Freeman Field / African American 477th Bombardment Group

The United States declared war on Japan on December 8, 1941 following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Immediately, the country was thrust into an international war that required the mobilization of American people and resources. Many new military bases and training facilities were founded throughout the country, including Freeman Army Air Field, a pilot training school constructed southwest of Seymour, Indiana. Named after the distinguished Army Air Corps pilot Richard S. Freeman, Freeman Field was activated on December 1, 1942. The impressive facility contained 413 buildings and four 5,500-foot runways.[1]

World War II was not only a time of international conflict; within the United States, domestic tensions grew as the war highlighted the racial inequality African Americans endured. Segregation persisted in the military, forcing African American service men into segregated units, limiting their opportunities for promotions, and barring their entrance to officer’s clubs. [2] Segregation was strictly enforced at Seymour’s Freeman Field under the command of Col. Robert Selway. Freeman Field’s discriminatory treatment of African American airmen gained national attention in 1945, as members of the all-African American 477th Bombardment Group staged a non-violent demonstration to protest the Army Air Corps racist practices. This event, now called The Freedmen Field Mutiny, was instrumental to the fight for the desegregation of the U.S. armed forces. [3]

The 477th Bombardment Group was formed by the Army Air Corps in 1945. First assigned to Selfridge Field, near Detroit, the 477th trained at fields in Michigan, Kentucky, and Indiana. At every base, the African American unit faced discrimination and racism. Upon their arrival at Freeman Field in March 1945, the 400 African American officers that made up the 477th were listed as “trainees,” while their white counterparts were listed as “instructors” to maintain segregated base protocols. Because they were designated as “trainees,” the African American airmen were forbidden from utilizing comfortable Officer’s Club #2 and forced into Officer’s Club #1, a run-down building lacking amenities. [4]

Frustrated by their unequal facilities, the African American airmen decided to stand up for their rights and try to enter Officer’s Club #2. Led by Lt. Coleman Young, a group of African American officers requested permission to enter the all-white club on April 5, 1945. The group was told to leave, and a second group attempted to enter the building a few minutes later. Again, the airmen were denied entry, but this group refused to turn away. Pushing past the on-duty officer, the leader of the group entered Officer’s Club #2, and the rest of the demonstrators followed. The next evening, more than 60 African American officers were arrested for trying to enter the white club. Col. Selway punished the African American unit by instituting Regulation 85-2, which officially segregated housing, dining facilities, and officer’s clubs by race and gave him the right to confine any violators of the order. Despite the fact that the segregation of public facilities on military bases was forbidden by US Army Regulation 210-10, Selman tried to force the African American officers to sign a statement saying that they had read and agreed with Regulation 85-2. [5]

More than 100 of the officers refused to sign the statement. The arrested officers were sent away to Godman Field, where they were guarded by armed men and dogs. As the incident began gaining national attention, the War Department felt pressured to drop the charges against the officers. On April 23, Army Chief of Staff General George C. Marshall ordered the release of the 101 African American officers. Although free from military prison, each officer involved in the mutiny had letters of reprimand placed in their military files. [6]

In response to the demonstration, Col. Selway was relieved of his duties and replaced at Freeman Field by Col. Benjamin O. Davis Jr.[7] By the time the facility was deactivated in 1948, over 4,000 pilots had graduated from training. [8] The U.S. armed forces were officially desegregated by Executive Order 9981, enacted by President Harry S. Truman on July 26, 1948.[9] The reprimands were removed from the military files of the African American officers under President Clinton in 1995. [10] Today, parts of Freeman Army Air Field are preserved as a museum, and Freeman Field Mutiny is marked with a plaque from the Indiana Historical Bureau. [11] The air men’s quest for equal rights was an important turning point in the early years of the Civil Rights Movement that paved the way for non-violent sit-in protests in the following decades and pushed the United States military to desegregate. [12]

[1]“Freeman Field,” Indiana Historical Bureau, accessed June 23, 2020, https://www.in.gov/history/2501.htm.
[2] Nicole Poletika, “‘Blacks Must Wage Two Wars:’ The Freeman Field Uprising & WWII Desegregation,” Indiana History Blog, July 31, 2017, https://blog.history.in.gov/blacks-must-wage-two-wars-the-freeman-field-uprising-wwii-desegregation/.
[3] “The Freeman Field Mutiny,” National Park Service, accessed June 23, 2020, https://www.nps.gov/tuai/learn/historyculture/stories.htm.
[4] “The Freeman Field Mutiny,”
[5] Ibid.
[6] “The Freeman Field Mutiny,”
[7] Ibid.
[8]“Freeman Field.”
[9]Poletika, “Blacks Must Wage Two Wars.”
[10] “The Freeman Field Mutiny.”
[11] “Freeman Field.”
[12]“History,” Freeman Army Airfield Museum, accessed June 23, 2020, http://www.freemanarmyairfieldmuseum.org/about.html.
[13] Poletika, “Blacks Must Wage Two Wars.”

Student Authors: Mary Swartz and Natalie Bradshaw
Faculty/Staff Editors: Dr. Ronald V. Morris, Dr. Kevin C. Nolan, and Christine Thompson
Graduate Assistant Researchers: Carrie Vachon and JB Bilbrey

PHOTO & VIDEO:
Freeman Field Mutiny, attributed to Master Sergeant Harold J. Beaulieu, Sr., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Freeman_Field_Mutiny.jpg