Former Tuskegee Airman Staffer Still Giving Back After 49 Years
U.S. Air Force Veteran Eddie Manning grew up in small-town Mississippi during a turbulent time for African Americans.
The son of a sharecropper, his father struggled to provide for him and his siblings. He attended a one-room school in an area that still had segregated drinking fountains, among other things.
Eddie spent his youth overcoming those challenges and joined the Air Force the day after graduating high school, the first of his siblings to leave the farm.
“There was no future in Mississippi. I didn’t have the money for college so I had to do something to find my way out,” Manning said.
He was assigned to the 803rd Transportation Squadron and earned the distinction of working with Colonel Chappie James of the Tuskegee Airmen - the first Black man to become a four-star general.
After leaving the military in 1969, Eddie made his way to Illinois where he worked at the Chrysler Corporation until his retirement.
Although Eddie retired, he wasn’t finished working. In fact, far from it. He wasn’t finished serving others, either. He wanted to positively contribute to his community...and did he ever.
Over the next 49 years, he coached little league football, teaching valuable life lessons and inspiring future leaders. His impact on thousands of players was recognized by the City of Rockford, Illinois, when they declared August 18, 2017, “Ed Manning’s Day.”
Eddie’s advice to kids: “Get an education. And always give back.”
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