Roscoe Dubois Draper, the last instructor of the Tuskegee Airmen, served during World War II and was a “triple-rated” Tuskegee Airmen Flight Instructor. He was born in Haverford, Pennsylvania, on May 4, 1919, to Edgar and Ethel Draper, the fourth of nine children. His siblings were Earl Draper, Cora Draper, Percy Draper, Marie Draper Pierce, Barbara Draper Newton, William Draper, Warren Draper, and Francis Draper. After the death of their mother in 1928, all of them were reared by aunts Sarah Franklin and Grace Hall in Bryn Mawr and Haverford, Pennsylvania, except for their infant brother Francis, who Auntie Mary Travers reared in Havre de Grace, Maryland.
Draper graduated with honors from Haverford High School in 1937 and then enrolled in the auto mechanic program at Hampton Institute, now Hampton University, in Virginia. Two years later, in 1939, he entered the Hampton Civil Pilot Training program, and in 1940, he began his flight training at Kennedy and Moton Fields in Tuskegee, Alabama. Draper earned his certification as a commercial pilot with an instructor rating in 1942 and became one of the first 10 trainees to attend Tuskegee for advanced flight training. He also enlisted in the Air Corps reserves as a civilian instructor.
In 1944, Draper married Mary Malone from Lawrenceville, Virginia, a graduate of Saint Paul’s Episcopal College. They had three children, Norma Draper Crocker, David Draper, and Charlotte Draper Wolfolk.
In 1945, Draper served on the academic board for the Tuskegee Institute before being honorably discharged from the US Army in November of that year. Upon returning to Pennsylvania in 1945, he was employed at the 30th Street Station Post Office in Haverford until 1968 before returning to his Aviation career with the Civil Aeronautics Authority (CAA). The CAA, later the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), was his employer until retirement in 1983. Draper never stopped learning. During his employment with the FAA, he became a certified helicopter instructor at the age of 60.
Starting in 1970, Draper worked as a pilot examiner and accident investigator for the FAA.
Draper taught over 900 Tuskegee Airmen pilots how to fly and was one of the last living members of the Civilian Pilot Training Program’s initial class. Recognizing his groundbreaking contributions to aviation history, the Roscoe Draper Chapter of Black Pilots of America was established in 1996.
In 2007, President George W. Bush awarded the Tuskegee Airmen the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor awarded by Congress. Bronze replicas of the medal were given to individual members, while the original medal is on exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution.
In 2014, Roscoe relocated to Westwood, New Jersey, to live with his daughter, Norma Draper Crocker, and her husband, David Crocker.
During a drive-by birthday celebration in 2022, fellow aviators and friends honored him on his 103rd birthday, and he received a proclamation from the Borough of Westwood, New Jersey. The declaration noted that he mastered effectively transmitting technical principles and fundamentals and built warm, mentoring relationships with his students.”
Roscoe Dubois Draper died in Westwood, New Jersey, on October 31, 2024, at 105.
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