Hilton Carter

Segment Synopsis: Hilton Carter was born on June 30, 1928 in New Orleans, Louisiana. He moved with his mother and brother to New York City in July of 1941.

Keywords: Families; New Orleans (La.); New York (N.Y.)

Subjects: Early life; Mothers work; Moving to New York

Segment Synopsis: Carter talks about moving to New York, traveling by bus, segregation in Georgia, and having to stay on the bus in Mississippi. He also discusses meeting his uncle in New York City where he took the subway to Harlem and was reunited with his mother. Carter explains the difficulties in changing schools.

Keywords: Bus travel; Father Divine; Georgia; Mississippi; New Jersey; New York (N.Y.); Pennsylvania Station (New York, N.Y.); Racism; Schooling; Segregation

Subjects: Arriving in New York; Schooling; Southern segregation

Segment Synopsis: Carter decides he would like to pursue a career in aviation and begin to work for lessons at some small airfields in New Jersey. He joins the Army Air Corp where he is trained to fly and to work on airplanes. He is sent to Guam where he is stationed and eventually moves on to Lockbourne Air Force Base.

Keywords: Airplanes--Motors--Maintenance and repair; B-29 (Bomber); California; Crew Chiefs; Guam; Hawaii; Lockbourne (Ohio); Lowry Air Force Base (Colo.); Mitchel Field (N.Y.); New Jersey; San Antonio Aviation Cadet Center (Tex.); Training; United States. Army. Air Corps

Subjects: Flying in New York; Joining the Army Air Corp; Training and traveling to Guam

Segment Synopsis: Carter talks about his life on Guam. The men on the base were not allowed into the native Chamorro villages, but Carter did go fishing severals times with some older native men. He describes the airplanes they had and working with Daniel "Chappie" James Jr.

Keywords: B-17 (Bomber); B-29 (Bomber); Fishing; Guam; James, Daniel, 1920-1978; Lightning (Fighter plane); Mustang (Fighter plane); Northwest Field

Subjects: Life on Guam

Segment Synopsis: Carter talks about leaving the Army and Moving with his Uncle to Washington D.C. He talks about some of the things they did for fun in Washington. He moves back to New York where he attends the City College and gets a job at a modeling agency. He returns to Ohio where he gets married and joins the reserves.

Keywords: C-119 (Transport planes); City University of New York. City College; Marriage; Modeling agencies; Ohio; Recreation; Washington (D.C.)

Subjects: College of the City of New York; Education in Washington D.C.; Moving to Ohio and joining the Reserve; Recreation

Segment Synopsis: Carter talks about how he met his wife at Lockbourne Air Force Base and what base life was like. He talks about how the large number of women who served at Lockbourne have been left out of the history of the Tuskegee Airmen.

Keywords: Guard duty; James, Daniel, 1920-1978; Lockbourne (Ohio); Marriage; United States. Army Air Forces. Fighter Squadron, 99th

Subjects: Lockbourne Air Force Base

Segment Synopsis: Carter discusses his job at North American Aviation and a close-call with one of the C-119 flying boxcars at the Clinton County Air Force Base.

Keywords: C-119 (Transport plane); North American Aviation

Subjects: C-119 Accident; Working for North American Aviation

Segment Synopsis: Carter talks about visiting Japan and China while he was stationed in Guam, traveling to Saipan and Tinian, and finding four Japanese soldiers still hiding on Guam. He discusses Northwest Airfield, where the African American soldiers had to live on the island, working with the engineering group, and what they did for fun.

Keywords: Gamagōri-shi (Japan); Guam; Harmon Field; Japan; Northwest Field; Racism; Recreation; Saipan (Northern Mariana Islands); Shanghai (China); Soldiers--Japan; Tinian (Northern Mariana Islands)

Subjects: Finding Japanese Soldiers on Guam; Living off base in the jungle; Traveling to Japan and China; What they did for fun

Segment Synopsis: Carter talks about seeing friends from the service and losing pictures from his time in the service. He is questioned about his service by some Japanese men. He talks about Eleanor Roosevelt and how she helped form the Tuskegee Airmen. He felt disconnected from American politics while he was stationed on Guam and reflects on some of the Presidents. He talks about the Tuskegee Airmen in popular culture, fighting prejudice, the civil rights movement, and anger on the bases.

Keywords: Carter, Jimmy, 1924-; Civil Rights; Discrimination; History; King, Martin Luther, Jr., 1929-1968.; Nixon, Richard M. (Richard Milhous), 1913-1994.; Roosevelt, Eleanor, 1884-1962; United States. Army Air Forces. Fighter Squadron, 99th.

Subjects: Civil Rights; Eleanor Roosevelt; Friends from the Army; Questions about his service

Keywords: Education; Violence

Subjects: Carter reflects on the pointlessness of violence and what advice he'd give his younger self.

Segment Synopsis: Carter talks about what they did for fun like sports, bowling clubs, and that women on the base would help those that couldn't write send a letter back home. He talks about discrimination at Lockbourne, jail on base, and the repercussions for getting into trouble.

Keywords: Baseball; Basketball; Bowling; Discrimination; Football; Jail; Labor union members--United States; Literacy; Military police; United Service Organizations (U.S.); Writing

Subjects: Discrimination on Base; Jail; Recreation

Segment Synopsis: When asked whether he felt he benefitted from his service Carter said that he enjoyed the traveling very much. He reflects on some of the injustices he saw and wishes he would have done more. He would do it again if they needed him.

Keywords: Injustice; Protesting; Service; Travel

Subjects: Military benefit; Protesting discrimination; Would he do it again

Segment Synopsis: Carter remembers finding a man lynched when he was a boy and why they left Louisiana for New York.

Keywords: Lynching; New Orleans (La.); Racism

Subjects: Leaving Louisiana; Lynching

Segment Synopsis: Carter talks about how he dealt with racism and his hope for the future.

Keywords: Discrimination; Las Vegas (Nev.); Mississippi; Racism; Segregation; Travel

Subjects: Racism; Segregation