The dedication of the new Indiana State Historical Marker about the Freeman Field Mutiny and two life-size statues of Tuskegee Airmen took place during a ceremony Saturday afternoon at Freeman Municipal Airport in Seymour.
The statues were the focal points of the afternoon along with performances by members of the U.S. Air Force Band of Flight from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, who performed the musical prelude and played other songs throughout the ceremony.
One of the statues depicts a Tuskegee Airman in his flight gear to represent the defense of the nation, and the other is a Tuskegee Airman in an officer’s uniform to represent the discrimination they faced.
Seymour resident Tim Molinari gave the opening remarks and said it has been a tremendous week with Saturday being the sixth and final day of dedication week for the expanded Tuskegee Airmen memorial.
He said the idea for statues started back in 2015 when his son, Tim, had his dedication for his Eagle Scout project, and afterward, they thought about how statues either represent an important event or an important person.
“It was a considerable fundraising effort to be able to present these statues to the community,” Molinari said. “We have an endowment set up at the Community Foundation of Jackson County to support programs like we’ve had this past week to support the dialogue that has taken place with learning about the history that was here at Freeman Army Airfield.”
He said anyone who would like to contribute to the Tuskegee Airmen Memorial Endowment may contact Dan Davis, president and chief executive officer of the Community Foundation of Jackson County.
Davis said the foundation is pleased to have helped support the Tuskegee Airmen memorial expansion and is excited about the future educational programming to be funded through the endowment.
“We really feel it is living our motto of building tomorrows, in this case remembering our history and building better tomorrows,” he said.
Guest speakers at the event included Koo Yuen of the Koo and Patricia Yuen Foundation; Nicole Poletika with the Indiana Historical Bureau; Jerry Burton, national president of Tuskegee Airmen Inc. in Virginia; and Bryan Patrick Avery, author and grandson of Master Sgt. Harold Beaulieu, who took the famous photograph that led to the integration of the U.S. Armed Forces after the end of World War II.
Seymour Mayor Matt Nicholson spoke during the ceremony and said it would be easy for him to stand there and think about several pieces of history, such as this year being the 80th anniversary of the airfield in Seymour and 75 years for the U.S. Air Force.
“Somewhere between those two dates, there was a group of men who as part of the 477th Bombardment Group hosted a mutiny that took place about a half-mile from here,” he said. “We’re here today to remember that and to celebrate what they accomplished and the things that led to.”
Poletika, historian and editor of the Indiana Historical Bureau, said she was excited to be there for the dedication of the new marker to commemorate the Freeman Field Mutiny.
“In the 1990s, two markers were installed in Seymour about Freeman Field, but neither of them addressed the Tuskegee Airmen or the mutiny,” she said. “So this new marker gives us a chance to tell a fuller story, one that describes the fight for democracy both abroad and at home.”
Koo Yuen of the Koo and Patricia Yuen Foundation, the memorial’s largest donor, traveled to the dedication ceremony from Washington, D.C.
Yuen said, “Ladies and gentlemen, aren’t you glad that the Tuskegee Airmen statues are standing tall as they face us, to show their bravery, their dignity and what they stand for as human beings and most of all as Americans who fight and defend our great country?”
He went on to thank all of the supporters who also helped along the way to make the statues possible and said he was very honored and grateful for all those attending the celebration and dedication.
“Statue one is the officer who was the Tuskegee Airman who was stationed here right after the war and faced the discrimination that no one could have imagined,” Yuen said. “The other is the brave air pilot, and they represent all the Tuskegee Airmen in the entire history of the U.S. Armed Forces, especially the Air Force.”
Avery, who is from northern California, said his grandfather was a very humble man but would be so proud to see the memorial and the celebration taking place there.
“My grandfather took the photograph and knew the significance of it, but it wasn’t something he really talked to us about until I was almost in college,” he said. “I want to share with you a little about why he took the photograph because I think it’s important for all of us as we move forward in our lives.”
In 1945, there were more than 100 officers who had been arrested for mutiny and refused to obey a direct order in a time of war.
“They took a big risk doing that and were brought out to the flight line to be flown away from the base but weren’t told where they were going,” Avery said. “They watched while two photographers out on the flight line took pictures. Then they watched as military police took their cameras and threw the film away.”
He said his grandfather was concerned something like that might happen and the military would want to cover it up, so he hid a camera in a shoebox and stood on the flight line, and with that shoebox, he took pictures.
“He sent those pictures off to the Pittsburgh Courier, and they were published about two weeks after the incident, which led to more than 50,000 letters being written to the War Department demanding an end to segregation in the Armed Forces,” Avery said.
That was the catalyst for President Harry Truman’s executive order, which integrated the Armed Forces. Truman signed Executive Order 9981 nearly three years after the war on July 26, 1948.
Burton thanked supporters and the community for pulling together to make the memorial possible.
“I want to thank anyone present who had relatives who were officers in the 477th Bombardment Group,” Burton said. “I only know of one here today, and that is Jim Warren, whose father was stationed here and was a part of it.”
He went on to thank everyone involved for the vision of the memorial and said being on the grounds where the Tuskegee Airmen actually did the mutiny was mind-blowing and incredible for him.
During the ceremony, there was a presentation of colors by the Indiana National Guard color guard, an American flag display by the Indiana Patriot Guard Riders, a 21-gun salute by the Bartholomew County Veterans Honor Guard and a wreath laying ceremony by Boy Scout Troop 529 of Seymour.
Tuskegee Airmen Memorial Endowment
Those who would like to be part of helping fund future programming may do so with tax-deductible donations to the Tuskegee Airmen Memorial Endowment. Donations can be made by sending a check to the Community Foundation of Jackson County, P.O. Box 1231, Seymour, IN 47274, or by donating online at the foundation’s website, cfjacksoncounty.org. For information, call the foundation at 812-523-4483.