A salute to black vets

Recently we celebrated Veterans Day, a day when those who have served our country in the armed forces are honored and remembered. Veterans Day brings back different memories for those who live in the Village. Our older veterans fought under extremely difficult situations. Those who served in World War II experienced the evils of segregation. They had to fight the enemy in Germany and then come back to a country that treated them as second-class citizens.

I had the opportunity to talk with Alphonzo Holland Sr., who served in World War II and came home to serve in the Reserves for more than 30 years. This 87-year-old veteran talked candidly about what it was to be black in the Army in World War II.

“We were not able to train with the white soldiers,” he said. “Our sergeants were black, but our officers were white. We understood that segregation was wrong, but we put our country first. We knew that if we fought with distinction that soon our country would sit up, take notice and correct this wrong. Our fighting was not in vain because now we have blacks at every level of the military, even achieving the position of chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff.”

William Whitaker served during the Korean War. “I was drafted right out of high school,” he said. “I was allowed to attend the prom, but not the graduation. I did not get to walk across the stage to get my diploma. After basic training, I was sent to Korea. On my way to Korea, President Harry Truman signed a proclamation ending segregation in the armed forces. When I got to Korea, we no longer bunked in separate barracks, but blacks and whites bunked together. There were minor incidents but nothing major. We realized that our enemy was not each other. When I got out of the service in 1953, things were still segregated but you could feel that things were changing. In less than one year, we had the Brown vs. Board of Education decision and things began to get better.”

As a Vietnam veteran, my hat goes off to these men who were able to put country above everything, including segregation. It is because they stayed focus that we are able to enjoy the liberties that we have today.