The new Aurora Veterans Affairs clinic in Aurora has a namesake: the late Lt. Col. John Mosley, one of the famed Tuskegee Airmen during World War II who doubled in history as the first Black football player at Colorado A&M, which would become Colorado State University in 1939.

The legislation honoring the former Aurora resident  went to the president’s desk on Thursday.

Rep. Jason Crow, a Democrat from Aurora, introduced the House bill to name the new health care facility the Lt. Col. John W. Mosley Clinic.

“Lieutenant Colonel Mosley embodies the finest of what our country has to offer,” Crow said in a statement. “I can’t think of a better name for this new clinic in Aurora in recognition of his service, sacrifice, leadership, and the best of what we can be as a country. Generations of Colorado veterans will walk through the doors of this clinic and know Colonel Mosley and his story. I’m humbled to name our new VA clinic after Colonel Mosley as we honor his legacy and provide our veterans and their families with top-quality care.”

Mosley died in 2015. He was 93. He retired from the Air Force in 1970 after serving in the Korean and Vietnam wars and later became the special assistant to the undersecretary in the Department of Health, Education and Welfare in Washington.

Mosley’s family provided a statement, via Crow’s office, Thursday.

“Always in our hearts, he was and continues to be a champion for our family, our community and our nation,” said his son Eric Mosley. “His legacy is an inspiration to us all.”

He explained his father was the son of a slave, who made the most of the opportunities to become a trailblazer. He enrolled in college in Fort Collins on an academic scholarship and later became the first Black person to serve as a class vice president there. 

Mosley had been a National Merit Scholar and valedictorian at Manual High School, before enrolling (as one of nine Black students) at Colorado State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, as it was officially known until 1957.

When he sought to enlist as a pilot to fight in World War II in 1941, Mosley was initially denied, but he persisted until he became one of the Tuskegee Airman, America’s first unit of Black pilots, and “served his country with pride and distinction,” his son said in a statement Thursday afternoon.

Colorado’s  U.S. Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper both praised the vote to honor Mosley Thursday.

“Naming the Aurora VA clinic after Colonel Mosley will not only honor his incredible accomplishments, but will help ensure his story is carried on for our kids and grandkids,” Bennet stated.

Added Hickenlooper, “We must honor and remember LTC John Mosley’s leadership as a civil rights activist and Tuskegee Airman,” calling the clinic’s new name “a small token of gratitude.”

Read Crow’s bill by clicking here.