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Tuskegee Airman and Cleveland native who died at 102, honored with flyover at memorial service

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Posted at 12:48 PM, Jun 11, 2021
and last updated 2021-06-11 17:55:47-04

TWINSBURG, Ohio — Asa Newman, one of the last serving Tuskegee Airmen who died last week, was honored Friday with a flyover in Twinsburg.

Born in Cleveland on Sept. 24, 1918, Newman was one of the original Tuskegee Airmen‚ the first African-American unit to fly combat airplanes in World War II. He graduated from East High in 1936 and moved to Chicago in 1939 to attend college.

A member of the 99th Pursuit Squadron, he served in North Africa, Sicily and Italy during WWII.

After the war, he worked for the IRS, as well as the University of Chicago, where he became chief operator of a cyclotron, working in nuclear research.

He was one of seven children, with three brothers and three sisters. He is the last survivor of his immediate family.

Memorial Services were held at Crown Hill Mausoleum, located at 8592 Darrow Road, in Twinsburg on Friday, June 11 at 1 p.m.

RELATED: Tuskegee Airman and Cleveland native who served in World War II dies at 102

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