Vernon Hopson, 84, was a proud Tuskegee Airman
Matthew Kruk
Vernon Hopson was a proud Tuskegee Airman
His military service opened the door
for him to become one of the first
black air traffic controllers in the
nation. He had a spirit that said, "I
can do that," his wife said.
By TIM HARLOW, Star Tribune
Last update: September 3, 2009 - 9:07 PM
As a young black growing up during the Great
Depression in La Grange, Texas, Vernon Hopson
spent many days working in the fields and
watching as airplanes buzzed the crops. He told
himself that one day he was going to fly.
He read an newspaper article about the Tuskegee
Airmen, then got a word of encouragement from
his high school principal, who had been kicked
out of flight training school just two months
before his graduation because he was black. He
told Hopson to pursue his dream.
That was all Hopson needed to spur him to enlist
in the Army Air Forces and join the group of black
pilots who flew with distinction during World War
II.
"That word was very important and gave him
assurance that somebody was behind him," said
Hopson's wife, Norma, of Minneapolis. "Vernon
was one with the spirit that said, 'I can do that.'"
For his service, he was given a Congressional
Gold Medal by President George W. Bush in 2007.
Hopson died of esophageal cancer Aug. 28 at his
home in Minneapolis. He was 84.
He passed a battery of arduous tests to become
one of the famed airmen. He never saw combat
action -- his unit was called back on the day it
was to be deployed -- but he did fly P-40
Warhawks and P-47 Thunderbolts "and was ready
to go," said Ray Spann, friend and former control
tower manager at St. Paul's Holman Field.
Hopson's military service opened the door for
him to become one of the first black air traffic
controllers in the nation, his wife said. For more
than 20 years, he manned towers at airports in
places such as Oklahoma; Aurora, Ill.;
Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, and St.
Paul's Holman Field, where he met Spann. He was
forced to retire in 1987 when he started taking
medication for high blood pressure, Norma said.
"He was an excellent employee," said Spann, who
worked with Hopson for about 15 years. "He had
a calming influence and didn't pop under stress.
When there was a traffic incident to be taken care
of, he took care of it. He was a pillar of strength
for those he worked with."
Hopson was extremely proud of being a Tuskegee
Airman, his wife said, and in later years recounted
his experiences of being a black pilot during talks
he gave at elementary and high schools in
Minneapolis and St. Paul.
He was a talented woodworker who in his off time
refinished furniture for friends and family
members. He also enjoyed reading books,
especially accounts of World War II, history,
airplanes and murder mysteries, Norma said. And
he was a benevolent guy who helped buy two
vans for his church, Macedonia Baptist Church,
when it was formed in 1981, she said.
In addition to his wife, Norma, Hopson is survived
by two stepdaughters, Angela Davis and Joyce
Davis, both of Minneapolis; a stepson, Sylvanus
Davis of Bloomington; a brother, Jesse Hopson of
Aurora, Ill., four grandchildren and one great-
grandchild. He was preceded in death by his first
wife, Gertie Hopson.
Services will be held at 11 a.m. today at Macedonia
Baptist Church, 3801 1st Av. S., Minneapolis.