Thomas Franklin Vaughns

{{Infobox military person

| honorific_prefix = Sergeant first class

| name = Thomas Franklin Vaughns

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| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1920|7|7}}

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| birth_place = Pine Bluff, Arkansas, U.S.

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| allegiance = United States of America

| branch = United States Army Air Force

| serviceyears = 1942–1952

| rank = Sergeant first class

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| awards = {{Plainlist |

Congressional Gold Medal awarded to the Tuskegee Airmen (2006)
National Defense Service Medal (2019)

}}

| spouse =

| relations = Luvada

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Sergeant First Class Thomas Franklin Vaughns (born July 7, 1920) is an American veteran who was a member of the famed group of World War II-era African-Americans known as the Tuskegee Airmen. He is a recipient of the National Defense Service Medal in 2019, for his service in the Korean War.{{cite news |last1=Ellis |first1=Dale |title=Arkansas veteran, 99, given new medal, praise for life lived |url=https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2019/aug/22/white-hall-veteran-99-given-new-medal-p/ |accessdate=8 August 2020 |publisher=Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. |date=22 August 2019}}{{cite news |last1=Adams |first1=Char |title='Hero' 99-Year-Old Tuskegee Airman Honored With Medals and His Own Day in Special Ceremony |url=https://people.com/human-interest/thomas-franklin-vaughns-tuskegee-airman-99-honor-medal/ |accessdate=8 August 2020 |agency=People Magazine |publisher=Meredith Corporation |date=27 August 2019}} He is also a member of the Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame.{{cite news |last1=Steed |first1=Stephan |title=Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame to welcome 6 new members |url=https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2020/mar/06/agriculture-hall-of-fame-to-welcome-6-n/ |accessdate=8 August 2020 |publisher=Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. |date=6 March 2020}}

Military service

= World War II =

File:Tuskegee P-51.jpg

Vaughns was drafted his senior year of high school. In 1942 reported for duty at Camp Robinson. He was sent to basic training in Bakersfield, California. Vaughns was trained to be a mechanic for B-25 bombers. He was then transferred to Tuskegee along with 18 others.

=Korean War=

Vaughns signed up for the Army Reserves and when the Korean War began he was sent to Fort Hood where he served as a mechanic. In 1952 he was discharged as a Sergeant First Class.{{cite news |last1=Boozman |first1=Senator John |title=Boozman Recognizes Service of Tuskegee Airman |url=https://www.boozman.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2019/9/boozman-recognizes-service-of-tuskegee-airman#:~:text=Vaughns%20served%20as%20a%20Supply,for%20soldiers%20who%20were%20deploying. |accessdate=8 August 2020 |publisher=Boozman Senate |date=23 September 2019}}

Early life

Vaughns family owned a 50-acre farm in Felton, in rural Lee County, Arkansas. He attended Marianna High School in Arkansas. On July 12, 2020, for Vaughn's 100th birthday 5 days earlier, a drive-by parade honoring him took place. The parade was organized by the church he attends: Barraque Street Missionary Baptist Church.{{cite news |title=Thomas Vaughns to observe 100th birthday with drive-by parade |url=https://www.swtimes.com/news/20200710/thomas-vaughns-to-observe-100th-birthday-with-drive-by-parade |accessdate=8 August 2020 |agency=Times Record |publisher=Gannett Co., Inc. |date=10 July 202}}

=Awards=

Congressional Gold Medal awarded to the Tuskegee Airmen in 2006{{cite news | last =Rangel, Charles B. | title =Tuskegee Airmen Gold Medal Signed Into Law | work =Press Release | publisher =United States House of Representatives | date =April 11, 2006 | url =http://www.house.gov/list/press/ny15_rangel/CBRStatementTuskegeeBillSigned04112006.html | accessdate = 2008-11-26}}
World War II Victory Medal
American Campaign Medal
National Defense Service Medal (2019)
Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame (2020)

Education

Marianna High School
Arkansas Agricultural, Mechanical & Normal College
University of Arkansas

Personal life

After World War II Vaughns returned home to Pine Bluff, Arkansas. There he worked in education. He also worked monitoring 4-H Club members. After the war, he attended college and married Luvada. He signed up for the Army Reserves and when the Korean War began he was sent to Fort Hood. In the 1950s he set up a program for farmers to sell their produce in Crittenden County, Arkansas and later in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. His programs provided employment for 1,400 people. He spent the rest of his career occupied with teaching agricultural farming techniques.

References

=Notes=

External links

[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]
Fly (2009 play about the 332d Fighter Group)
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J52RcYnnI7Q Thomas Vaughns]