In Memoriam: Tuskegee Airman Alfred Thomas Farrar dies at 99

Alfred Thomas Farrar, a former Tuskegee Airman and Army veteran, has died Virginia. He was 99.

Farrar’s son, Roy, told The Associated Press that his father died at his Lynchburg home. Farrar would have turned 100 years old on Dec. 26.

A native of Lynchburg, Virginia, Farrar left his hometown for Tuskegee, Alabama, after graduating from high school to begin his aviation training in 1941.

“It was the next best thing to do,” Farrar had told The News & Advance

Farrar learned to be a pilot during his time in U.S. Army Air Corps but didn’t fly any combat missions overseas, according to his son.

After his discharge in 1943, Alfred Thomas Farrar studied to be an aerospace engineer and worked as an engineer with the Federal Aviation Administration for nearly forty years.

WFXR-TV reports that the Lynchburg Area Veterans Council plans to honor Farrar and his service during the council’s “troop rally” on Christmas Day.

“In spite of tremendous discrimination, these young American men and womenserved their nation with distinction and opened the door of opportunity for many other Americans,” the council said in a statement.

(Photo: Obituary | https://www.davis-turner.com/obituary/alfred-farrar)