A Century In Film

By Major Karla West, SDWG Historian

As the historian for the South Dakota Wing (SDWG), I often receive calls from people hoping to donate items related to Civil Air Patrol (CAP) history. Every so often, one of those calls turns out to be a rare and priceless find.

One such call led me to the legacy of Lt. Col. Thomas Brownfield Roberts Jr., the first commanding officer of the South Dakota Wing. Appointed on December 1, 1941, Roberts led the Wing through its developing years and the duration of World War II, stepping down on October 15, 1945.

Born on March 10, 1891, in Armour, South Dakota, Roberts hailed from a publishing family and carried that tradition forward in Pierre, working with the State Publishing Company, which published the Pierre Daily Dakotan. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame, Roberts combined a passion for aviation with a strong sense of civic duty.

When wartime shortages suspended the newspaper's publication in 1942, Roberts turned his full attention to the war effort. In addition to managing the publishing company, he led CAP operations across South Dakota, bringing his experience and leadership to a blooming organization at a critical moment in American history. A licensed pilot and aircraft owner, Roberts was instrumental in developing the Pierre Municipal Airport and served as the first chairman of the South Dakota Aeronautics Commission.

His wartime service was recognized posthumously with the Civil Air Patrol Congressional Gold Medal, one of the nation's highest civilian honors, for his contributions to CAP. The medal was presented to his daughter, Nancy Seger of Hisega, SD, who passed away in 2021.

After Nancy's passing, her husband David Seger discovered several 16mm film reels while cleaning out the family home. Unsure of their exact content but aware of Roberts' historic role in CAP, David reached out to me to donate the footage to the South Dakota Wing.

After weeks of searching, I located a working reel-to-reel projector and began reviewing the fragile reels. What I found was nothing short of extraordinary. The collection turned out to be a treasure trove of early 20th-century South Dakota history, with most of the footage filmed before the Civil Air Patrol was even founded. The rarity of home film footage from the 1920s, especially aviation-related, makes this an invaluable archive.

Highlights from the footage include:

• Family vacations in the Black Hills
• Rare footage of Charles Lindbergh's 1920s landing near Pierre, SD
• A local Pierre parade, believed to be from the 1940s
• Aerial footage taken by Roberts himself, showcasing the Black Hills, Spearfish Airport, and more
• Original airplane hangars in Spearfish, complete with aircraft on display
• Footage at the Air Force Academy

With support from the South Dakota Wing, I secured funding to digitize the delicate films, preserving them for future generations. The digitized footage will be shared with our Wing members and will now be part of the permanent archives at the Cultural Heritage Center and South Dakota State Historical Society in Pierre. Both the original reels and a USB copy are stored there for public access and historical preservation. Matthew Reitzel, archivist at the society said "We appreciate you thinking of us to preserve these reels. Most people don't think to donate historical artifacts, and they end up in a basement until they are lost."

This footage not only captures the early spirit of aviation in South Dakota but also cements Lt. Col. Thomas B. Roberts Jr.'s role as a pioneering figure in both journalism, aviation, and CAP. His story and the rare visual legacy now uncovered will hopefully inspire future generations of CAP members and South Dakotans alike.