Program

NYS Historic

Subject

People

Location

212 Cascadilla St, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA

Lat/Long

42.444592, -76.501692

Grant Recipient

Historic Ithaca

Verdelle Louis Payne was born in Ithaca, NY on October 1, 1919. The residence at 212 Cascadilla Street was his childhood home until 1934. The following year, the Payne family moved to 306 Giles Street in Ithaca. In April of 1945, he completed his training at the Tuskegee Army Air Field in Alabama and received a commission as a Flight Officer. He served during World War II in the US Army Air Forces’ 99th Fighter Squadron, which included African American military pilots and related personnel known as the “Tuskegee Airmen.” Following the war, Verdelle settled in Mamaroneck, NY, where he lived until his death in 1985.