Business & Tech

Monrovia's Own Tuskegee Airman

The Monrovia Historical Museum's exhibit on a Tuskegee Airman from Monrovia is on display at the Krikorian Theater in conjunction with the release of a movie about the famous African-American WWII pilots.

An exhibit honoring a Tuskegee Airman from Monrovia is on display at the in time for the release of "Red Tails," a stylized action movie depicting the famous African-American World War II pilots.

Monrovian Leroy Criss flew with the legendary Tuskegee Airmen from 1943 to 1946 and learned to operate numerous aircraft, including the B-25 Mitchell Bomber, according to the exhibit.

The exhibit was erected in a display case inside the Krikorian and will remain there until the movie's run is finished, said museum curator Mark Still in an email.

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"Go by and see the exhibit if you can and learn more about our own history in the process," Still wrote.

The George Lucas-produced "Red Tails," which opened last Friday, tells the story of a crew of African-American pilots put through the Tuskegee training program, according to the Internet Movie Database. Criss is not depicted in "Red Tails," according to an IMDB casting list.

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Known as "Buster," Criss attended Monrovia Arcadia Duarte High School and spent 27 years teaching english, math, history and special education when he finished serving in the military. He also spent 30 years as the co-director of Outward Bound Adventures, a nonprofit organization that provides wilderness excursions for inner-city youth.


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