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More than 100 gather as city renames park for Tuskegee Airman

Lt. Calvin Smith left Beaver County to launch an historic military career, but returned home to raise a family and serve as a city councilman before his death at 89 years old in 2013.

Smith, a bombardier with the legendary Tuskegee Airmen, was memorialized Saturday when Beaver Falls renamed a park in his honor.

More than 100 people, including family and friends, gathered to salute him on Memorial Day weekend.

"It means the world to me that my father is being recognized for the service he provided to his country," said Denise Kirkland.

Smith was born in Aliquippa in 1924 and joined the Army Air Corps in 1943. He was once arrested and jailed for fighting segregation policies in the military.

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