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Re: Tuskeegee Airman - Ex-POW Passes

From: POW-MIA InterNetwork

Date: May 08, 2003

"Dr. Henry Wise, 82, Tuskegee Airman, Dies

Henry A. Wise Jr., 82, a Prince George's County physician, a former medical director at Bowie State University and a World War II pilot with the Tuskegee Airmen, died May 2 at Prince George's Hospital Center after a heart attack.

From 1955 until he retired 11 years ago, Dr. Wise had a family medical practice in Bowie, and he was among the few contemporary physicians who made house calls to his patients. In 1955, he joined the medical staff of Prince George's Hospital; for 14 years, he was its only African American physician.

As a combat pilot with the Tuskegee Airmen, Dr. Wise served in the 99th Pursuit Squadron. His plane was shot down in a raid on the Polesti oil fields in Romania, and he was a prisoner of war for about three months. He was rescued and repatriated by Soviet Union forces.

A resident of Lanham, Dr. Wise was born and raised in Cheriton, Va.

He graduated from Virginia Union University, then served from 1942 to 1946 in the Tuskegee Airmen of the Army Air Forces, the highly decorated African American unit that flew combat missions in Europe and the Mediterranean during World War II. Dr. Wise was a member of the Caterpillar Club, an organization of Tuskegee Airmen who were shot down. His decorations included a Purple Heart and Combat Air Medal.

After the war, Dr. Wise graduated from Howard University Medical School. He then opened his medical practice in Bowie. Coinciding with his private practice was his service as medical director at Bowie State University.

He was on the medical staff at Doctors Hospital in Lanham and was a founder of the Prince George's Society of Medical Professionals. He was a member of the National Medical Association, the American Medical Association and the Maryland State Medical Society.

Dr. Wise had been a volunteer with the state-sponsored Youth Motivational Program, encouraging high school students to continue their education. He received citations from former Maryland governors J. Millard Tawes and Marvin Mandel for this work.

He received an honorary doctorate from Bowie State University, a Distinguished Citizens Award from the Annapolis chapter of Links Inc. and a Statesman Leadership Award from the Prince George's Society of Health Professionals.

Survivors include his wife of 53 years, Roberta M. Wise of Lanham; two sons, Keith Evan Wise of Clinton and Henry A. Wise II of Fort Washington; two sisters, Rendella Gayton of Philadelphia and Sarah Wooten of Landover; and four grandchildren.

© 2003 The Washington Post Company"