The Colonel Freeman Bruce Olmstead papers document Colonel Olmstead's imprisonment in the Soviet Union after his RB-47 reconnaissance plane was shot down over the Barents Sea in 1960 and his release in 1961. His papers date from 1960 to 1976 with the majority of papers from 1960 to 1962. This collection includes telegrams and correspondence, records from the United Nations' Security Council, maps, photographs, press conference notes, a copy of The Little Toy Dog, international press releases, magazines, and newspaper clippings. There is also a calendar by Captain Olmstead that he made and hid in his cell that denotes when he sent and received letters from his family.

Freeman Bruce Olmstead was born on June 17, 1935 in Elmira, New York to Madge and J. Blaine Olmstead.  He graduated from Kenyon College with a BA in History before receiving his commission on June 3, 1957 to the United States Air Force as a 2nd Lieutenant.  He married Gail Burner and had three daughters: Karen, Karel, and Elizabeth.  Captain Olmstead was awarded his pilot wings in October 1958 and was assigned to the 338th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron at Forbes Air Force Base in Kansas. On July 1, 1960, Capt. Olmstead co-piloted an RB-47 during a reconnaissance mission testing the strength of Soviet technology.  His plane was shot down by a Soviet MiG-19 over the Barents Sea; only Captain Olmstead and the navigator, Captain John McKone survived the crash.  Three of the crewmen, Captain Oscar L. Goforth, Major Eugine E. Posa, and Captain Dean B. Phillips, and the plane were never found. The pilot, Captain Willard G. Palm's body was recovered by the Soviets and returned to the United States.  During the crash, Captain Olmstead injured his back and drifted in arctic waters for six hours until a Soviet trawler picked him and Captain McKone up and delivered them to military officials.  Captains Olmstead and McKone were interrogated for 208 days and kept in solitary confinement at the KGB's Lubyanak Prison in Moscow.  While imprisoned, Olmstead sent and received letters to and from his wife and family.  At home, his family and United States officials worked toward the release of the two men, which came to fruition on January 25, 1961.  Olmstead and McKone's mission was proved to have occurred over international waters and were therefore not tried as international spies.  After some transportation issues, Captain Olmstead and McKone returned home and were greeted by their wives and the newly inaugurated President John F. Kennedy.  Captain Olmstead received the Distinguished Flying Cross on May 3, 1962 "for extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight on 1 July 1960," the Purple Heart, and the Prisoner of War Medal.  He was later awarded the Silver Star "for gallantry in connection with military operations against an opposing armed force."  In 1962, The Little Toy Dog, was published about Olmstead and McKone's imprisonment. Captain Olmstead was eventually promoted to Colonel and continued to serve in the military for 22 years at bases in Kansas, Florida, Ohio, Alabama, and the Pentagon. He taught young servicemen, led ROTC programs, and ended his career as the Air Attaché in Copenhagen, Denmark when he retired to Annapolis on November 1, 1983. Colonel Olmstead lived with his wife until his death on October 14, 2016.  He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors.

The Colonel Freeman Bruce Olmstead papers document Colonel Olmstead's imprisonment at Lubyanka prison in the Soviet Union after his RB-47 reconnaissance plane was shot down over the Barents Sea in 1960 and his release in 1961. His papers date from 1960 to 1976 with the majority of papers from 1960 to 1962.  This collection includes telegrams and correspondence sent to Captain Olmstead's family by well-wishers as well as letters he wrote from prison, records from the United Nations' Security Council discussing the release of Captain Olmstead and Captain John McKone, maps marking the plane's flight route used during the UN's meetings, photographs of the Olmstead family and Captains Olmstead and McKone meeting President John F. Kennedy upon their return to the United States, press conference notes, a copy of The Little Toy Dog, international press releases, magazines, and newspaper clippings.  There is also a hand-drawn calendar by Captain Olmstead that he made and hid in his cell that denotes when he sent and received letters from his family.  Many of the letters written by Captain Olmstead are stained from chemical tests performed by the United States to "detect secret writing or 'invisible' ink."

Folders are listed by their location in each box; any given subject may be dispersed throughout the entirety of the collection.  Original order was maintained when possible.