Pasadena Historic Post Office Renamed After Tuskegee Airman

By Xavier Higgs

Pasadena, CA– Last Saturday a historical Pasadena landmark post office was dedicated to a local hero, the late Tuskegee Airman First Lieutenant O. Oliver Goodall. Located at 281 E. Colorado Blvd., just blocks from Old Town, the stoic structure is an unforgettable architectural fixture that most resembles a bank.

According to Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Pasadena), the renaming of the post office will cement Oliver’s contributions into memory of our community. The courageous story of Oliver and all his colleagues made such and impression on Rep. Schiff. Hence his success to rename a prominent Pasadena building would be an appropriate way of honoring his legacy.

While standing before a couple hundred supporters, Tony Goodall, Oliver’s grandson, gave an emotional speech expressing gratitude on behalf of his family.

“This is all so overwhelming but yet inspiring to me,” said Tony. “My grandfather kept me from going down wrong road. It was his stern talk and speaking the truth. He was like no one else in my life.”

The ceremony was a memorable start to the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday weekend. Among those in attendance was Brigadier General Stacy Harris who travelled from Washington D.C. to witness the event. General Harris is the Air Force’s first African American female to command an active flying squadron. Yet it was Oliver who pined Gen. Harris’ star during her promotion ceremony.

Among those in attendance were Pasadena’s Mayor Bill Bogaard, Edward Tillmon, Tuskegee Airmen, as well as family and friends of Oliver.

Not only was Goodall was one of an elite group of U.S. military servicemen who fought doing World War II but he worked for many years as a postal worker. He was also an amateur photographer.

Edward Tillmon, a Tuskegee Airman, says, “The postal service has always served this country day and night, and so did Oliver. That’s why it is so appropriate to name this facility after him.”

Oliver enlisted into the military during a time in America when segregation was the norm. On April 5, 1945, at the Freeman Air Force in Indiana, Oliver and members or the 477th Bombardment Group attempted to integrate an all-white officers’ club. The mutiny resulted in 162 separate arrests of black officers.

Many historians concluded this incident was an important step toward full integration of the armed forces and later the model for the civil rights movement.

Oliver moved to Los Angeles after the war. He moved to Altadena in 1961 and lived there until his death in November 2010.

“Given his long service to the post office this will cement his memory in our community,” says Congressman Schiff.

It was Congressman Schiff who convinced every member of the California delegation to sponsor the bill.
“The renaming of this post office will remind people of the role that Oliver and the Tuskegee Airmen play in our lives,” said Schiff. “It will remind people of the rigors they faced and the courage they demonstrated at home and abroad.”

Though not deliberate, the ceremony’s timing coincides with the release of George Lucas the “Red Tail” movie, about the Tuskegee Airmen.