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Edward Creston Gleed (November 5, 1916 – January 25, 1990) was an U.S. Army Air Force officer with the famed Buffalo Soldiers/9th Cavalry Regiment (United States), 332nd Fighter Group’s operations officer, and combat fighter pilot with the 99th Fighter Squadron, best known as the Tuskegee Airmen.^[1]^[2]^[3] He was one of the more prominent members of Tuskegee Airmen's ninth-ever aviation cadet program, as well as one of 1,007 documented Tuskegee Airmen Pilots.^[4] His classmates included Robert B. Tresville (May 9, 1921 – June 24, 1944), West Point's seventh African American graduate and the 100th Fighter Squadron's Commanding Officer.^[5]^[6]

Gleed is well known for his P-51D Mustang aircraft, "The Creamer's Dream", which has been the subject of several famous, widely distributed photographs.^[7]

Early life, family, ties to First Lady Martha Washington, Robert E. Lee

Gleed was born on November 5, 1916, in Lawrence, Kansas. He was the son of Herbert J. Gleed Sr. (1885–1965) and Carrie Syphax Joseph Gleed (1888–1943), a former home economics professor at Tuskegee Institute and scion of the powerful Syphax family, one of the most elite African-American families during the 19th century.^[8]^[9]

Gleed's mother Carrie was the grandchild of Nancy Syphax, granddaughter of Maria Carter Syphax. Maria was the mullato daughter of George Washington Parke Custis, First Lady of the United States Martha Washington's grandson.^[10] Maria Carter Syphax's white half-sister through George, Mary Custis, was the wife of Confederate General and Washington and Lee President, Robert E. Lee.

Gleed had one sibling, older brother Herbert Joseph Gleed, Jr. (1915–2006).^[9]^[11]^[12]

After attending high school in Lawrence, Gleed attended and graduated from the University of Kansas.^[1] He also attended Howard University School of Law before departing for the U.S. Army Air Corps.^[1]

He was married to Lucille Elbertha Graves Gleed (1917–2004). They had three daughters: Elizabeth Gleed Ingersoll, Elaine Gleed Williams, and Carol Gleed Weaver.^[13]

Military career, Buffalo Soldier, Tuskegee Airmen

On February 8, 1941, Gleed enlisted in the U.S. Army's famed Buffalo Soldiers/9th Cavalry Regiment (United States) at Fort Riley, Kansas where he briefly served in military intelligence.^[2]^[1]^[3]^[14] In 1942, the U.S. Army Air Corps reassigned Gleed to Tuskegee, Alabama where he entered the Tuskegee Flight School's aviation cadet program.^[2] On December 13, 1942, Gleed graduated as a member of the Single Engine Section Cadet Class SE-42-K, receiving his wings and commission as a 2nd Lieutenant, service number 0-794598.^[1]^[15]^[14] His classmates included Robert B. Tresville (May 9, 1921 – June 24, 1944), West Point's seventh African American graduate and the 100th Fighter Squadron's Commanding Officer.^[5]^[6]

The U.S. Army Air Corps assigned Gleed to the 332nd Fighter Group, where he became its Operations Officer as well as the Squadron Commander for its 301st Fighter Squadron.^[2]^[16] He also served in leadership in the 477th Bombardier Group.

On July 27, 1944, Gleed earned two official kills after shooting down two enemy German Focke-Wulf Fw 190 during a German armament plant strafing mission near Budapest, Hungary.^[17] For his heroics, the U.S. Army Air Corps awarded Gleed the Distinguished Flying Cross.^[17] He flew numerous bomber escort, patrol and strafing missions where he and his squadron destroyed bridges, oil refineries, supply dumps, and grounded aircraft. He is well known for his P-51D Mustang aircraft "The Creamer's Dream", which has been the subject of several famous, widely distributed photographs.^[7]

After World War II, Gleed served in both the Korean War and the Vietnam War. In 1947, the 332nd Fighter Wing at Ohio's Lockborne AFB was activated under Gleed's command, with the 332nd Fighter Group as a key component.^[17] In 1970, Gleed retired from the military as a full Colonel after nearly 30 years and 6,000 flying hours in the U.S. Army Air Corps and the U.S. Air Force.^[3]^[1]

Post-military

After his retirement from the U.S. military, Gleed worked as a system program manager and chief administrator/contract negotiator for two defense contractors.^[1]

In 1976 at the age of 60, Gleed graduated from Los Angeles, California's Southwestern University School of Law.^[1]

Death

Gleed died on January 25, 1990. He was 73. Gleed was interred at Riverside National Cemetery, Plot Section 43, site 1462, in Riverside, California.^[14]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h "Edward Creston Gleed". CAF RISE ABOVE. 2021-06-22. Retrieved 2023-09-06.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Edward C. Gleed Flying Jacket". National Museum of the United States Air Force™. Retrieved 2023-09-06.
^ ^a ^b ^c Jones, Jae (2022-05-19). "Edward Creston Gleed: Buffalo Soldier to Tuskegee Airman". Black Then. Retrieved 2023-09-06.
^ "Tuskegee Airmen Pilot Roster". CAF Rise Above. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
^ ^a ^b Stentiford, Barry M. (2012). Tuskegee Airmen. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. pp. 86–87, 149. ISBN 978-0-313-38684-8. OCLC 750173825.
^ ^a ^b Francis, Charles E. (1997). Caso, Adolph (ed.). The Tuskegee Airmen: The Men who Changed a Nation. Boston, Massachusetts: Branden Publishing Co. p. 315. ISBN 0-8283-2029-2. OCLC 1036905711.
^ ^a ^b "Tuskegee Airmen Virtual Museum Exhibit, National Park Service Museum Management Program". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2023-09-06.
^ "Nancy Syphax–Life and Legacy: Colonel Edward Creston Gleed". Whha (En-Us). The White House Historical Association. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
^ ^a ^b "Herbert joseph gleed, Sr". geni_family_tree. 1885-12-20. Retrieved 2023-09-06.
^ "Nancy Syphax – Life and Legacy – an enslaved resident of the historic decatur house". The White House Historical Association. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
^ Geni. "Herbert joseph gleed, Jr." https://www.geni.com/people/Herbert-Gleed-Jr/6000000000118616397
^ W6FQ – September 7, 2006. "Herbert J. Gleed Jr, Los Angeles, CA, QCWA # 2511, Chapter 120. https://qcwa.org/w6fq-02511-sk.htm
^ "Lucille Gleed Obituary (2004) – Los Angeles, CA – Los Angeles Times". Legacy.com. Retrieved 2023-09-06.
^ ^a ^b ^c The American Air Museum in Britain. "Edward Creston Gleed." http://www.americanairmuseum.com/person/241759
^ CAF Rise Above. "Tuskegee Airmen Pilot Roster." https://cafriseabove.org/the-tuskegee-airmen/tuskegee-airmen-pilot-roster/ . This data derives from CAF Rise Above's research project compiling data from Tuskegee Airmen historians including the Air Force Historical Research Agency.
^ CAF Rise Above. National Park Service, Museum Management Program Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site. "Edward Creston Gleed."https://cafriseabove.org/edward-creston-gleed/
^ ^a ^b ^c The Tuskegee Airmen: An Illustrated History, 1939–1949. Joseph Caver, Jerome A. Ennels, Daniel Lee Haulman. 2011. Publisher: New South Books. ISBN 9781588382443, 1588382443. Page 177. https://books.google.com/books?id=1qC51h8HrWQC&dq=edward+c+gleed&pg=PA177