Following his graduation from the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute, Campbell went to work as a clerk for the
United States Department of Agricultural Extension. During his time working for Agricultural Extension, he encountered an opportunity to enroll in the
Tuskegee Army Air Field class SE-42-F. He graduated from the program on July 3, 1942, as a second lieutenant. and reported for duty to the
553d Fighter-Bomber Squadron in Michigan in December. Campbell returned to the Europe in 1944 as a captain and, on October 11, he rejoined the 99th Fighter Squadron which was, since July 1944, reassigned from attachment with the 324th Fighter Group of the Twelfth Air Force to the 332d Fighter Group, already consisting of the all black 10th, 301st, and 302nd fighter squadrons which had also come from the Twelfth Air Force, but joined the Fifteenth Air Force in April 1944, which by order of the Fifteenth Air Force, was given the tail identification color of red for their P-47Ds and later P-51s that gave them the name "Red Tails". The mission successfully destroyed 17 enemy airplanes on the ground. Campbell received the
Distinguished Flying Cross on New Year's Day 1945; the medal was presented to him by Brigadier General
Dean C. Strother. Three months later, on March 31, 1945, Campbell participated in a mission of the 332d Fighter Group to destroy railroad and other targets in the area surrounding
Munich, Germany. The mission successfully shot down 13 enemy fighters; Campbell was credited for one of the 13 kills. For his actions, Campbell earned an
oak leaf cluster in lieu of a second Distinguished Flying Cross. He became the first African American pilot to receive the Distinguished Flying Cross when he was officially awarded the oak leaf cluster on May 29, 1945. Over the course of World War II, Campbell actively served in the Sicilian and Italian campaigns and flew 106 missions, becoming the first African American pilot to drop a bomb on enemy targets in United States history. Campbell went on to fight in two more wars during his military career, as he served in both Korea and Vietnam. He remained in the service until 1970, reaching the rank of full colonel. After his retirement from active duty in 1970, Campbell taught Defense Resource Management at the
Naval Postgraduate School in
Monterey, California, for 13 years and was a member of the Tuskegee Airmen Commission established by the State of Alabama. ==Marriage and children==