COLLIER CITIZEN

A proper 'thank you': WWII pilot to thank Tuskegee airman for protecting lives

Ashley Collins, ashley.collins@naplesnews.com; 239-213-6029
George Hardy, left, and Vernon "Bo" Sigo served as pilots in World War II.

Vernon "Bo" Sigo flew a Boeing B-17 bomber. George Hardy flew a P-51 Mustang as a Tuskegee airman.

While the two retired lieutenant colonels have never met, their planes may have flown in the skies over Germany together during World War II sometime between 1941 and 1945.

That's according to Rick Wobbe, who does community outreach work for the Collier County Honor Flight (CCHF), which sends U.S. veterans to Washington, D.C., multiple times a year to visit the national memorials honoring their service. 

"We think there's a 99 percent probability they flew wing tip to tip," Wobbe said. 

Hardy, a Tuskegee airman, was one of the first African-American servicemen to serve as a pilot in the U.S. Armed Forces. As part of the job, he flew in heavy bomber escort missions. He helped protect planes like the one Sigo flew in, a B-17.

George Hardy suited up as World War II P-51 pilot in Italy in 1945.

The two plan to meet for the first time on Monday.

It has been a lifelong goal of Sigo's to meet a Tuskegee airman. 

"I've been wanting to do that for 72 years," said Sigo, 92, of Cape Coral. 

The CCHF plans to host a free event open to the community on May 9 at Cambier Park, where the two vets will share their stories about wartime and flying and answer any questions.  

"We really want to fill the park with people. We want these men to feel like heroes in our little town," Wobbe said. 

He played an instrumental role in connecting the two veterans. 

Wobbe, a Vietnam War veteran, served as a guardian to Sigo during an honor flight. As guardian, Wobbe helped him navigate around the city to see all the sights. 

"During that trip (Sigo) said to me, 'Rick, I'd like to sometime in my life thank a Tuskegee airman for keeping us alive up there,'" Wobbe said.

Two years later — after much research, calls and emails — Wobbe found a former Tuskegee airman living in Sarasota; Hardy, 91.

Vernon "Bo" Sigo during World War II. He flew a B-17

Hardy grew up in Philadelphia and a racially divided America. The United States Army Air Corps was no exception. 

"But you got used to it," Hardy said about segregation in the military. "As a unit, you thought you was as good as anybody else and just flew the missions." 

It wasn't until after the war in 1948 when segregation was called to an end. President Harry Truman issued Executive Order No. 9981, which stated, "It is hereby declared to be the policy of the President that there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion, or national origin," according to the Harry S. Truman Library & Museum. 

"It was significant," Hardy said. 

Vernon "Bo" Sigo, 92, looks out of the window in the back of a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress during a flight from Marathon, Fla. to the Naples Municipal Airport in East Naples on Thursday, February 2. This was the first time Sigo stepped foot on a B-17 since he came home from war on October 4, 1945. Sigo was a navigator in the 49th bomb squadron in the second bomb group.

He flew more than 100 combat missions during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. 

Sigo's resume is just as impressive. 

A self-described country boy from Indiana, he said he always had a love of flying and was in his early twenties when he got inside a B-17 cockpit. 

Vernon "Bo" Sigo, 92, stands in front of the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress after his flight from Marathon, Fla. to the Naples Municipal Airport in East Naples on Thursday, February 2, 2017. This was the first time Sigo stepped foot on a B-17 since he came home from war on October 4, 1945.

​He flew 48 missions, all in a B-17 plane, flying over almost every part of occupied Europe.

Sigo said he might not have survived had it not been for the brave men flying the P-51 planes by his side. 

"I just want this to be an official 'thank you,'" he said. 

Vernon "Bo" Sigo, 92, sits in the radio room of a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress during a flight from Marathon, Fla. to the Naples Municipal Airport in East Naples on Thursday, February 2. This was the first time Sigo stepped foot on a B-17 since he came home from war on October 4, 1945. Sigo was a navigator in the 49th bomb squadron in the second bomb group.

If you go: 

What: WWII Heroes presented by Collier County Honor Flight 

When: May 9 from 9 a.m. to noon

Where: Cambier Park (755 8th Ave. S., Naples) 

Info: http://www.collierhonorflight.org/