Henry Wise Jr.

{{Infobox military person

|honorific_prefix=

|name= Henry Wise Jr.

|image= File:Henry Wise Jr.jpeg

|image_size=

|caption=

|nickname=

|birth_name=Henry Alphonso Wise Jr.

|birth_date= {{Birth date|1920|05|26}}

|birth_place= Cheriton, Virginia, United States

|death_date= {{Death date and age|2003|05|02|1920|08|03}}

|death_place= Cheverly, Maryland, United States

|placeofburial=

|allegiance= United States

|branch= United States Army Air Forces

|serviceyears= 1942–1946

|rank= Second Lieutenant

|unit= 99th Pursuit Squadron, 332nd Division, Tuskegee Airmen

|commands=

|battles= World War II

|awards= {{plainlist|

Purple Heart
Air Medal
Congressional Gold Medal awarded to the Tuskegee Airmen
Certificate of Valor for Courage
Tuskegee Airmen Pioneer Award}}

|relations=

|laterwork=

}}

Henry A. Wise Jr. (August 3, 1920 – May 2, 2003){{POW}} was an American physician and World War II Tuskegee Airman fighter pilot with the 99th Pursuit Squadron, 332nd Division. He was shot down over Romania and was a prisoner of war. After the war, he became the medical director at Bowie State University.

Early life

Wise was born in Cheriton, Virginia, and he graduated from the all black private school, Virginia Union University.{{cite news |title=Dr. Henry Wise, 82; Tuskegee Airman, Medical Director |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-may-09-me-passings9.2-story.html |access-date=13 November 2021 |agency=Staff and Wire Reports |work=Los Angeles Times |date=9 May 2003}}

Career

File:Tuskegee P-51.jpg

From 1942 to 1946 served as a pilot in the Tuskegee Airmen. Wise's plane was shot down over Romania near the Ploesti oilfields. He spent three months as a prisoner of war.

In 1955 Wise left his family practice to work as a physician at Prince George's Hospital Center. At that time Wise was the only African American physician. He went on to become the medical director at Bowie State University{{cite news |title=Dr. Henry Wise, 82, Tuskegee Airman, Dies |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2003/05/08/dr-henry-wise-82-tuskegee-airman-dies/ce40806e-f0fb-4631-8225-347b9dca0b50/ |access-date=13 November 2021 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=2003}}

Dr. Henry A. Wise Jr. High School was approved by the Board of Education for Prince George's County Public Schools in 2005.{{cite web |title=Dr. Henry A. Wise, Jr. High School Official Site |url=https://dmspropertiesllc.com/dr-henry-a-wise-jr-high-school-official-site/ |website=DMS Properties, LLC |date=8 October 2020 |access-date=13 November 2021}}

Death

Wise suffered a heart attack and died at Prince George's Hospital Center on May 2, 2003.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

Awards

Air Medal
Certificate of Valor for Courage in Combat
Congressional Gold Medal awarded to the Tuskegee Airmen in 2006{{cite web|title=Public Law 109–213—APR. 11, 2006 Congressional Gold Medal to the Tuskegee Airmen|url=https://www.congress.gov/109/plaws/publ213/PLAW-109publ213.pdf|website=Congress.gov|publisher=US Library of Congress|date=11 April 2006|access-date=14 November 2021}}
Pioneer Award for Distinguished Service and Historic Achievement.
Purple Heart

References

=Notes=

External links

Fly (2009 play about the 332d Fighter Group)
[https://web.archive.org/web/20131204121846/http://www.tuskegee.edu/about_us/legacy_of_fame/tuskegee_airmen.aspx Tuskegee Airmen] at Tuskegee University
[http://library.ucr.edu/?view=tuskegee/index.html Tuskegee Airmen Archives] at the University of California, Riverside Libraries.
[http://tuskegeeairmen.org/ Tuskegee Airmen, Inc.]
[http://www.nps.gov/tuai/index.htm Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site] (U.S. National Park Service)
[http://www.tuskegeeairmennationalmuseum.org/ Tuskegee Airmen National Museum]