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On March 29 in the Capitol Rotunda, the Tuskegee Airmen received the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor bestowed by the United States Government. For each individual present, it was a moment that would be remembered but never repeated.

One Delaware County institution had more than a small part in the history-making day.

The Pennsylvania Veterans Museum in Media adopted the story of the Tuskegee Airmen as one of the inaugural exhibits as it opened in 2005 with World War II. Through intent and chance, this group of African-American veterans became the subject of the first documentary produced by the museum.

The film, "On Freedom's Wings, Bound for Glory," tells the story of the airmen's fight against the racism at home and enemy abroad through archival film and, most importantly, first-hand accounts of Lt. Colonel Lee Archer, Colonel Charles McGee and Capt. Luther H. Smith of Villanova, Delaware County's only known Original Tuskegee Airman. The film and accompanying curriculum are an important part of the museum's educational mission for students throughout Pennsylvania.

The personal relationships grew between the PVM and Original Tuskegee Airmen (OTA) and culminated last week with a three-person-team of the museum providing substantial logistical support for the events in Washington, D.C.

At the beginning of March, the White House gave Congress three weeks notice that President George W. Bush would be available for the ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda. It would also include Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi; President Pro Tempore of the Senate Robert Byrd; minority and majority leaders of both House and Senate; sponsors of the bill for the medal Rep. Charles Rangel of New York and Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan; and a number of special guest including Former Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Colin Powell.

Museum Executive Secretary Bob McMahon; Executive Director Joanna Murphy; and Assistant Director JoAnne Schultze sprang into action as well. The ceremony was a critical part of the Tuskegee story - 63 years in coming, and, as many airmen have said, "long overdue."

"The museum was invited to use two cameras to film the event for the completion of our documentary,'' said McMahon, Media Mayor and PVM executive secretary. "Our role in the two weeks before the event grew from filming to supplying full logistic support for the day because neither Congress nor the White House is permitted to do so."

Transport and security were particularly challenging, given the age of most airmen and, in some cases, fragile condition. The Capitol Police liaison knew that having all the airmen and guests stream into the building in an unorganized fashion was a recipe for chaos.

"If each airman and guest had to make their own arrangement, it would have never happened," McMahon said.

He worked with a seasoned transportation company and coordinated with the police to screen everyone on leaving the hotel where more than 400 people enjoyed a breakfast sponsored by PECO Energy and Conoco Phillips Refinery. Between all the locations, McMahon figures there were about 3,000 total trips provided.

In addition to the Capitol Police, the team dealt with Secret Service and other White House representatives. McMahon said Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa) not only agreed to speak briefly at the breakfast, but was a great help in the planning stages as a "troubleshooter."

Thanks to some finessing by McMahon, Ms. Murphy found herself in the rarified position of becoming a back-up for the White House photographer. She was one of only three photographers given access to the balcony of Statuary Hall and other restricted locations under the watchful eyes of Secret Service and Capitol Police.

"Sometimes it was a constant back and forth between the various securities as to where I could go and where I couldn't," said Ms. Murphy of Springfield, who might have thought she would be prepared for anything as the mother of a 3-year-old daughter and 9-month-old triplets.

McMahon, Ms. Murphy and Ms. Schultze were all present in the Rotunda to hear Colin Powell say he had directly benefited from the airmen's stand for their civil rights in the service; for the congressional leadership to repeatedly cite their service and sacrifice; and for President Bush to offer and receive in return a salute.

The day came to an end with a reception given in the Library of Congress by Ms. Pelosi. But the ride back to Media proved just one more chance for the three to reflect on what they had been able to accomplish in a short amount of time and ultimately talk about how to further the museum's mission.

"Being part of this and making it a great day for the Tuskegee Airman was the most gratifying part of the day. Moving forward, we made some great contacts for the museum. Through the Tuskegee Airmen and their story, we have the opportunity to spread our educational program throughout Pennsylvania and beyond. We had several people very interested in the program and curriculum to be used in schools in other parts of the country," said McMahon. "And there couldn't be a better group of gentlemen than the Tuskegee Airmen to teach World War II history."

©CountyPressOnline.com 2007