Change Makers

Tuskegee Airmen bring leadership to Wells Fargo

Col. George S. Roberts and Lt. Col. James A. Walker are two former employees who were part of the famous Tuskegee Airmen.
James Walker wearing military uniform inside the cockpit of his plane. Historic black and white photograph.
Featured photo caption: James Walker served as a member of the Tuskegee Airmen during WWII, and was one of the first African American military pilots in American History. Following his military career, he worked for Wells Fargo. Photo Credit: Walker family.

Before 1948, America’s armed forces maintained strict racial segregation. African American soldiers fought and died in separate military units. Some parts of the military, including the Army Air Corps, even refused enlistment from African American soldiers.

But in 1941, Congress mandated the creation of a new all African American flying unit in the U.S. Army Air Corps. The unit, later known as the Tuskegee Airmen, formed at the Tuskegee Institute, the distinguished university in Alabama founded by Booker T. Washington 60 years earlier. Pilots Col. George S. Roberts and Lt. Col. James A. Walker, who would later become Wells Fargo employees, both trained in Tuskegee and used their skills to defend the nation.

Although they had to “fight to fight” as Walker later remembered, their courage and accomplishments — along with the hard work of fellow African American navigators, mechanics, and Army nurses — helped challenge stereotypes and end segregation in the U.S. military. In 1948, President Harry Truman ordered the integration of the country’s armed forces.

Three men in WWII era Army Air Corps. Uniforms stand outside on a field. The man on the left and the man in the middle are shaking hands.
In this undated photo, James Walker, left, shakes hands while serving in the Army Air Corps. Photo Credit: Walker family.

After their service, Roberts and Walker both worked for Wells Fargo in Northern California, though it’s unclear how well they knew each other. Roberts was an employee from 1968 until his retirement in 1982; Walker worked for Wells Fargo from 1965 until his retirement in 1979.

Roberts’ story

A man wearing WWII era pilot gear with a plane visible behind him. Same man 25 years later, wearing a suit and seated at a desk on a phone call.
George Roberts serving in the Army Air Corps in the 1940s, left, and working for Wells Fargo as a credit officer in 1969. Photo Credit: Roberts family and Wells Fargo Corporate Archives.

Roberts entered military service in July 1941 as the first aviation cadet selected for fighter training at Tuskegee Army Air Field. He joined the 99th Pursuit Squadron (later known as the Fighter Squadron), and on June 1, 1942, he became the first African American commander of that squadron, serving in North Africa and Italy.

Roberts first piloted an outdated P-40 Warhawk. The squadron was later equipped with new P-51 Mustangs. Roberts’ wife, Edith, once joked that the men “loved those planes more than they loved their wives.”

Banker George Roberts returns to an airfield to reminisce. He is wearing a business suit with white collared shirt and tie. He stands beside an airplane, gazing reflectively. Historic black and white photograph.
George Roberts visiting an air field in the 1960s. Photo Credit: Wells Fargo Corporate Archives.

Roberts flew more than 100 missions during World War II and earned the Distinguished Flying Cross. After the integration of the armed forces in 1948, Roberts became the first African American officer to command a racially integrated unit at Langley Air Force Base in 1950.

In 1968, Roberts retired from a long career with the military and started working at Wells Fargo in Sacramento, California. He served as a credit officer, training officer, and personal banking officer before retiring in 1982. Roberts died in 1984 at the age of 65.

Two men, both wearing glasses and black suits, examine some business papers.
George Roberts, right, working for Wells Fargo as a credit officer in 1969. Photo Credit: Wells Fargo Corporate Archives.

Walker’s story

A man wearing WWII era Army Air Corps. uniform with a plane visible behind him. Same man 25 years later, wearing a grey suit and black tie.
James Walker poses in an undated photo with a fighter plane, left, and around the time of his retirement from Wells Fargo in 1979. Photo Credit: Walker family and Wells Fargo Corporate Archives.

Walker trained at the Tuskegee Army Air Field and was assigned to the 332nd Fighter Group, whose major responsibility was escorting bombers. After flying more than 80 missions, Walker’s P-51 fighter plane was shot down over Yugoslavia in July 1944. In enemy territory, he was confronted by an armed teenager named Aleksandr Zivkovic. Luckily, the young man was a partisan who helped downed fliers escape capture. Walker returned to duty in just 39 days thanks to Zivkovic’s help, and he had the rare chance to thank his rescuer 50 years later when he ran into Zivkovic at a Tuskegee Airmen convention in Chicago.

After a distinguished 26-year military career with service in 102 missions, Walker started working at Wells Fargo in 1965. Starting as a loan officer in Hayward, California, Walker became the first African American personal banking officer at Wells Fargo. In 1979, he retired to an active life of community volunteerism until his death in 2004 at the age of 85.

Three men in WWII era Army Air Corps. uniforms stand outside on a field. The man on the left and the man on the right have dark coats. The man in the middle is wearing a tan coat.
This undated photo shows James Walker (center) during his military days in the Army Air Corps. Photo Credit: Walker family.
James Walker WWII era Army Air Corps. Headshot in black and white. James Walker wearing military uniform inside the cockpit of his plane. Historic black and white photograph.
In these undated photos James Walker poses in his Army Air Corps uniform and prepares to fly.

Alyssa Bentz

Alyssa Bentz is a Corporate Historian for Wells Fargo.

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