WWII pioneers will receive Congressional Medal of Honor on March 29.

*The Tuskegee Airmen, the elite crew of World War II pilots who destroyed more than 400 enemy aircraft while protecting the American and
Allied bombers they escorted on missions, will finally receive
recognition from the country they served with honor and distinction.
 
On March 29, the United States will honor the Tuskegee Airmen with the
Congressional Gold Medal of Honor, the highest civilian award bestowed
by the federal legislature. Equivalent to the Presidential Medal of
Freedom, the gold medal is awarded to individuals or groups for singular
acts of exceptional service and for lifetime achievement.
 
About 300 airmen, out of the nearly 1,000 trained at Tuskegee, will
attend the ceremony in the Capitol's rotunda, along with their families.
 
"It's sort of an open validation of the Tuskegee Airmen, that we fought
stereotypes, overcame them and prevailed," said Roscoe Brown, an
85-year-old Riverdale, N.Y., resident who graduated from the Tuskegee
program in 1944. "This is the ultimate when your nation recognizes you."
 
The Tuskegee fliers will join a distinguished group of recipients that
includes George Washington, Winston Churchill, Rosa Parks, the Wright
brothers and former Secretary of State Colin Powell.

Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., and Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., introduced
identical bills in the House of Representatives and the Senate in 2005
to give the airmen the congressional medal. The Senate bill passed in
October 2005 and the House followed in February 2006.

President Bush signed the bill into law last April.