Freeman Army Airfield

Freeman Army Airfield is an inactive United States Army Air Forces base. It is located 2.6mi south-southwest of Seymour, Indiana.The base was established in 1942 as a pilot training airfield. It was also the first military helicopter pilot training airfield. In 1944, black bomber pilots were trained at Freeman, and it was the scene of a racial incident that outraged many Americans and led to the military re-evaluating its racial policies. After the war, captured German, Italian and Japanese aircraft were brought to the base for evaluation and testing. It was closed in 1946.HistoryFreeman Army Airfield was named in honor or Captain Richard S. Freeman. A native of Indiana and 1930 graduate of West Point, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, was awarded the Mackay Trophy, and was one of the pioneers of the Army Air Mail Service. Captain Freeman was killed on 6 February 1941 in the crash of a B-17 Flying Fortress (B-17B 38-216) near Lovelock, Nevada while en route to Wright Field, Ohio. The aircraft was equipped with the top secret Norden bombsight and sabotage was suspected as the cause of the crash, but never was proven.World War IIInitial surveys of the area were made in April 1942 and the present site of Freeman Municipal Airport was selected for construction. The selected site was announced on 3 April 1942. Army Air Forces officials met with local landowners to obtain rights to a single tract of 2,500 acres for the main airfield and support base, along with five additional tracts for auxiliary landing fields near Walesboro, Grammer, St. Thomas, Kentucky, Zenas and Valonia, Indiana. Of the five auxiliaries, Walesboro and St. Anne were to have concrete runways. Only three of these can be located today.