Theodore Lumpkin has passed away at the age of 100 after contracting COVID-19. Lumpkin is widely known as one of the visionaries who powered the groundbreaking military unit, Tuskegee Airmen.
Lumpkin was drafted into the military in 1942 and assigned to the 100th Fighter Squadron in Tuskegee, Alabama. He was not a pilot, but he did work as an intelligence officer who briefed pilots on missions.
After serving in the military, he attended the University of Southern California and earned a degree in sociology. Following his graduation, he worked as a social worker in Los Angeles County and a real estate agent.
Later in life, Lumpkin and the rest of the Tuskegee Airmen were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal. Two years after receiving the Congressional Gold Medal, he was invited to attend the inauguration of the first Black President, Barack Obama.
Despite his accomplishments, the Lumpkins say Theodore was very humble about his success. His wife, Georgia Lumpkin, said that her husband did not share much about his life in the military at first.
"We were married for a number of years until I heard about them," Georgia Lumpkin said.
"When I realized who these guys were and what they'd done, I was just overcome at how much they persevered. They did not bow down. They achieved things that detractors said they couldn't, weren't capable of doing."
At 100 years old, Lumpkin leaves behind his aforementioned wife, Georgia, three children, several grandchildren and a great-grandchild.
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