Portrait of Tuskegee Airman William Johnson Jr.

Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

This gelatin silver print depicts a black and white image of a Tuskegee airman. The airman faces the camera but his gaze is directed just off center. He is wearing an enlisted-man's cap insignia and a cowhide B-15 jacket with a removable fur collar. The matting is signed just below the bottom right corner of the print in black ink [Love, /Bill]. The matting has two attached panels which, when utilized, would allow the print to stand upright and be displayed. On the inside of these panels is more text in the same hand. The first panel reads [To my darling wife to/be. I love you/Signed/Bill]. The second panel reads [P.F.C. William Johnson]n Jr./16008982 [illegible] U.S.A / 3502 [illegible] / Chanute Field, [illegible]].

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