Sloan was born in Louisville, Kentucky. Sloan graduated with a degree in sociology and history at Kentucky State University. He then began training at Tuskegee Army Air Field in Alabama. (2)
Soon after, Sloan completed flight training and deployed to North Africa with the 99th Fighter Squadron. The squadron moved to Italy on 28 July 1943, where they were stationed for the rest of WWII. (2)
When Sloan returned to the United States, he and his wife moved to Chicago, where he became the first black personnel counselor at Inland Steel Co. Before retiring in 1978, he became a corporate finance manager. (3)
Sloan dies 28 Dec 99; his ashes were buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlighton, Va. Sloan's Autobiography, Survival! A Purple Heart Tuskegee Airmen, was published 7 moths later. (3)
Soon after, Sloan completed flight training and deployed to North Africa with the 99th Fighter Squadron. The squadron moved to Italy on 28 July 1943, where they were stationed for the rest of WWII. (2)
When Sloan returned to the United States, he and his wife moved to Chicago, where he became the first black personnel counselor at Inland Steel Co. Before retiring in 1978, he became a corporate finance manager. (3)
Sloan dies 28 Dec 99; his ashes were buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlighton, Va. Sloan's Autobiography, Survival! A Purple Heart Tuskegee Airmen, was published 7 moths later. (3)
On March 30th, 1944, Lt Sloan was shot down over Italy after crossing into Allied territory, while returning from a combat mission with the United State's first black fighter squadron. Gunfire from the ground during the second battle of Monte Cassion set Lt. Sloan’s aircraft on fire. Shrapnel ripped into his left thigh. Before he parachuted to safety, Mr. Sloan took steps to prevent further loss of blood. (3)
“First thing I had to do was put a tourniquet on my thigh”, Lt Sloan told, in an interview with the Chicago Tribune newspaper in 1999. “As the Lord would have it, that day I was wearing my white silk scarf. This was one my wife had given me and I made a point of not wearing it every time I went up, so it wouldn’t become a symbol I would feel I needed in order to fly. But I had decided to wear it that day.”
The young warrior's leg was an inch and a half shorter, due to bone loss. After months of therapy, he was awarded the Purple Heart.(3)
“First thing I had to do was put a tourniquet on my thigh”, Lt Sloan told, in an interview with the Chicago Tribune newspaper in 1999. “As the Lord would have it, that day I was wearing my white silk scarf. This was one my wife had given me and I made a point of not wearing it every time I went up, so it wouldn’t become a symbol I would feel I needed in order to fly. But I had decided to wear it that day.”
The young warrior's leg was an inch and a half shorter, due to bone loss. After months of therapy, he was awarded the Purple Heart.(3)