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Home Oral history interview with Connie Nappier Jr. recorded 2006 Mar. 15

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Oral history interview with Connie Nappier Jr. recorded 2006 Mar. 15

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Title	Oral history interview with Connie Nappier Jr. recorded 2006 Mar. 15
Description	Interview conducted by Eileen Hurst. Connie Nappier, Jr. enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps after graduating high school in 1943. He wanted to be part of the Tuskegee Experiment, the program the Air Corps had set up to train African American fighter pilots. Nappier describes the grueling process he endured in order to become a part of this program. After ground training at Tuskegee Air Field, he and a few other soldiers were informed that their services were needed as bombardier navigators. He and group of others from Tuskegee Air Field were sent to Midland, Texas to complete the flight and ground training as bombardier navigators. It was during this time that Nappier was given his “wings”, and made an officer, and the 477th medium bomb group was formed, which was a segregated bomb group. Nappier was a Flight Officer in the 477th, when the soldiers were transferred to Freeman Field in Indiana. At Freeman Field, 101 officers of the 477th Bomb Group were arrested for disobeying the Jim Crow laws that were established by Col. Selway, the base's commanding officer. Col. Selway had the men arrested, Nappier among them, and sent to the stockade at Goodman Field in Kentucky. It wasn’t until an order was received from President Truman that the officers were released. Nappier then returned to Tuskegee Air Field to finish his pilot training. He had dreamed of becoming a pilot since childhood. He was part of the 46D class, which was the last pilot class trained at Tuskegee. Unfortunately, the war ended, and the pilots’ training was not completed. Nappier was discharged from the Air Corps, and he returned home to Hartford, Ct, where he used the G.I. Bill to complete his education as an architect. In 2007, after this interview was recorded, Nappier received the Congressional Gold Medal in Washington, D.C. alongside other veterans from Tuskegee Air Field.
Coverage	1943-1946
Date Original	03/15/2006
Digital Format	video/x-ms-wmv
Duration	01:55:44
Contributors	Hurst, Eileen
Software	Windows Media Player required for viewing
Access Restrictions and Permissions	No access restrictions. For permission to reproduce contact Central Connecticut State University, Center for Public Policy and Social Research at (860) 832-2976
Image Identifier	VHP2006/32
Creator/Owner	Nappier, Connie
War or Conflict	World War, 1939-1945
Branch of Service	United States. Army Air Corps United States. Army Air Force
Unit of Service	United States Army Air Corps. 477th Medium Bomb Group. 616th Squadron.
Rank	Flight Officer
Status	Veteran
Subject	World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, American Veterans -- Connecticut -- Interviews World War, 1939-1945 -- African Americans Freeman Field Mutiny, Ind., 1945 Mitchell bomber Truman, Harry S., 1884-1972 Tuskegee Airmen, Inc
Geographic Location	Keesler Air Force Base (Miss.) Tuskegee Army Air Field (Ala.) Freeman Field (Ind.)
Publisher	Central Connecticut State University. Center for Public Policy and Social Research
Language	eng
Relation	Veterans History Project (U.S.)
Type of Resource	Moving image
Citation	Connie Nappier Jr. Papers. VHP2006/32. Veterans History Project; Central Connecticut State University, Center for Public Policy and Social Research.
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