Listen Live
WOL Featured Video
CLOSE

U.S. Army Air Corps Cpl. Robert Holts celebrated his 95th birthday on November 7, and says it was a celebration that he’ll “never forget.”

According to KMTV3, students at Davis Middle school in Omaha clapped and cheered as Cpl. Holts made his way though the halls. And when he made it to the cafeteria, he was met by a group of sixth graders singing Happy Birthday. He’s the last known surviving Tuskegee Airman from Nebraska.

“It was an awful lot of kids to see and I enjoyed the experience of seeing these children,” Holts said.

The celebration being held at Davis Middle School, wasn’t just a coincidence. The school is reportedly named after Omaha native, Captain Alfonza W. Davis, who was an aviation cadet at Tuskegee Airfield, and the first African American aviator to be awarded his wings.

“From the moment the kids step in at this school they start learning the six pillars and what Tuskegee stands for and what it means to be an aviator,” Principal Dan Bartels told the station.

They wanted to make sure students to understood why they were celebrating Hilt, and the impact he made on both his country and hometown.

“We talked about Tuskegee and the Civil Rights Movement and what it meant for an African American male in Omaha to do what Mr. Holts did,” he said.

Before the birthday celebration was over, students presented him with gifts.

“Thank you so much for everything you do and, thank you for your service,” Sixth grader Kennedy Drummond said.

HEAD BACK TO THE BLACKAMERICAWEB.COM HOMEPAGE

Tuskegee Airman Celebrates 95th Birthday With Middle School Students  was originally published on blackamericaweb.com