Courtesy Photo | Former Tuskegee Airman, Lt. Col. Walter "A-Train" Dryden passed away June 24 in...... read more read more
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Lt. Col. Charles Walker Dryden, aviation legend of the Tuskegee Airmen, died June 24, 2008 of natural causes at the age of 87 in Atlanta, Ga.
As boy, he dreamed of flying planes and learned to fly before he could drive a car, but the color of his skin almost kept him from realizing his dream.
Colonel Dryden's determination led him to his commissioning in 1942 and as a member of the second aviation class of the famous Tuskegee Airmen, flying P-40F Warhawks with the 99th Fighter Squadron.
"We dared not fail," Colonel Dryden said in a 1997 Atlanta Journal-Constitution interview. He said if the Tuskegee Airmen had failed, it would have widened the racial chasm that existed at the time.
Nicknamed 'A-Train' after his favorite Duke Ellington song, Dryden was tasked along with the Tuskegee Airmen to escort bombers during their missions in WWII. Throughout the war, none of the bombers they escorted were ever lost.
Flying his P-40, also nicknamed 'A-Train,' Dryden contributed to the Tuskegee Airmen becoming one of the most successful aviation squadrons in American history. He recounted many stories about his time in the squadron in his 1997 autobiography, "A-Train: Memoirs of a Tuskegee Airman."
After logging more the 4,000 flying hours and combat missions in the Korean War, Colonel Dryden retired in 1962.
He moved to Atlanta and worked for the Lockheed-Martin Company, maker of the C-130 Hercules, in the 1970's.
In 1998, Colonel Dryden was inducted into the Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame.
He never forgot his wingman and brothers-in-arms and helped their cause when he could. In September, 2005, 'A-Train' stopped by Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Ga. to help the 403rd Wing from Keesler Air Force Base, Miss. In the wake of the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina, Dryden and the Atlanta chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen made a donation to the Citizen Airmen of the 403rd Wing Katrina Relief Fund.
During the visit, he talked with aircrew from the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron "Hurricane Hunters." He told one flier, "I don't know how you do what you do flying in storms." The flier replied, "Sir, we don't know how you did what you did - Thank you." The visit was just one instance how Dryden continued to support his fellow aviators and the Air Force Reserve throughout his life.
Colonel Dryden is survived by his wife Marymal, three sons and five grandchildren.
| Date Taken: | 07.03.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 11.20.2025 09:56 |
| Story ID: | 551865 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 9 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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