Press Advisory: Congressman Cohen to Celebrate Luke Weathers Jr. VA Medical Center at Naming Ceremony July 24

MEMPHIS – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9), who introduced the bill to name the Memphis Veterans Affairs Medical Center for Tuskegee Airman Lieutenant Colonel Luke Weathers Jr. last year that became law in December, invites members of the news media to a naming ceremony and sign unveiling on Monday, July 24.

What: A Ceremony Naming the Lieutenant Colonel Luke Weathers Jr. VA Medical Center

When: 10 a.m. Monday, July 24 (Interviews with Congressman Cohen, VA officials and the Weathers family are available beginning at 9 a.m. in Room BE202A)

Where: The Lieutenant Colonel Luke Weathers Jr. VA Medical Center is at 1030 Jefferson Avenue. Enter the outpatient visitors parking lot from the Pauline Street entrance and park in the parking garage. The second and third levels of the parking garage have been designated for this event. Upon parking, you may take the elevator down to the first level where golf carts will be available to take you to the door of the medical center’s Bed Tower.

RSVP:Click here to register your attendance with Congressman Cohen’s office.

The Naming Ceremony will take place in the Medical Center theater on the second floor. Immediately following the ceremony, invited guests and the news media are invited to the unveiling of the new sign outside.

After the unveiling, a reception will be held in the medical center parking lot.

Background:Luke Joseph Weathers Jr. was born December 16, 1922, in Grenada, Mississippi. At age five, he moved to Memphis, Tennessee, where he graduated from Booker T. Washington High School and later became an alumnus of Xavier University in New Orleans, Louisiana. Upon graduating, Weathers enlisted in one of the first training programs for African American pilots, beginning his journey as a Tuskegee Airman. He flew this plane with the celebrated “Red Tails.”  During World War II, Weathers was credited with shooting down German planes while protecting United States Army Air Corps bombers and bringing down two Messerschmitt 109s in Italy while escorting a damaged B–24 Liberator bomber.

During his military career, Weathers rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He also received numerous honors and awards. Among them were the Distinguished Flying Cross, The Air Medal with seven clusters, and an American Theater Ribbon Victory Medal.

Following the war, Weathers returned to Memphis, receiving a hero’s welcome. On June 25, 1945, he became the first African American to receive the key to the City of Memphis, which declared the day “Luke Weathers Jr. Day.” 

In 1965, after transferring from his Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) position in Anchorage, Alaska, Weathers became the first African American Air Traffic Controller in Memphis. He later held positions with the FAA in Atlanta, Georgia, and in the District of Columbia, where he eventually retired in 1985 after serving as a reservist in the military for 23 years.

In 2007, Weathers and the Tuskegee Airmen were honored with the highest civilian recognition awarded by the U.S. Congress, the Congressional Gold Medal. The medal recognized their unique military record that inspired revolutionary reform in the Armed Forces.

On October 15, 2011, Weathers died in Tucson, Arizona, at the age of 90, leaving behind his wife, two sons and daughters, 12 grandchildren, and 10 great-grandchildren, as well as a legacy of countless lives he touched. On January 20, 2012, he was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.

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