It was a military mystery that Ray Funderburk was determined to solve.

How could the Tuskegee Airmen, the famed World War II fighter pilots, receive only eight Purple Hearts?

The roster of the legendary unit is filled with dozens of airmen who were wounded, killed or missing in action. Anyone killed or wounded in combat is eligible for the award.

And yet, virtually every account of the all-black unit notes just eight Purple Hearts. Over the years, the figure became gospel, accepted by the airmen themselves, and cited in innumerable accounts and books. The figure is part of the Congressional Record. It's noted on the Department of Defense website. Even the Library of Congress lists the number.

The Post-Dispatch researched the issue after being contacted by Funderburk, a Vietnam veteran and himself a two-time recipient of the Purple Heart.

Turns out, eight is not accurate. Not even close.

So far, the newspaper has verified that 47 Tuskegee airmen received Purple Hearts. In addition, the newspaper identified 10 airmen who appear to have received the award, though that could not be verified with the same degree of certainty.

The revelation more accurately reflects the contributions of a group already celebrated for its distinguished performance in battle and for breaking down racial barriers in the military. It also speaks to the nature of the airmen's service, which often put them in harm's way. Of the 450 Tuskegee pilots to serve overseas, dozens were killed in accidents or combat.

"I feel better that the truth is out and that these poor guys did get awarded the Purple Heart," said Funderburk, former public relations director for the Military Order of the Purple Heart.

The Post-Dispatch conducted an exhaustive review of documents, published reports and databases, most notably a database maintained by the American Battle Monuments Commission, which oversees commemorative American military cemeteries and memorials in foreign countries.

The newspaper has set up a website that identifies those who have received the award. It also will serve as the foundation for the newspaper's efforts to continue to identify any other Tuskegee Airmen who were awarded the Purple Heart.

No one can say for certain where the reference to eight Purple Hearts originated.

Jerome Ennels, an archivist with the Air Force Historical Research Agency at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama, says it's not uncommon for historical inaccuracies to get perpetuated. Ennels corrected an error about the airmen just last year. He co-authored a report that discounted a long-held belief that two Tuskegee Airmen died when their planes collided on takeoff when, in fact, they'd failed to return from a combat mission.

"History is only as good as the sources used to write it," Ennels said. "Once the mistake was made ... the mistake got repeated."

Another revision in the legend of the Tuskegee Airmen involved the claim that the group had never lost a bomber to enemy aircraft.

But in 2007, the Air Force issued a report that identified at least 25 bombers shot down while escorted by the airmen. The report traced the initial claim to a March 24, 1945, article in the Chicago Defender newspaper.

A Library of Congress official said the new information about the Purple Hearts would be forwarded to library researchers for review.

"We don't change it willy nilly, but if it's something that needs to be changed, we'll do it," spokeswoman Audrey Fischer said.

Some surviving airmen said that they never bothered to question the number of Purple Hearts and that the issue of whether the figure might be wrong had arisen only in recent years.

Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Alexander Jefferson said it was common belief among many blacks who served in World War II, Korea and even Vietnam that racism and prejudice often prevented them from receiving the awards to which they were entitled.

"We didn't sit and worry about it because we knew it was part of the system," said Jefferson, 87, of Detroit. "You don't think about it. You just keep moving and try to get past something you knew you couldn't change. You knew you had two strikes against you. You did what you had to do to succeed. It was all part of surviving."

Jefferson received his Purple Heart only earlier this decade after information was uncovered that detailed injuries he received when he bailed from his P-51 Mustang after being shot down on a strafing mission. Jefferson spent nine months in a German prisoner of war camp. Another POW, Lt. Ewell McCright, interviewed every man who entered the camp and kept detailed ledgers on their backgrounds and wartime injuries.

The ledgers remained in a foot locker for 45 years and were rediscovered only after McCright's death in 1990. In 1994, they were published posthumously. On the basis of information in the ledger, 14 Purple Hearts, including Jefferson's, were issued.

The Army Air Corps announced the formation of its first-ever black combat unit in March 1941. The pilots trained at Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) in Alabama. About 1,000 pilots, including about two dozen from St. Louis, graduated from the program.

The unit eventually became the 332nd Fighter Group and by the end of the war in Europe was credited with having shot down 112 enemy aircraft and destroying another 150 on the ground. Their record of accomplishment contributed to President Harry S Truman's decision to integrate the armed services.

Bill Holloman feels an urgency to make sure that record is accurate.

Now 85, Holloman, of Kent, Wash., served three years with the unit, including 10 months in Europe. Today, the St. Louis native is a researcher for Tuskegee Airmen Inc.

Holloman says he's thankful to finally know that so many of his comrades received the Purple Heart. As the airmen continue to pass away, he feels he's losing a race with time to set the record straight.

"History should be right," Holloman said. "As right as we can make it."