There’s always some joy in the world!
The last living nurse for the historic Tuskegee Airmen just celebrated her 100th birthday, Fox 5 Atlanta reports.
Lieutenant Irma “Pete” Cameron (Dryden) graduated from Harlem’s Hospital School of Nursing in 1942. An only child born to a dentist and teacher from Jamaica, she had no idea how her career pursuits would change her life.
In 1943, she stepped foot on the Tuskegee Army Air Field where she would serve, helping the famed aerial combat soldiers. There she met her husband, Charles Dryden, the couples ceremony becoming the first military wedding on the base, and later being chronicled in Tom Brokaw’s book “An Album of Memories: Personal Histories from the Greatest Generation and Charles Dryden’s autobiography, “The A-Train: Story of a Tuskegee Airman.”
This week, family and friends gathered to celebrate the Lieutenant’s life and legacy. A parade surrounded her Marietta, Georgia home, Dryden being forced to watch from her home as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Even while watching most of the festivities from her living room, the barrage of balloons, music, signs and flowers brought the new centenarian much joy!
Happy Birthday Lieutenant Pete! Thank you for all you’ve done!
Photo Courtesy of Fox 5 Atlanta