Black History Month: Retired airman reflects on history making service

Robert Anthony Thornton was one of the first airmen to join the United States Air Force

WARNER ROBINS, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – 93-year-old Robert Anthony Thornton made history seven decades ago at the age of 17 when he became one of the first airmen in the United States Air Force.

“The first few weeks I was there, that’s when the Air Force separated from the Army,” he said, referring to the launching of the new military branch in 1947.

Thornton’s first assignment was in Okinawa, Japan. He says he wasn’t scared but excited.

His mother? Not so much.

“My mother raised me, and she didn’t want me to leave home because she said I was too young,” he said. “But I guess I just felt like I was ready to go.”

And off he went.

“I was a colored solider, then a negro solider, then a Black solider,” he said. “Black was the latest thing. You gotta understand the era I was in. It was normal. I knew exactly what it meant.”

While some of those words are offensive to some today, Thornton says it was just the way things were during that time. He says seeing the progress in the country and specifically in the military has given him hope.

The airman served more than 20 years until he retired and went to work for the post office for another 20 years.

Service runs through the Thornton blood. His grandson, Bernard Osborne, served in the military, too.  He says his grandfather, and others like him, are the reason he decided to join.

“If it was not for them, we would not be here,” Bernard said. “We would not be able to do the things we do, and I think we should always honor them.”