Veterans Day Archives - Ramblin' with Roger

My veteran ancestors

Three great-great-grandfathers fought in the Civil War

I decided to catalogue my veteran ancestors. I’ve mentioned some, but not all, and I’ve likely missed several.

A few years ago, I noted a piece from the Equal Justice Initiative: “Military service sparked dreams of racial equality for generations of African Americans.” It was seen as ‘proof’ of their worthiness to be included in the American dream… No one was more at risk of experiencing violence and targeted racial terror than black veterans who had proven their valor and courage as soldiers during the Civil War, World War I, and World War II. Because of their military service, black veterans were seen as a particular threat to Jim Crow and racial subordination.”

Civil War

James Archer, my mother (Trudy Williams Green)’s mother (Gertrude Yates Williams)’s mother (Lillian Bell Archer)’s father. Served in the 26th New York Colored Regiment. I’ve known about him for decades, as he was buried in Binghamton, NY, near my grandmother’s house.

William Bell, my mother’s mother’s mother’s mother (Harriet Bell Archer)’s brother. Served in the 26th New York Colored Regiment with James Archer.

Henry Bell, my mother’s mother’s mother’s mother’s brother. Served in the Massachusetts 54th Colored Regiment. In the 1865 New York State Census, although they were all at war, William, Henry, and James were listed as living together in Binghamton, NY, with William and Henry’s recently widowed father, Edward Bell, their sisters Harriet Archer (married to James) and Francelia Bell, two of James and Harriet’s sons, Morgan and James, and William’s son, Martin.

Daniel Williams, my mother’s father (Clarence Williams)’s father (Charles Williams)’s father. Served in Company F of the 43rd United States Colored Infantry Regiment. I discovered him trying (and failing) to find my Irish ancestors.

Samuel Patterson, my father (Leslie Green)’s mother (Agatha Walker Green)’s mother (Mary Eugenia Patterson Walker)’s father. Served in the 5th Regiment, Massachusetts Calvary (Colored). I have three great-great-grandfathers who fought in that great Civil War, “testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.”

World War I

McKinley Green, my father’s stepfather. Served from October 1917 to February 1919 in the 368th Infantry. Stationed in Argonne and elsewhere. Discharged from Fort Mead, MD. McKinley and his wife/my grandmother Agatha, lived upstairs from my birth family at 5 Gaines Street in Binghamton.

World War II

Edward Yates, my mother’s mother’s brother. Served as “Branch Immaterial – Warrant Officers, USA.” Since my mother’s grandmother, Lillian Archer, reportedly “drove off” my mother’s father, Clarence Williams, Ed was my mother’s primary male role model. I remember seeing his photo at my grandmother’s house; the family was so proud.

Leslie Green, my father. “At the end of February 2010, I gave a presentation for the Underground Railroad conference about Black Soldiers in Post-WWII Germany,” which I wrote about here.

I’m pleased all the men here escaped the wars alive.

*Preserving a Legacy: Caring for Your Ancestor’s Military Uniform

Formerly known as Armistice Day

changed in 1954

When I read history.com telling of the history of Veterans Day, formerly known as Armistice Day, most of it was quite familiar.

“The Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, marking the official end of World War I. Nonetheless, the armistice date of November 11, 1918, remained in the public imagination as the date that marked the end of the conflict.”

But somehow, this part I forgot, though I was alive at the time. In 1968, “Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which sought to ensure three-day weekends for federal employees—and encourage tourism and travel—by celebrating four national holidays (Washington’s Birthday, Memorial Day, Veterans Day and Columbus Day) on Mondays.” I had forgotten that Veterans Day was part of the Monday holiday package.

“The observation of Veterans Day was set as the fourth Monday in October. The first Veterans Day under the new law was Monday, October 25, 1971; confusion ensued as many states disapproved of this change and continued to observe the holiday on its original date.

“In 1975, after it became evident that the actual date of Veterans Day carried historical and patriotic significance to many Americans, President Gerald Ford signed a new law returning the observation of Veterans Day to November 11th beginning in 1978.” This oddly pleased me. Not everything has to be shoehorned into a Monday holiday.

I used to correct people who would confuse Memorial Day and Veterans Day. So pedantic, I suppose. “Memorial Day (the fourth Monday in May) honors American service members who died in service to their country or as a result of injuries incurred during battle, while Veterans Day pays tribute to all American veterans—living or dead—but especially gives thanks to living veterans who served their country honorably during war or peacetime.”

Armistice Day

Still, I miss the term Armistice Day, which is what the holiday was called before World War II and the Korean conflict. “In 1954, after lobbying efforts by veterans’ service organizations, the 83rd U.S. Congress amended the 1938 act that had made Armistice Day a holiday, striking the word ‘Armistice’ in favor of ‘Veterans.'”

But three states recognize Veterans’ Day/Armistice Day: Mississippi, Rhode Island, and Texas. Here’s a song by Paul Simon.

Did you know there is a Veterans Day poster contest? I didn’t either. Here’s the winning design for 2022, which frankly doesn’t excite me very much.

Here are some 2022 Veterans Day discounts and freebies, plus more specific deals at restaurants.

