Collection context
Summary
- Creators:
- Crenshaw, Walter, 1909-2016
- Abstract:
- The collection consists of medals and other records from Walter Crenshaw, who served as the administrative assistant to the provost marshall at the Tuskegee Army Air Field during the Second World War. Items in the collection include Crenshaw's pay and physical fitness records, a Tuskegee Army Airfield yearbook, a Thanksgiving menu, and three medals Crenshaw received related to his service.
- Extent:
- 0.21 linear feet (1 box)
- Language:
- The collection is in English .
- Preferred citation:
-
[identification of item], [date if possible]. Walter Crenshaw papers (MS 418). Special Collections & University Archives, University of California, Riverside.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The collection consists of medals and other records from Walter Crenshaw, who served as the administrative assistant to the provost marshal at the Tuskegee Army Air Field during the Second World War. Items in the collection include Crenshaw's pay and physical fitness records, a Tuskegee Army Airfield yearbook, a Tuskegee Air Field Thanksgiving menu, and three medals Crenshaw received related to his service.
Also included is a checklist from the War Department Pamphlet "Command of Negro Troops," which sought to help white commanding officers successfully interact with black troops.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Walter Crenshaw Jr. was born on October 27, 1909, and was raised in Alabama. He attended the Tuskegee Institute in 1927, and one year later transferred to Alabama State University. In 1940, Crenshaw married Zelma Whatley, and the two eventually had five children.
In 1942, Crenshaw joined the U.S. Army Air Corps, and received administrative training before being stationed at the Tuskegee Army Air Field. Crenshaw served as the Administrative Assistant to the Provost Marshal, where he oversaw the background checks and induction of cadets for the 99th Pursuit Squadron and the 332nd Fighters Squadron and got to know each recruit on a personal basis.
After being honorably discharged in 1945, Crenshaw moved to Detroit, Michigan, where he worked for 22 years as the head shipping clerk for Railway Express Agency. Crenshaw and his family then spent time in Santa Monica, California and South Carolina before retiring to Redondo Beach, California in 2007.
In 2008, he was honored at the National Historic Site of the National Museum of the Tuskegee Airmen, in addition to the 2007 Congressional Gold Medal President George W. Bush bestowed to all Tuskegee Airmen. Crenshaw also held the distinction for many years of being the oldest living documented Tuskegee Airmen, until his passing in 2016 at the age of 106.
- Acquisition information:
- Gift of N. Joyce Crenshaw, 2018.
- Processing information:
-
Processed by Jessica Geiser, Collections Management Librarian, 2018.
- Arrangement:
-
The collection is arranged alphabetically.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
The collection is open for research.
- Terms of access:
-
Copyright has not been assigned to the University of California, Riverside Libraries, Special Collections & University Archives. Distribution or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. To the extent other restrictions apply, permission for distribution or reproduction from the applicable rights holder is also required. Responsibility for obtaining permissions, and for any use rests exclusively with the user.
- Preferred citation:
-
[identification of item], [date if possible]. Walter Crenshaw papers (MS 418). Special Collections & University Archives, University of California, Riverside.
- Location of this collection:
-
University of California, Riverside - Special Collections and University ArchivesP.O. Box 5900Riverside, CA 92517-5900, US
- Contact:
- (951) 827-3233