Beer Named After One Of The Last Surviving Tuskegee Airmen
CHICAGO (CBS News) - It has been more than 70 years since Jack Lyle flew into combat in the skies above German-held territory in World War II. The 97-year-old veteran is one of the last living Tuskegee Airmen -- a unit of elite African American pilots formed during World War II, when blacks were not allowed to fly with whites.
This past weekend, Lyle was celebrated on Veteran's Day with a beer named in his honor. Lyle and his wife, Eunice, drove over from their southside Chicago home last Thursday to pay a visit to Argus Brewery, in the historic Pullman neighborhood of the city, where they are regulars after meeting the brewers during a tour.
Lyle was there to see the new beer that Argus had brewed in his honor, called 'Tuskegee Airmen Pursuit.' Lyle's picture is even on the label. It went on sale this past weekend with $5.00 from every bottle going to a Tuskegee Airmen charity that teaches teens how to fly.
There are only 300 bottles of the beer. It is a farmhouse ale, aged in wine barrels.
Lyle flew in 27 combat missions over German-held territory in a North American P-51 Mustang, escorting bombers and even shooting down a German plane.