22 AF commander recognizes original Tuskegee Airman Published Nov. 21, 2014 By Don Alexander Atlanta Chapter Tuskegee Airmen, Inc. RIVERSDALE, Ga. -- Maj. Gen. Stayce Harris, 22nd Air Force commander, shares a smile with Irma Dryden, an original Tuskegee Airman, during the presentation of a Congressional Gold Medal replica on Nov. 11, 2014. The medal was presented to Dryden by Harris during the Veterans Day Appreciation Celebration held at the Prince Hall Grand East in Riverdale, Georgia. The Atlanta Chapter Tuskegee Airmen, Inc. and the Prince Hall Grand Lodge hosted the event. Dryden served as a nurse during World War II and was commissioned as a second lieutenant at Tuskegee Army Airfield. More than 500 guests including high school cadets from several metro Atlanta USAF Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps units took part in the celebration. Former President George W. Bush, presented the original Congressional Gold Medal to Dr. Roscoe Brown, Jr., an original Tuskegee Airmen in Washington, D.C. on March 29, 2007, during the Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony for the Tuskegee Airmen. More than 300 Tuskegee Airmen attended the event. The original medal is on display at the Smithsonian.
