuskegee Airman

The five-hour trip from Godman Field to Columbus, Ohio, went without a hitch. Coming out of the mountains of Kentucky onto the broad plains of Ohio, our eight-year-old '38 Buick, Black Beauty, galloped along like a frisky colt gobbling up the miles in between. It was late afternoon when we saw the sign on the outskirts of the city with its insignia of Kiwanis, Rotary, Lions, Chamber of Commerce, and the like proclaiming "Welcome to Columbus."

Before leaving Godman Field I had checked with a couple of my buddies who had kinfolk in Columbus and had obtained addresses and telephone numbers. I knew that such advance planning was necessary because Lockbourne was a vacant base with no billets available and, although it was in "the Nawth," Columbus, Ohio, was no haven of unrestricted housing or hotel accommodations. Therefore, I had to plan ahead so that Pete and I would have a place to lay our heads when we first arrived in town.

We were indebted to Lieutenants James E. Harris and Lewis Lynch for steering us to their relatives, who helped us find temporary quarters in the city. Jim's Aunt Edith was a kindly "little old lady" who took us in the first night of our move to Ohio. Then we were able to secure a room with an in-law of Lewis's where we stayed for a few weeks. Mrs. Geraldine Hamilton was as congenial a landlady as could be found anywhere. Her home was a two-story cottage with living room, dining room, and kitchen downstairs and two bedrooms upstairs. It was spick-and-span, neat as a pin,

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