Terry J. Charlton Jr.

Terry Joseph Charlton, Jr (May 31, 1916 - December 20, 1988) was an U.S. Army Air Force officer and combat fighter pilot with the 332nd Fighter Group's 99th Fighter Squadron, best known as the prodigious, all-African American Tuskegee Airmen, "Red Tails," or “Schwartze Vogelmenschen” ("Black Birdmen") among enemy German pilots.
He is notable for being a member of Tuskegee Advance Flying School (TAFS)'s Class Number Class SE-42-J, the Tuskegee Airmen's eighth pilot cadet class.. He was one of the 1,007 documented Tuskegee Airmen Pilots.
Early Life, Family
Charlton Jr was born on May 31, 1916, in Beaumont, Texas in Jefferson County. He was the son of Terry J. Charlton Sr. (1 May 1874 - 25 Dec 1934), a professor and co-founder of the Charlton-Pollard High School, and Bobbie Blanche Hubert Charlton (1886-1934). Charlton Jr was the oldest of several siblings: Laly Venton Charlton Washington (1917-2007), Charles Hubert Charlton (1919-2003), George Robert Charlton (1921-2003), Thomas Pollard Charlton (1923-1989), and Mary Lula Charlton (1925-1929).
Charlton Jr's paternal grandfather, Charles Napoleon Charlton (“Charlie Pole Charlton”) (January 19, 1845 - March 23, 1908), was a formerly enslaved African American who arrived in Beaumont, Texas in 1869 and founded Charlton High School. In 1924, Charlton Sr collaborated with T.T. Pollard to merge Charlton High School and Beaumont High School to become Beaumont Charlton Pollard High School. Charlton Jr.'s maternal grandmother was a formerly enslaved African American woman named "Peggy" whom Hubert names in his diaries as his "cook.” According to poet and genealogical researcher Lauren Russell, Hubert fathered several children with Peggy, including Russell's own great-great-grandmother.
Charlton Jr was married to Elizabeth Lucille Charlton. They had several children: Carolyn Frances Charlton, Terry Joseph Charlton III, Paulette Velma Charlton, Claudette Angela Charlton, William Earl Charlton, Merrell Arlene Charlton (5 Oct 1949 - 10 Sep 2012), Elizabeth Ollie Charlton, and Adrienne Jocelyn Charlton. On February 9, 1946, Charlton Jr. was discharged from the U.S. Army Air Corps with the rank of 1st Lieutenant.<ref name="peerygenealogy.com"/>
Very little information is documented about Charlton Jr.'s life after World War II.
Death
Charlton Jr passed away on 1988. He was interred at Anthony Cemetery in Beaumont, Texas in Jefferson County.

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