Melvin Patterson Sikes (1917 - 2012)

Biography

Melvin Patterson Sikes served as a US military pilot during World War II. He was one of the “Documented Original Tuskegee Airmen.” The Tuskegee Airmen were known for heroic combat service in support of Allied Forces in the European Theater. They served with the 332d Expeditionary Operations Group and the 477th Bombardment Group, both largely Black units of the United States Army Air Forces.

Melvin Patterson Sikes was born in 1917.^[1]

Congressional Gold Medal

Melvin served in the US Army Air Corps as part of the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II. "Though Sikes was trained as a bombardier-navigator and fighter pilot, he never got the opportunity to use the skills in combat." ^[2]

He died in 2012 and is buried in Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio, Texas.^[3]

Research Notes

From his obituary in the Austin American-Statesmen:

• was a Tuskegee Airman fighter pilot
• dean of Wilberforce Univ. and Bishop College
• clinical psychologist at UT Austin
• member of First English Lutheran Church
• after war, earned PhD at University of Chicago
• awarded Texas Hero Award by the Texas NAACP for his lifelong work for justice and civil rights, including helping police departments in Houston and Austin improve relations with minority communities ^[2]

Sources

1. ↑ Military: "U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947"
   The National Archives at Fort Worth, Texas; Fort Worth, Texas; WWII Draft Registration Cards for Georgia, 10/16/1940-03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 2238 #39200680
   Name: Melvin Patterson Sikes; Gender: Male; Age: 22; Birth Date: 24 Dec 1917; Birth Place: Charleston, South Carolina, USA; Registration Date: 16 Oct 1940; Registration Place: Macon, Lake, Georgia, USA; Next of Kin: Bertha Elizabeth Sikes Wife.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Obituary: "Melvin P. Sikes - A life full of teaching, encouraging others to fly," The Austin American-Statesman, 19 May 2012, p. B1, Web (newsbank.org, accessed 13 Nov 2022).
3. ↑ Memorial: Find a Grave (has image)
   Find A Grave: Memorial #105374136
   Memorial page for 2LT Melvin P Sikes (24 Dec 1917-16 May 2012), citing Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas, USA (plot: Section 26 Site 2938-A); Maintained by LKat (contributor 47116782).

See also:

• 1940 Census: "1940 United States Federal Census"
  Year: 1940; Census Place: Macon, Bibb, Georgia; Roll: m-t0627-00641; Page: 22B; Enumeration District: 11-33
  Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 2442 #57348089
  Melvin Sykes (22), married lodger, French Teacher, in household of Susie Smith (38) in Macon, Bibb, Georgia. Born in Missouri.
• 1950 Census: "1950 United States Federal Census"
  United States of America, Bureau of the Census; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790-2007; Record Group Number: 29; Residence Date: 1950; Home in 1950: Gary, Lake, Indiana; Roll: 4721; Sheet Number: 18; Enumeration District: 96-108
  Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 62308 #130930703
  Melvin Sikes (31), married son, Teacher, in household of Dorothy Sikes (62) in Gary, Lake, Indiana, USA. Born in Missouri.