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News / Northwest

Tuskegee airman William Booker dead at 90

The Columbian
Published: December 10, 2013, 4:00pm

SEATTLE — One of the first black military aviators known as the Tuskegee Airmen, William L. Booker, has died at the age of 90.

Booker’s family says he died Nov. 30 at a Kirkland, Wash., nursing home after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease.

Booker served as a navigator and flight engineer on B-25 bombers with the 477th Bombardment Group based at Godman Field, Ky. He flew with all-black crews with pilots trained in Alabama at Tuskegee Institute.

After World War II he worked for Boeing for 34 years. He served 10 years as president of the local Tuskegee Airmen’s chapter

Booker is survived by his wife of 45 years, Dolores, two sons, two daughters and grandchildren.

A memorial will be held Saturday at Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Seattle.

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