Dubuque airport terminal named for Black WWII fighter pilot

DUBUQUE — The main terminal at Dubuque’s regional airport has been renamed to honor a Black World War II fighter pilot from the Eastern Iowa city.

The family of the late Robert Martin, city leaders and those who sought the change gathered Tuesday for a ribbon cutting at the Dubuque Regional Airport to commemorate the new name, the Capt. Robert L. Martin Terminal, the Telegraph Herald reported.

Martin, who died in 2018 at the age of 99, was a native of Dubuque. He joined the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II and flew missions with the famed Tuskegee Airmen — the U.S. Army’s first Black aviators.

During the war, Martin flew numerous missions in Europe and was shot down while flying over Yugoslavia. For his service, Martin was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Purple Heart and later the Congressional Gold Medal.

The renaming of the airport terminal followed a two-year campaign that was kicked off by Dawnelle Gordon when she submitted a petition asking for the change. In 2020, the Dubuque Regional Airport Commission voted unanimously to approve renaming the airport terminal for Martin.