Despite the individuals who divide us,

I love my country

I came into this world in July of 1944, 4 years before President Harry S. Truman issued Executive Order 9981 in July of 1948, abolishing discrimination in the armed forces based on race, color, Religion, or national origin. It was a crucial step in the post-World War II civil rights movement.

             Executive Order 9981 was issued by President Truman and, in part, in response to an attack on Isaac Woodard, who was an American soldier and African American World War II veteran. On February 12, 1946, hours after being honorably discharged from the United States Army. He was attacked while still in uniform by South Carolina police as he was taking a bus home. The attack left Woodard completely and permanently blind. President Harry S. Truman ordered a federal investigation. Truman also established a Committee on Civil Rights, whose report condemned the state of civil rights in the nation and recommended actions to correct these failures. He then made a historic speech to the NAACP and the nation in June 1947 in which he described civil rights as a moral imperative and submitted a comprehensive civil rights bill to Congress in February 1948, then issued Executive Orders 9980 and 9981 on July 26, 1948, desegregating the armed forces and promoting anti-discrimination throughout the federal government.

                Black Americans in the military had worked under different rules that delayed their entry into combat. They had to wait four years before they could begin combat training, while a white American would begin training within months of being qualified. The Air Corps would deliberately delay the training of African Americans even though it needed more manpower. The Women’s Army Corps (WAC) reenlistment program was open to black women, but overseas assignments were not.

                 Black soldiers who were stationed in Britain during World War II learned that the US military attempted to impose Jim Crow segregation on them even though Britain did not practice racism—just a few examples.

                What’s happening now in this nation as a whole and with our military leaders is blatant. It is tearing down the fabric of the chain of command, while teaching our youths defiance.

Unity: “All for one and one for all.” United we stand; divided, this nation will surely fall.

It’s just a matter of time.