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	Minnesota's Greatest Generation Oral History Project: Part II: Interview with Vernon Hopson
Description	BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION: Vernon Hopson was born in Lee County, Texas to an African American family. Despite segregation, he completed high school. Enlisting in the army, he applied for flight training and was selected for training in Tuskegee, Alabama. Trained as a fighter pilot, he graduated too late to participate in the war in Europe. After leaving the army briefly, he reenlisted in the Air Force and worked in air traffic control around the world until 1962. After his military retirement he worked as a civilian air traffic controller first in Chicago and then in Minneapolis when he moved to Minnesota in 1969. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Life and growing up in rural segregated Texas during the 1920s and 1930s; working hard with a strong supportive family to overcome prejudice and discrimination to do well in school and become a fighter pilot; training and service as a pilot and air traffic controller; building a successful post World War II career in and out of the military despite racial discrimination.
Quantity	3 hours sound cassettes 180 pages transcript
Format	Content Category: sound recordings Content Category: text
Measurements	180 minutes length
Creation	Interviewee: Hopson, Vernon Interviewer: Bekke, Douglas Made in Saint Paul, Ramsey County, Minnesota, United States
Subjects	Made in Saint Paul, Ramsey County, Minnesota, United States
Dates	Creation: 11/29/2006
Holding Type	Oral History - Interview
Identifiers	OH 115
Accession Number	AV2008.26.15
More Info	MHS Library Catalog
Related Collections	Oral History - Project, MHS Collection, project: 'Minnesota's Greatest Generation Oral History Project: Part II'