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Guide to the Cecil Peterson collection on the Tuskegee Airmen
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Title: Cecil Peterson collection on the Tuskegee Airmen
Date (inclusive): 1916-2003, undated
Date (bulk): 1940-1952
Collection Number: 100
Creator:
Peterson, Cecil
Extent:
33.0 linear feet
(17 record storage boxes, 5 document boxes, 24 index card boxes)
Repository: Rivera Library. Special Collections Department.
Riverside, CA 92517-5900
Abstract: The Cecil Peterson collection on the Tuskegee Airmen is contained within the Tuskegee Airmen Archive. This archive consists
of material related to those individuals who served at Tuskegee Army Air Field, and its predecessors, as well as material
pertaining to Tuskegee Airmen, Inc., a non-profit organization.
This collection consists largely of research material collected by Cecil Peterson on the Tuskegee Airmen and the units with which they were affiliated. Material relating to Peterson's personal life is present, and to a lesser extent there is material regarding African Americans and Military History. Peterson compiled an extensive collection of material on the Tuskegee Airmen, the first African American pilots in the United States Army Air Corps. Information on personnel and military units associated with the training at Tuskegee Army Air Field and its predecessor training sites, race relations within the military, the Freeman Field Mutiny, the Tuskegee Airmen, Inc. and Peterson’s personal and professional life are also included.
This collection consists largely of research material collected by Cecil Peterson on the Tuskegee Airmen and the units with which they were affiliated. Material relating to Peterson's personal life is present, and to a lesser extent there is material regarding African Americans and Military History. Peterson compiled an extensive collection of material on the Tuskegee Airmen, the first African American pilots in the United States Army Air Corps. Information on personnel and military units associated with the training at Tuskegee Army Air Field and its predecessor training sites, race relations within the military, the Freeman Field Mutiny, the Tuskegee Airmen, Inc. and Peterson’s personal and professional life are also included.
Languages: The collection is in English.
This collection is open for research.
Copyright has not been assigned to the University of California, Riverside Libraries, Special Collections & Archives. All
requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections
& Archives. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Regents of the University of California as the owner of the
physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by
the researcher.
[identification of item]. Cecil Peterson collection on the Tuskegee Airmen, Collection 100. University of California, Riverside
Libraries, Special Collections & Archives, University of California, Riverside.
The Cecil Peterson collection on the Tuskegee Airmen was acquired as a gift in 2006.
Processed by Chuck Wilson, 2010-2012.
Cecil Peterson was orphaned at an early age and spent much of his boyhood in foster homes and institutions. His military experience
included time as an enlisted man at Tuskegee Army Flying School in 1942 and 1943. He was in training and a part of base personnel
before being shipped out for service on Guadalcanal. He re-entered the Army after World War II, was commissioned a Lieutenant
and served in Korea.
During World War II, Eleanor Roosevelt requested the administrator of one of the institutions at which Cecil Peterson had
resided to provide the name of someone in the service with whom she could correspond. This was the beginning of a long term
relationship with the Roosevelt family.
After the war he completed his college work and had a career as a teacher. Peterson was active in local Los Angeles politics,
notably Tom Bradley’s initial election to the Los Angeles City Council. He served on the Los Angeles County Commission on
Obscenity and Pornography and as a member of the California State Senior Legislature.
Collection Scope and Content Summary
The Cecil Peterson collection on the Tuskegee Airmen is contained within the Tuskegee Airmen Archive. This archive consists
of material related to those individuals who served at Tuskegee Army Air Field, and its predecessors, as well as material
pertaining to Tuskegee Airmen, Inc., a non-profit organization.
This collection consists largely of research material collected by Cecil Peterson on the Tuskegee Airmen and the units with which they were affiliated. Material relating to Peterson's personal life is present, and to a lesser extent there is material regarding African Americans and Military History. Peterson compiled an extensive collection of material on the Tuskegee Airmen, the first African American pilots in the United States Army Air Corps. Information on personnel and military units associated with the training at Tuskegee Army Air Field and its predecessor training sites, race relations within the military, the Freeman Field Mutiny, the Tuskegee Airmen, Inc. and Peterson’s personal and professional life are also included.
This collection consists largely of research material collected by Cecil Peterson on the Tuskegee Airmen and the units with which they were affiliated. Material relating to Peterson's personal life is present, and to a lesser extent there is material regarding African Americans and Military History. Peterson compiled an extensive collection of material on the Tuskegee Airmen, the first African American pilots in the United States Army Air Corps. Information on personnel and military units associated with the training at Tuskegee Army Air Field and its predecessor training sites, race relations within the military, the Freeman Field Mutiny, the Tuskegee Airmen, Inc. and Peterson’s personal and professional life are also included.
This collection is arranged into 7 series and 4 sub-series. Collection arrangement is as follows:
- Series 1. Personnel, 1939-1994, undated.
- Sub-series 1.1. Enlisted, undated.
- Sub-series 1.2. Officers, 1943-1985, undated.
- Sub-series 1.3. Non-Tuskegee Airmen, 1943-1972, undated.
- Sub-series 1.4. General, 1939-1994, undated.
- Series 2. Freeman Field Mutiny, 1945, undated.
- Series 3. Non-Military Organizational Records, 1973-1992, undated.
- Series 4. Military History, 1943-1999, undated.
- Series 5. African American History, 1916-1992, undated.
- Series 6. Tuskegee Airmen Related Activities, 1941-1998, undated.
- Series 7. Personal Papers of Cecil Peterson, 1935-2003, undated.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
African American fighter pilots.
Freeman Field Mutiny, Ind., 1945.
Moton Field.
Tuskegee Army Air Field (Ala.).
Tuskegee Army Flying School (Tuskegee, Ala.).
United States. Army Air Forces. Fighter Group, 332nd History.
United States. Army Air Forces. Fighter Squadron, 99th History.
World War II.
Clippings (information artifacts).
Correspondence.
Publications.
Reports.
Rosters.