"Freeman Field Incident."

In April 1945,African-American U.S. Army Air Force officers of the 477th Bombardment Group were arrested at Freeman Field,Indiana,for staging sit-ins at the officer's club, from which they had been illegally barred.The men of the 447th,as part of the First Air Force,immediately prosted.Col.Robert R. Selway Jr.conferred with his commanding generally Frank O'Donnell Hunter,who allegedly reassured him that his decision to bar African-Americans was not based on color,creed,or race and that "I'd be delighted for them to commit enough actions so i can court-martial some of them."Col.Selway assured the general that he had spies in the 447th and would inform him of any plans that he heard the men were contemplating.On April 5,1945,Col. Selway was warned that more 100 newly arrived African-American officers intended to try to enter the officers' club.Col.Selway instructed the provost marshal to arrest any officer who tried to gain access.The men had been advised by their own lawyer,Lt.William Coleman Jr.,who became secretary of transportation (1975-1977),and by the NAACP.They had pledged themselves to nonviolence,although they knew they faced arrest.Around 10:00 A.M.,the first of the officers pushed past the provost marshal and were arrested and confined to quarters.Over the next two hours,groups of officers repeated the procedure.Four officers were charged under Article 64,which carried the death penalty if found guilty of disobeying a direct order in time of war.The officers included Coleman Young later a long-serving mayor of Detroit (1973-1994).General Hunter conferred with the deputy chief of staff,Brig.General Ray L.Owens,who backed him,stating,"They can't claim discrimination,one officers' club is student and the other is permanent."Col. Selway,was advised that he should release all but the three who had used physical force;he complied and temporarily closed the club.Col. Selway then drew up a new set of regulations that clearly distinguished between the various ranks and grades as he saw them.He designated the African-Americans squadrons as trainees.He then ordered all personnel to sign that they had read and understood the directive.When 101 officers refused,he had them arrested and sent to Godman Field,Kentucky.Both sides now searched for and found allies to support them. For the men,Truman Gibson,and African American lawyer and adviser to Presidents Roosevelt and Truman;Assistant Secretary of War John McCloy's Committee on Special Troop Policies;the NAACP;and the Chicago Urban League,among others,responded.Col.Selway and General Hunter acquired a written opinion from the Air Force Judge Advocates officer,authorized by Air Corps Chief Hap Arnold.It stated that it was "a reasonable division of club facilities where circumstances make such division necessary or desirable from a partical disciplinary,or morale standpoint.As it turned out,the Chief of Staff Marshall ordered that all men,be released with the exception of Lt's.Roger Terry,Marsden A.Thompson,and Shirley R.Clinton.The matter was referred to the McCloy commitee,where the charges were described by Truman Gibson as being "a fabric of deception and subterfuge."The committee advised the secretary of war,Henry L.Stimson,that Col.Selway and General Hunter's activities did not follow regulations.During the courts-martial of Terry,Thompson,and Clinton,it was alleged that the provost marshal had stated "colored officers are not allowed to enter the club whether are base personnel or not."The charges under Article 64 could not be proved and the men acquitted.Terry was fined $150 for pushing the provost marshal.General Hunter in particular,was livid,but was forced to endorse  the verdict,commenting that "the sentence,grossly inadequate is approved and will duly executed."Following the verdict Hap Arnold replaced the whole of the command structure at Freeman Field with African American officers.Col.Selway himself was replaced by Col. Benjamin O. Davis Jr., who became the first African-American U.S. Air Force base commander.