Curtis C. Robinson

Robinson was born on August 25, 1919, in Orangeburg, South Carolina. One of six children, Robinson was the son of college graduates and school teachers. After graduating from Claflin College in 1940, Robinson became a school teacher in Spartanburg County, South Carolina, where he taught geography, mathematics, history and general science. In 1945 after returning from World War II, Robinson married Florie Frederick Robinson. They were married for 56 years until Florie's death at the age of 79. ==Military career==

As the United States began to ramp up conscription in preparation for World War II, Robinson visited his local Spartanburg County, South Carolina U.S. Army base, Camp Penn. Soon realizing that menial work and demeaning treatment of enlisted African American soldiers were less than ideal, Robinson applied to become an aviation cadet at Tuskegee Army Air Field in Tuskegee, Alabama. In 1942, U.S. Army Air Corps accepted Robinson into Tuskegee's program, sending him first to U.S. Army Air Corps's Shaw AFB in Sumter, South Carolina, for induction. However, the white officers mishandled the new African American inductees based on race, sending Robinson and other African American candidates back to their homes multiple times. In August 1942, the U.S. Army Air Corps finally assigned Robinson to Tuskegee. On April 29, 1943, Robinson graduated as a member of the Single Engine Section Cadet Class SE-43-D, receiving his silver wings and commission as a 2nd Lieutenant. ==Pharmaceutical career==

In 1947, Robinson relocated to Washington, D.C., with his pregnant wife to work at the National Security Agency. In January 2008, Robinson closed the last of his six pharmacies. Robinson and his family lived in the Hillcrest community of Washington, D.C. ==Honors==

• In 2003, Howard University School of Pharmacy awarded Robinson its Howard University School of Pharmacy achievement award. • In 2004, Claflin University inducted Robinson into its Hall of Fame. • In 2006 the Tuskegee Airmen were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal. ==Death==

Robinson died on October 12, 2009, in Washington, D.C. He was interred at Arlington National Cemetery, plot sec: 4, Site: 2715-A, in Arlington, Virginia, Arlington County. ==See also==