The protagonist is Jay Beery Lee and the antagonist is one of the monkeys from the circus
Use google you beautiful lazy bum
They were important because of their successes in the war effort, as well as because they were the first African-American aviator troop in the military. They are still noted because they fought for a country that still segregated and had Jim Crow laws and often was openly racist about them, and yet they still fought in the war because of their ideals.