SEATTLE (AP) — One of the first Black military aviators known as the Tuskegee Airmen, William L. Booker, has died at the age of 90.
Booker’s family says he died Nov. 30 at a Kirkland, Wash., nursing home after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease.
Booker served as a navigator and flight engineer on B-25 bombers with the 477th Bombardment Group based at Godman Field, Ky. He flew with all-Black crews with pilots trained in Alabama at Tuskegee Institute.
After World War II he worked for Boeing for 34 years. He served 10 years as president of the local Tuskegee Airmen’s chapter.
Booker is survived by his wife of 45 years, Dolores, two sons, two daughters and grandchildren.
A memorial will be held Saturday at Mount Zion Baptist Church in Seattle.