A Friendship Formed in Heaven.

This is amazing! Clarence E. Huntley Jr. and Joseph Shambrey (pictured below) died on January 5, 2015 in their respective Los Angeles homes. They were both 91. Huntley and Shambrey were among the famed Tuskegee Airmen, the all-black fighter squadron that flew in World War. As lifelong friends, Huntley and Shambrey enlisted together in 1942 and, in 1944, were also together in Italy with the 100th Fighter Squadron of the Army Air Force's 332nd Fighter Group. As mechanics, their main responsibility was to keep the combat planes flying.

Alas, their heroic war efforts did not spare them from the rabid racism of those ugly days in the American history. According to Shambrey's son, the war veteran recalled getting off a train in Alabama where a hospitality station was welcoming returning white troops with handshakes and free coffee. Not only were the men, still in uniforms, denied appreciative handshakes because of the color of their skin, but also were made to pay for their coffee.

Since the end of the World War Two though, the two men were said to have got closer as friends, except that they would not talk about the war. The friendship between these two gentlemen could only have been formed in heaven. In today’s world, “Best Friends Forever” (B.F.F.) is only a cliché. It’s no wonder that many will rather settle for mere acquaintances that can, once-in-awhile, be window-dressed as “close friends”.



Clarence E. Huntley Jr. (left) and Joseph Shambrey (right) COURTESY Los Angeles Chapter Tuskegee Airmen Inc president Ron Brewington.