April 21st, 2025 will mark 80 years since Rochester, NY Tuskegee Airman Leland H. Pennington (“Sticky”) went Missing In Action, while flying his P-51 Mustang “Lucy Gal.” Pennington was en route home following a successful mission escorting B-24 bombers over Europe. To this day, nothing has been found to bring closure on Leland’s disappearance. The Pennington Memorial Flight was established to keep Leland’s story flying, alive. His story, and that of the Tuskegee Airman as a whole, must never be forgotten.
For the 80th anniversary of Pennington’s final mission, we aim to host the 1st ever “Leland Pennington Day.” This will be a day of celebration, honor, family, community. Pennington Day will be unique in that it will take place in more than one location. We will have multiple events and activities occurring throughout the day, from Leland’s hometown of Rochester, NY, to his family’s city New Orleans, LA, and a final dedication taking flight in Kissimmee, FL.
I began this project in 2011, with the aim to do whatever it took to tell Leland Pennington’s story, and somehow bring him home. Over the years, my effort evolved as more research was done, more resources were exhausted, more family members were reunited, and more stories were told. Today, I have discovered that bringing Leland home may not be physically possible. But home can mean many things. Home is where family is, where your heart dwells, where you feel a fiery passion within your heart.
Since beginning my project, I have been extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to acquire skills which are now able to help me better keep Leland’s story flying, quite literally. I am now a commercial pilot and flight instructor. On Pennington Day, 2025, I wish to travel to Stallion 51 in Kissimmee, Florida. Once there, I will have the opportunity to begin flight training in the same plane Leland flew, the legendary P-51 Mustang. I wish to take my 1st Mustang training flight in honor of Leland, on the day he last flew his P-51 “Lucy Gal,” 4/21/1945.
This memorial flight would not be a “one and done” event, it will just be the start. If I have the resources to continue training in the P-51 after 4/21/25’s flight, I will be able to be “checked out” in the P-51. From here, I will use my skills as a Mustang pilot to fly the legendary aircraft for museums and organizations across the United States. This will allow me to keep telling and flying the story of Leland Pennington and the Tuskegee Airmen, everywhere I go, so that their stories will never die. Stories are better told with an experience, a multi-sensory attack. Flying the P-51 to tell this story to others is the most effective way.
“Why can’t someone else take this flight?” you might ask. I have a history with the Tuskegee Airmen’s story, going back to when I was 12 years old. I began volunteering with the Geneseo Warplane Museum, and their annual Tuskegee Airmen history event. Children from the city of Rochester were brought down to our museum during the airshow, and given a tour of the aircraft on display. The whole day’s festivities concluded with a P-51 demonstration flight. I can still remember the looks on the faces of all those attending, hearing the beautiful scream of that P-51’s Merlin engine as she came howling down the runway. That stuck with me, and everyone else there. I know it would do the same today, in honor of Leland.
Through researching Leland’s story and service history, I was lucky to locate his family and establish a relationship with them. I was able to connect them together from different parts of the country. They see my passion for keeping his story alive, as lofty as my methods of doing so may be. I am not black, but I believe that running a living tribute to someone, who I feel so strongly about honoring, knows no skin color. It will be me in that P-51’s cockpit on 4/21/25, but I am simply the tool that has the skills to do the job of the honor flight. I am bringing Leland, his family, and the Rochester community with me. This flight is for everyone, in Leland’s memory.
Leland Pennington Day 2025 will be more than just a P-51 flight, it will consist of a Rochester, NY community cook-out/gathering. I want to unite the Rochester community on this special day, to honor our local hero through our city’s love and respect for one another. Rochesterians from all neighborhoods will be invited to attend and celebrate the life and legacy of Leland Pennington, through art, music, food, fun, and connection. I plan to have a live stream of the P-51 honor flight playing while the community gathering is taking place, with Pennington’s family in attendance. It will be the beginning of a new community event, an annual event.
I feel that Leland Pennington would want something like this to exist in his memory. He, and countless other Tuskegee heroes deserve this type of honor. I feel it crucial to make it happen before their legacies fade away. Now is the time, so let’s make it happen together.
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