Clinton Pardons 1st Black West Point Graduate Henry O. Flipper 117 Yrs. After Wrongful Discharge

After 117 years, Lt. Henry O. Flipper, the first Black graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, was granted a posthumous pardon by President Clinton at a prestigious ceremony in the Roosevelt Room of the White House.

More than a century ago, his promising military career was shattered by a dishonorable discharge that was racially motivated.

"Today's ceremony is about a moment in 1882, when our government did not do all it could do to protect an individual American's freedom," said President Clinton.

"With great pleasure and humility, I now offer a full pardon to Lt. Henry Ossian Flipper of the United States Army." Added President Clinton, "This good man now has completely recovered his good name."

Four generations of Flipper's family and several of the highest-ranking military officials attended the ceremony to honor and pardon Lt. Flipper, the first Black commissioned officer in the regular U.S. Army.

"The pardon brings closure for Henry and all of us-Henry's offspring," said Lt. Flipper's grandnephew, Joseph Flipper.

In 1881, Lt. Flipper's commanding officer charged him with embezzlement of commissary funds entrusted to his care. Lt. Flipper was acquitted on the charge of embezzlement but found guilty by court-martial of conduct unbecoming an officer.

The Judge Advocate General of the Army, upon review, concluded that Lt. Flipper had been singled out because of his race. However, then President Chester A. Arthur refused the recommendation for leniency and confirmed the conviction.

Lt. Flipper maintained his innocence until his death in 1940; he waged a lifelong battle for reinstatement in the Army.

In 1976, at the request of Flipper's family, the U.S. Army conducted an investigation and found Lt. Flipper should not have been dismissed. The Army granted him a retroactive honorable discharge. However, only the president could grant Lt. Flipper's long overdue pardon.

Those who attended the ceremony included Veterans Affairs Secretary Togo West, Rep. James Clyburn (DSC); Gen. Colin Powell, Deputy Secretary of Defense John Hamre, Defense Under Secretary Rudy de Leon, Army Secretary Louis Caldera, and Clarence Davenport, the 6th Black graduate of West Point along with other distinguished West Point graduates.