When former postal employee Roscoe Draper entered Civilian Pilot Training Program at Hampton University in Hampton, VA, he didn’t intend to become part of an important chapter of World War II history.

Draper, an African-American, received his pilot certification in 1940 and attempted to enter the U.S. Army Air Corps. But America was segregated. “My application was rejected,” Draper said.

He later became a flight instructor at Tuskegee Institute in Tuskegee, AL, alongside Charles Alfred “Chief” Anderson. The Postal Service has issued a stamp honoring Anderson as part of its Distinguished Americans series.

Anderson was the first African-American to receive a commercial pilot’s license. His efforts helped convince the government to allow African-Americans into the air corps during World War II.

“Chief was admired, respected, and loved by all of us who worked with him,” Draper said.

Anderson and his instructors trained 1,000 cadets now known as Tuskegee Airmen, the military’s first African-American aviation corps. It flew combat missions in Europe and protected bombers from enemy fighters during the war.

Among them was Col. Charles McGee, who flew 136 missions and holds the record for flying more combat sorties than any fighter pilot. Fellow Airman William Campbell flew 106.  Campbell’s son is USPS Administrative Judge William Campbell, who dedicated the Chief Anderson stamp March 13.

After the war, Draper joined the Postal Service in 1947 and worked as a clerk at the Philadelphia General Post Office. In 1970, he transferred to the Federal Aviation Administration. At age 60 he became a certified helicopter instructor. Now 95 and retired, Draper doesn’t fly any more but his heart still soars recalling the Tuskegee Airmen.