Shelby Foster Westbrook was born in Marked Tree, Arkansas on January 14, 1922, to Livingston and Lillian Westbrook. He was one of seven children – his siblings being Hubert, Adolphus, Lloyd, Addie, Margaret, and Mirion. When he was 12 years old his parents passed away, and he moved to Toledo, Ohio to live with his older brother, Lloyd Dean. In Toledo, Shelby attended integrated Libby High School, where he graduated in 1939.
After Pearl Harbor, Shelby was intent on joining the nation’s first all-black air corps. Shelby recalled that entering the military was when he first became truly aware of the extent of racial injustice. His response was a determination to become the best pilot in the entire war–convinced that his actions will be the most eloquent testament to his right to equality.
Tuskegee Airman, WWII
In March 1943, shortly after he graduated from high school, Westbrook enrolled in aviation cadet training at Tuskegee Army Air Field. (He’d never been in an airplane, but he knew he didn’t want to be in the infantry). Shelby finished pilot training and was sent to Selfridge Air Field near Detroit, Michigan, for training in single-engine fighter planes like the P-39 Air Cobra.
On a strafing mission over Southern France, Westbrook witnessed fellow pilot Richard Macon crash into a building near Montpellier. Because it happened so quickly, the U.S. had no record of it. More than fifty years later, First Lieutenant Westbrook was able to confirm this happened as he was doing research with French-language materials. Macon had crashed into a German command outpost with more than 40 officers inside. During one R&R Leave opportunity, Westbrook traveled to Naples, Rome, and Vatican City. He met the Pope when his group visited the Sistine Chapel.
2nd Lt. Shelby Westbrook graduated from pilot training at Tuskegee Army Airfield on February 8, 1944 (class 44-B) and was attached to the 99th Fighter Squadron, which had the distinction of being one of the first all-Black units formed by the Army Air Corps. Promoted to 1st Lt., he served in the 332nd Fighter Group from July 1944 to May 1945. Total service: 4 years active, 6 years in reserve.
