3/29/2007 - Rep. Boehner Repeatedly Butchers the Name Tuskegee

The "Tuskegee Airmen" were a group of African-American pilots who served with distinction in World War II, overcoming repeated discrimination because of their race.

On March 29, 2007 about 350 surviving Tuskegee Airmen were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for their service in a ceremony at the U.S. Capital rotunda. During the ceremony House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) repeatedly mispronounced Tuskegee as tuh-SKEE-jee.

Hear a montage of the mispronunciations in Boehner's speech:

Next, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell took the stage and started his speech with the correct pronunciation of Tuskegee (tuh-SKEE-gee). The crowd broke into applause at hearing the correction.

Hear McConnell and the applause: