Dr. Cyril O. Byron, 2009
Summary
One in a series of interviews with Marylanders who served in armed services during WWII or worked in defense production on the home front. Dr. Byron discusses discrimination and segregation in pre and post-war Baltimore; discrimination in the Army; discrimination in wartime Europe; relations with white soldiers and officers; training at Tuskegee Airbase; advocacy of African American newspapers, civil rights activists, and Eleanor Roosevelt for Tuskegee Airmen; successes and accolades of the Tuskegee Airmen; GI Bill; transition to civilian life; receiving the Congressional Medal of Honor; attending the inauguration of President Obama.
Dates
- 2009
Creator
- Byron, Cyril O., Dr. (Narrator, Person)
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research use.
Biographical / Historical
Tuskegee Airmen. Dr. Cyril O. Byron is a WWII veteran of the Army Air Corps and a Tuskegee Airman. He lived much of his life in Baltimore and is a graduate of Morgan State University. He taught for 26 years at Coppin State University.
Extent
From the Collection: 50 Items : 50 interviews
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
Scope and Contents
Collection contains 11 interviews with Maryland veterans of the Army’s 29th Division, Merchant Mariners and Tuskegee Airmen. There is also a group interview with members of the American Rosie the Riveter Association.
Materials available for this project include audio and video recordings, biographical material, photographs, ephemera and other materials. Transcripts are available for 10 of the interviews. OH 9915, Victor Harvey Hodgin, Sr. has not been transcribed.
There is also a companion booklet containing 14 student research papers examining Maryland’s role during World War II from various aspects. Topics include: Maryland’s prisoner of war camps, the Glenn L. Martin Company, Aberdeen Proving Ground, civil rights activism in wartime Baltimore, and more. The booklet also contains an introduction to the project, photographs, and short biographies of the student interviewers.
Creator
- Byron, Cyril O., Dr. (Narrator, Person)
- Coleman, Raven (Interviewer, Person)
- Branch, Antwan (Interviewer, Person)
Repository Details
Part of the H. Furlong Baldwin Library Repository
H. Furlong Baldwin Library
Maryland Center for History and Culture
610 Park Avenue
Baltimore MD 21201 United States
4106853750
specialcollections@mdhistory.org