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Call number
SC MG 567; Sc MG 567
Physical description
0.21 linear feet (1 box)
Language
English
Preferred Citation
[Item], Tuskegee Airmen Trainees : Freeman Field Mutiny collection, SC MG 567, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, The New York Public Library
Repository
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.Restrictions apply

The all-Black 99th Pursuit Squadron was created by the U.S. Army in 1941, with the proviso that the pilots would be strictly segregated. The airfield at Tuskegee, Alabama, was chosen as their training site, thus they became known as the Tuskegee Airmen. The Tuskegee Airmen Trainees: Freeman Field Mutiny collection consists of documents relating to a case of racial discrimination that resulted in the arrest of over a hundred African American officers and their subsequent exoneration.

Biographical/historical information

The all-Black 99th Pursuit Squadron was created by the U.S. Army in 1941, with the proviso that the pilots would be strictly segregated. The airfield at Tuskegee, Alabama, was chosen as their training site, thus they became known as the Tuskegee Airmen.

In early 1945, the pilots were transferred to Freeman Field in Seymour, Indiana, where racial tensions, which had been building, reached a climax. Black officers attempted to enter the Freeman Field Officers Club against direct orders and one hundred and three officers were arrested, charged with insubordination and ordered to face court martial. The court martial proceedings were quickly dropped; however one officer, Lt. Roger "Bill" Terry, was convicted. Fifty years later, on August 12, 1995, at the Tuskegee Airmen National Convention in Atlanta, Georgia, fifteen of the original one hundred and three officers who were arrested received official notification that their military records had been purged of any reference to the Freeman Field Mutiny. Mr. Terry's court martial conviction was reversed and his military record cleared.

Scope and arrangement

The Tuskegee Airmen Trainees: Freeman Field Mutiny collection consists of documents relating to a case of racial discrimination that resulted in the arrest of over one hundred African American officers and their subsequent exoneration. Included are copies of Army Air Force Special Orders, restricting and arresting the airmen; their reassignments; and transfer orders. Of interest is the testimony of Col. Robert R. Selway, commanding officer at Freeman Field who issued the discriminatory orders and had the officers arrested. Selway also signed the administrative reprimand of Flight Officer Frank Pivalo (1922-1995), one of the Tuskegee Airmen who figures prominently in this collection. There is also a roster of the 115th A.A.F. Base Units.

Noteworthy are three handwritten letters by Frank Pivalo detailing the officers' reasons for refusing to obey orders, 1944-1945, in addition to personal papers pertaining to his service in the Army Air Force. The resolution to this issue can be found in the correction of the military record for Pivalo, 1995-1996, which summarizes the A.A.F.'s case against the Tuskegee Airmen.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Gift of Muriel Pivalo, October 2003.

Processing information

Accessioned by Janice Quinter, October 2, 2003.

Using the collection

Location

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division
515 Malcolm X Boulevard, New York, NY 10037-1801
Second Floor

Access restrictions

Researchers must use photocopies.