Eugene Richardson, a member of class 45A of the Tuskegee Airmen regaled the crowd of onlookers with stories of how he became a member of one of the most revered air force battalions to ever grace the sky along with being the first all-black unit.

As a five-year-old, Richardson said he went to his first air show, “Ever since then I wanted to fly an airplane, and there were a 1,000 other black guys just like me who wanted to fly an airplane.”

Bucks’ Newtown campus was host to the former airmen on Feb. 13, completing Richardson’s three campus tour of the college.

Richardson was effusive in his praise for all the men of color who were able to fly before him as well as the men and women of color who continue to defy the odds today. Richardson, adorn in a light blue sports coat, explained just how hard it was to even graduate from the Tuskegee academy.

“(About) 66 percent of an incoming class would not make it to graduation,” he said.

The Tuskegee Academy was just an experiment to prove that African-Americans could not fly, he said. “Until then, no one believed that a black man belonged in the military.”

Although Richardson’s class never saw combat, he took great pride in being a part of the Tuskegee Institute.

Eleanor Roosevelt was integral in getting the program up in the air so to speak. The First Lady was very interested in the work that took place at the Tuskegee Institute.

“I want to ride with them (A black pilot),” Roosevelt said after a fateful visit to the academy in 1941.

During WWII, one out of every seven U.S. soldiers was African-American. A huge accomplishment given that since 1812 there were regulations banning African-Americans from the military.

Richardson took great pride in the great changes that have occurred since he attended the Tuskegee Institute, noting that “not only do we have a first black president (Barack Obama), but he was elected for a second term.”

Those who were in attendance for the event were truly moved by Richardson’s courage.

“My dad is a WWII veteran, still living, and I just wanted to get a different perspective,” Denise McCarl of Warrington said. “I got a lot of information about the Tuskegee airmen and I was very impressed with the speaker’s knowledge and experiences.”

“I wanted to hear what he had to say,” Vanessa Brown of Croydon said. “Blacks coming up in the ranks as far as pilots are concerned, the separation, the discrimination and how they were able to overcome and stay on top of their game.”

Through Richardson struggled to become a pilot, he never lost faith in himself and encouraged all young people to work hard to achieve their goals.

“It’s important to have a dream, you’ve got to be willing to work hard and sacrifice for that dream,” he said. “I’ve heard the word ‘grit’ of late, you’ve got to have grit, you’ve got to be able to stay in and face the challenges.”

“Whatever is happening, it will come to pass. If you’re working hard, it will come to pass, but you got to be willing to stay and work.”