Wilfred DeFour

SSG Wilfred DeFour (1918-2018) was born in Colón, Panama and emigrated to New York. He was an aircraft technician and a member of the famed group of World War II-era African-Americans known as the Tuskegee Airmen.

World War II


DeFour joined the Air Corps in 1942, and after completing basic training he was assigned to the 366th Air Service Squadron, and stationed in Italy in 1943.

One month before his death (November 2018), DeFour appeared in Harlem for a ceremony renaming the local post office branch in Harlem, New York. The post office on Macombs Place in Harlem was renamed for the Tuskeege Airmen.

Awards

 * Congressional Gold Medal 2007

Education

 * Dewitt Clinton High School
 * City College and NYU's school of Commerce.
 * Tuskegee Institute (1942)

Death
DeFour had been receiving at home care, and a care provider found him in the bathroom of his Fifth Avenue apartment in Harlem, New York at 9 a.m. Authorities said he died of natural causes.

Personal life
DeFour was born in Colón, Panama and emigrated to New York. After the war, he completed his associate and bachelor's degrees in real estate and business administration. He worked for the United States Postal Service, and retired after 33 years. Defour was married to Ruth Christian (died in 2005). Together they had two children Wilfred, Jr. and Darlene. He was survived by a daughter.