His boyhood dream to be an adventurous pilot was fulfilled thanks to World War II. But, as a civilian, racial prejudice kept him out of the cockpit.

Retired Lt. Col. Harry Stewart Jr, a decorated World War II pilot who broke racial barriers as a Tuskegee Airmen and earned honors for his combat heroism, has died. He was 100.

Harry Stewart Jr. would survive World War II as one of only four Tuskegee Airmen with three air-to-air victories in a single day, leading a storied Air Force career before leaving active duty in 1950.