Ground broken on North Texas veterans home named in honor of the Tuskegee Airmen
Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush, Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker and other Tarrant County officials broke ground on the Tuskegee Airmen Texas State Veterans Home on Thursday.
The facility, located at 2200 Joe B. Rushing Road, is named after a group of over 900 Black airmen who flew combat aircraft in World War II. The Texas Veterans Land Board voted to name the state’s 10th veterans home after the Tuskegee Airmen on Aug. 5.
The 100,000-square-foot home will have the capacity to support 120 veterans, including up to 30 who may require memory care, according to a news release by the Texas General Land Office. The location is adjacent to the Fort Worth VA clinic at 2201 SE Loop 820.
Robert Mennefee, the son of Fort Worth’s last Tuskegee Airman Robert T. McDaniel, was present at the groundbreaking. He said he loved that the location of the veterans home will be near Tarrant County College’s south campus so that veterans can take classes nearby their residence.
McDaniel died in March 2019 at 96 years old. After WWII, he served as a teacher and principal in Fort Worth ISD.
“He was a very humble man,” Mennefee said. “A lot of people didn’t even know he was a Tuskegee Airman — they just remember him being a principal, things like that.”
The Rev. Sultan Cole, Fort Worth Metropolitan Black Chamber of Commerce chairman, said when Bush first mentioned the idea to build a new veterans home in North Texas, Cole’s fellow board members proposed locating it in Fort Worth. In addition to serving the needs of veterans, the facility’s location will help develop the southeast sector of Fort Worth, Cole said.
“We see this as an opportunity, not only to attract minority businesses on the front-end during the design and construction, but even after when the home will need to contract for facility support and services,” he said.
Bush said the facility is more than a new building — it will be a new beginning to celebrate a life well-lived.
“Elderly care is often unspoken of but an important healthcare need that has to be provided,” he said.
