Tuskegee Airman Charles McGee, 100, brought out the commemorative coin for the Super Bowl coin flip and handed it to NFL referee Bill Vinovich.
McGee flew 136 combat missions in World War II as part of the famed Tuskegee Airmen, attacking targets in Italy and supporting the rescue of 1,000 prisoners of war in Romania. He went on to become a colonel and fly in wars in Korea and Vietnam.
McGee trained in Tuskegee, Alabama, to join only the African-American pilot squadron in World War II.
Vinovich handled the coin flip, which was won by the San Francisco 49ers, who deferred. The Kansas City Chiefs got the first possession of the game.
The other 100-year-old veterans who joined McGee for the coin flip ceremony at midfield were:
Odon Cardenas — Cardenas fought in France and Germany as part of the Third Army under the command of Gen. George Patton. He was captured in the late stages of the war in Germany, serving briefly as a prisoner of war before being liberated.
Samuel Lombardo — Lombardo served as a rifle platoon leader and company executive officer, fighting in the Battle of the Bulge and other major campaigns in the final months of the war.
Sidney Walton — Walton fought in the China, Burma and India theater after enlisting before the war with the stated desire of taking down Adolf Hitler. He and his son, Paul, have been on a tour visiting every state to raise awareness of the diminishing number of WWII veterans and the sacrifices they made.
