Patriotism at Freeman Field

In 1945, an officer-led protest on Indiana’s Freeman Field paved the way for racial desegregation in the military.

By Sarah Derouin

In March, 1945, Wardell Polk arrived at Freeman Field Air Force Base in Seymour, Indiana, where tensions were running high.

Polk was part of the 477th Bombardment Group, an all-Black unit training for combat in World War II. Polk and the four squadrons of Black men now outnumbered the white men on the base.

Segregation in the military was policy and practice, leading Colonel Robert Selway, the white commander of the 477th, to create two clubs one for “supervisory personnel or instructors” and another for “trainees.” Selway then designated all Black officers as “trainees,” including fighter pilots, experienced navigators, bombardiers, and triply qualified officers.

After years of hostile treatment, inadequate training, and openly racist policies from the Army Air Forces (AAF), the Black officers of the 477th reached their limit. On April 5 and 6, 1945, multiple groups of African American officers attempted to enter the supervisory club—Polk among them.

Sixty-one Black officers were arrested. This act of civil disobedience kickstarted a series of civil rights actions from Black officers. Polk’s papers at the Bentley detail his experiences as a member of the 477th, his time at Freeman Field, and his enduring commitment to the U.S. military, even after years of racial discrimination.

The Rise of Civil Rights in the Military

Polk was born in 1918 and grew up in Black Bottom, a neighborhood on the lower east side of Detroit.

He was 23 when, in May 1941, the AAF began training hundreds of Black cadets at Tuskegee Army Airfield to become pilots, navigators, bombardiers, and gunners. These soldiers joined the all-Black 477th Bombardment Group in 1944 and were put under the command of Colonel Selway. To become a bombardier, enlistees had to complete a rigorous, weeks-long training cycle. Polk completed this training, and on February 25, 1944, he was awarded the rank of Second Lieutenant.

The 477th originally trained at Selfridge Field, Michigan. Selway’s superior was Major General Frank O. Hunter, a decorated ace fighter pilot in WWI and a staunch racist. With Hunter’s support, Selway worked to prevent African Americans from being promoted and supported; the 477th was moved around the country to various airfields, likely in an attempt to break morale. In early 1945, the 477th finally settled at Freeman Field.

Their arrival made waves, both on and off the base. Polk was one of 400 Black officers and 2,500 enlisted men stationed at Freeman Field—drastically outnumbering the 250 white officers and 600 enlisted men already stationed there. Local townspeople in nearby Seymour, Indiana, showed open contempt toward the Black soldiers. On base, white officers freely expressed their racism, some eagerly looking for any excuse to incite violence.

Reaching Their Limit

Guided by a lieutenant who had labor organizer experience—Coleman Young, a future mayor of Detroit—they planned their “mutiny.” Over two nights in April, every 30 minutes or so, three Black officers would try to enter the white club. “We were gonna scatter, play pool, get a drink, buy cigarettes,” recalled Young in Freedom Flyers: The Tuskegee Airmen of World War II by J. Todd Moye (Oxford University Press 2012). “The commanding officer was livid and placed us under arrest, at quarters.”

After the arrests, 110 officers wrote to the Army Inspector General, requesting an investigation. They noted the arrests showed hypocrisy and racial discrimination, stating, “The continuance of this policy can hardly be reconciled with the worldwide struggle for freedom for which we are asked, and are willing, to lay down our lives.”

In response, all but three officers—who were accused of pushing their way into the club—were released. But the disobedience outraged Selway. He quickly came up with strategies to bar Black officers from the club, including Base Regulation 85-2, which outlined strict segregation on military installations. All officers had to read and sign the document saying they understood the regulation and that refusal to obey a direct order would result in punishment up to death.

Of the 422 Black officers in the 477th, 101 refused to sign and were arrested—Polk among them. Polk and his fellow officers were sent to Godman Field in Kentucky for confinement.

Archived in Polk’s collection is a handwritten letter from his confinement requesting legal representation by lawyer and civil rights icon William H. Hastie. There is no documented response from Hastie, but that might be because news of the protest and subsequent arrests soon spread to the press. After additional  pressure from Congress, labor groups, and the NAACP, the 101 Black officers were released seven days after arriving at Godman.

Even after their release, the officers received an official reprimand. The reprimand, archived in Polk’s papers, states, “. . . you displayed a stubborn and uncooperative attitude . . . This action on your part indicated that you lack appreciation of the high standards of teamwork . . .” The reprimand went in their permanent records and was designed to hamper future military promotions and civil opportunities.

Each of the arrested officers wrote a defiant, identically worded response, doubling down on the racist regulation and treatment. “The cited regulation appeared and still appears to be a ‘Jim Crow’ regulation . . .”

The response ended in a powerful declaration of each officer’s “unshakable belief that racial biases [are] Fascistic, un-American, and directly contrary to the ideals for which he is willing to fight and die.”

In Recognition

Selway was relieved of his position in late April 1945 and was replaced by Colonel Benjamin O. Davis. Davis immediately ended the promotional backlog for Black officers in the 477th. A review of discriminatory policies was conducted throughout the military in the following years, eventually leading President Truman to issue Executive Order 9981 in 1948 abolishing discrimination “on the basis of race, color, religion, or national origin” in the Armed Services.

After being separated from active duty, Polk tried to be reinstated to service. On September 1, 1947—a year and a half after his initial request—he reported for duty to Lockbourne Air Base.

In 2005, 60 years after the Freeman Field Mutiny, Michigan Senator Carl Levin introduced legislation to award the Tuskegee Airmen the Congressional Gold Medal in recognition of their war efforts and help in breaking down racial stereotypes. Polk died in Detroit in 2002, but his name was still read by Senator Levin, who listed all 150 airmen from Michigan.

In 2006, the surviving Tuskegee Airmen were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, which featured an officer, mechanic, and pilot in profile.

The Bentley’s archives also include the papers of Tuskegee airmen Chauncey Spencer and Alexander Jefferson, and the Robert Fletcher Visual Materials include an interview with three Tuskegee Airmen.