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Lieutenant James T. Wiley of the Tuskegee Airman posing with his parents in Pittsburgh, circa 1942.
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Wiley, in uniform, sits on the arm of a bench while his parents sit on the seat.

Credit: Courtesy of the Carnegie Museum of Art, Teenie Harris Collection

While segregation of the American armed forces restricted most African Americans who served during World War II to non-combat units, a number did see action. Pittsburgh's James T. Wiley was one of the 24 original members of the famed 99th Pursuit Squadron of the Tuskegee Airmen. Wiley would remain in the Air Force, which desegregated during the Korean War, as an officer until 1965.

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