Maj. Robert William Deiz

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Already a pilot after taking private lessons, Mr. Deiz went straight from the University of Oregon to the U.S Army Air Corps. He flew 93 missions in 1943-44 in the 332nd Fighter Group, which comprised four black squadrons, including Deiz's 99th Pursuit Squadron. All U.S. military services were strictly segregated during World War II.

During World War II, he became famous as one of the "Tuskegee Airmen", black pilots who fought in Italy and Eastern Europe, often in obsolete P-40 fighter planes. All black Air Corps -- later Army Air Forces -- pilots were trained at a base near Tuskegee, Ala.

Of 970 Tuskegee pilots who earned wings, 450 were sent to Italy, where 66 died in combat and 32 became prisoners of war after being shot down.

Mr. Deiz shot down two German fighters in two days, but most of his action came in bombing and strafing missions, beginning in the January-February 1944 battle of Anzio. "Among those in control, some wanted to see us succeed, and others wanted to see us fail," he said on a Portland visit. "For a while, the ones who wanted to see us fail had the upper hand. We couldn't get near combat. But combat came to us. Things didn't go the way they were supposed to in Italy, and we got to fight after all. At Anzio, we got the job of protecting the beachhead. After that, they couldn't ignore us." Mr. Deiz said prejudice had helped create a strong fighting force. "It made us the best of the best," he said. "Prejudice made it a lot tougher for a black fellow to get his wings."

The 332nd, known as "Red Tails" from its identification symbol, escorted bombers to and from bombing targets, and only a few planes were ever lost on missions escorted by the 332nd.

Mr. Deiz stayed in the Air Force, as it finally became, and continued as a test pilot. He was among the first to fly jet aircraft. He retired as a major in Columbus in 1961 after 20 years' service. He spent three years in an electronics job at North American Aviation and then became a parole officer for three years and a parole supervisor for 17 years before retiring permanently in the early 1980s.

He had played horn and double bass in the Portland Junior Symphony and the University of Oregon Orchestra. He also joined community orchestras as he moved from one Air Force assignment to another.

Survivors include his wife, Ruby, whom he married in Portland before going overseas in 1943; his son Robert E. Deiz, of Detroit; and two grandsons. He is also survived by his brother, Carl of Portland, also a Tuskegee airman.