BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. – Lt. Co. Harry T. Stewart Jr. is 95 years old and is one of only a dozen living Tuskegee Airmen combat pilots from World War II.
It was Stewart's dream to become a pilot, a dream that would come true -- but not without exceptions.
Stewart volunteered for war service at 17. He was 18 years old and couldn't even drive a car when he joined the 332nd Fighter Group and piloted single-seat P-51 Mustang bombers over Europe.
"It was like an extension of my own arms," Stewart said. "I was part of the airplane and the airplane was part of me."
African Americans weren't accepted for pilot training in the U.S. Army Air Corps until World War II. Even then, it was under the condition the unit was segregated.
Tuskegee Army Airfield -- now known as Sharpe Field -- in Alabama was the only training base for black pilots at the time.
When Stewart was 20, he would fly P-51 Mustangs, escorting B-17 Flying Fortress and B-24 Liberator bombers and protecting their crews from enemy fighter planes.
"It was quite a responsibility and quite an honor on us to go ahead and protect those bombers," Stewart said.
Stewart would go on to fly dozens of combat missions with the 301st Fighter Squadron, also known as the Red Tails, shooting down Nazi planes in 1944.
By the end of the war, he had become an American hero, but he didn't receive a hero's welcome when he returned to the States.
"The same old, same old. The opportunities were no greater. No benefits given," Stewart said. "I personally tried to get jobs with two airlines and was rejected because of the color of my skin."
He took a job working as a baggage handler for the railroad. Stewart said he worked three levels underground, taking cargo off freight cars.
Stewart went to school to become an engineer and worked his way up the corporate ladder at Detroit's ANR Pipeline Company. In retirement, he spent his time introducing aviation to younger generations. He would teach his students to perservere by not letting their failures destroy their drive.
He's hoping that message is taken by readers of his new book, "Soaring to Glory: A Tuskegee Airman's Firsthand Account of World War II," released June 4.
"I think I would like it to inspire the youth," Stewart said. "Mainly going after their dreams aggressively. Keep your eye on the prize. Always establish a backup position."