Scope and Content Note
The papers of Benjamin S. Custer (1905-2002) span the years 1912-2000, with the bulk of the material dating from 1920 to 1958. The collection documents Custer's career as a naval aviator, naval officer, commander of a seaplane tender during World War II, his postwar command of the U.S. Naval Air Station, Floyd Bennett Field, and his academic career that included earning a Ph.D. in history from Georgetown University and serving as commander of the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps at Princeton University. The papers also include correspondence, photographs, and writings documenting his Georgia family and Custer's affinity with his Southern heritage. The collection is organized into seven series: Correspondence, Photographs, Speeches and Writings, Subject File, United States Navy, National Security Classified Information, and Oversize.
Custer graduated from the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis in 1926 and became an aviator after flight school training in Pensacola, Florida. As the section leader of a dive bomber squadron, while flying a training exercise in 1936, Custer sustained a back injury that, along with recurring ulcers, limited his subsequent flying duties. The medical file in the United States Navy series provides additional information. During World War II, Custer served as executive officer on the escort carrier Croatan in the Atlantic and as commander of the seaplane tender Norton Sound in the Pacific. Substantial files concerning these ships are in both the Photographs series and the United States Navy series. Another notable event in Custer's career ocurred in 1948 while serving as the United States naval attaché to Canada. Custer and a small group of men encountered inclement weather while flying out of Churchill, Manitoba, Canada. The small aircraft was blown over 200 miles off course into the Saskatchewan wilderness where the plane went down. The group survived for twelve days before they were finally found and rescued. Materials documenting their ordeal are in the Photographs, United States Navy, and Oversize series.
The collection’s series are listed and briefly described below. A fuller description of each series and a list of its contents can be accessed in the series descriptions within the container list.
The Correspondence series is organized into family correspondence and general correspondence.
The Photographs series contains navy, family, and personal photographs, although it is heavily weighted toward the navy photographs.
The Speeches and Writings series primarily consists of writings by Custer.
The Subject File gathers together topical material that falls outside the purview of the other series.
The United States Navy series includes official navy correspondence and documents from Custer's time as a midshipman to his retirement as a rear admiral in 1957.
The remaining series contain National Security Classified Information and Oversize material.