PTSD

I worry about the conditions veterans experience. BVA points to unemployment, their relationship with themselves, homelessness, physical handicaps, and poor mental health as very real issues.

Organizations such as the VFW and Sound Off note a sad situation. “Between 19% and 44% of veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan meet criteria for mental health disorders, such as PTSD or depression. Yet, 47% do not seek mental health support.” Sound Off and other groups “provide a platform where military members who would otherwise avoid mental health support can engage anonymously with peers like you who can understand their experiences.”

I like a good parade occasionally. But Thank you for your service rings hollow until the country does better by the people it has put in harm’s way.

Classical music to end all wars

Ralph Vaughn Williams

From a Zoom discussion meeting of the choir folk on a recent Thursday night, I discovered that quite a bit of classical music was written to commemorate the Great World War.

I knew about a number of pop tunes for “the war to end all wars.” It’s A Long, Long Way to Tipperary; I Didn’t Raise My Son to Be A Soldier; Keep the Home Fires Burning; and of course, Over There, were all #1 charters in the United States. The latter was a #1 hit by three different artists in a row, American Quartet, Peerless Quartet, and Nora Bayes in the fourth quarter of 1917.

Here are nine classical compositions, with music links. I was familiar with Britten’s War Requiem. I have a recording of Gustav Holst’s The Planets, but I did not know of its WWI connection. Perhaps I should have. “In the opening section of the suite, ‘Mars, The Bringer of War,’ there’s a truly visceral sense of horror; what must have seemed like the end of the world to those who experienced The Great War.”

Ralph, pronounced Raif

This article from the British Library notes the number of young composers killed in the conflict. One noted composer who physically survived the conflict was Ralph Vaughn Williams (12 October 1872 – 26 August 1958).

“He enlisted as a Private in the Royal Army Medical Corps… on New Year’s Eve 1914. At 42 he was old enough to have been excused service, but the medical corps were often chosen by older… men who wanted to serve.

“Maurice Ravel, who had tutored Vaughan Williams in orchestration in 1907-8 also became an ambulance driver. Becoming a medical orderly was not an easy posting, however.

Many of Vaughan Williams’ friends died. “Ralph wrote to Holst in 1916 about the loss of his contemporaries and his fear of returning to civilian life. ‘I sometimes dread coming back to normal life with so many gaps…out of those 7 who joined up together in August 1914 only 3 are left.'”

Listen:

Symphony No. 3, “A Pastoral Symphony” (June 1921) Haitink conducting the London Philharmonic Orchestra

Dona Nobis Pacem cantata (1936) London Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, Conductor: Richard Hickox – Soloists: Bryn Terfel (baritone), Yvonne Kenny (soprano), Philip Langridge (tenor)

Lynching in America: Targeting Black Veterans

861 – Surgical Technician

Henry Flipper battled prejudice in the military

In the legitimate complaints about veterans coming home and not getting their due, I have come across a particularly ugly reminder from the Equal Justice Initiative, Lynching in America: Targeting Black Veterans

“The end of the Civil War marked a new era of racial terror and violence directed at black people in the United States that has not been adequately acknowledged or addressed in this country… The violent response to freedom for former slaves was followed by decades of racial terror lynchings and targeted violence designed to sustain white supremacy and racial hierarchy.”

The more than 40,000 black soldiers who died in the Civil War fought to protect a Union that rejected them in the Supreme Court’s Dred Scott ruling of 1857.

“No one was more at risk of experiencing violence and targeted racial terror than black veterans who had proven their valor and courage as soldiers during the Civil War, World War I, and World War II. Because of their military service, black veterans were seen as a particular threat to Jim Crow and racial subordination. Thousands of black veterans were assaulted, threatened, abused, or lynched following military service…”

The great equalizer?

“Military service sparked dreams of racial equality for generations of African Americans. But most black veterans were not welcomed home and honored for their service. Instead, during the lynching era, many black veterans were targeted for mistreatment, violence, and murder because of their race and status as veterans. Indeed, black veterans risked violence simply by wearing their uniforms on American soil.”

Particularly egregious was the Red Summer of 1919, right after WWI. “In Pittsburgh for example, the Ku Klux Klan made their goal of using violence clear with notices that read: ‘The war is over, negroes. Stay in your place. If you don’t, we’ll put you there.'”

Dear old dad

I’ve written before about my father’s complicated feelings about the military, I suspect due in part to his knowledge of history. In the European theater at the close of World War II, he was “861 – Surgical Technician”

“Performs various duties to assist medical officers in rendering surgical treatment. Prepares operating room and surgical equipment for use; assists operating personnel; administers hypodermic injections as instructed; cleans operating room and sterilizes equipment; assists in transporting patients from wards to operating room; sterilizes linens and instruments; performs duties during operation that cannot be done by operating personnel; gives first aid treatment; instructs others in simple surgical duties. Should be at least a high school graduate.”

This seems to have been applicable to him: How the GI Bill’s Promise Was Denied to a Million Black WWII Veterans, “The sweeping bill promised prosperity to veterans. So why didn’t black Americans benefit?”

Our current sin

We Deport Veterans: “For decades, we’ve deported military veterans—legal residents of the United States—while dangling citizenship before them. Congressional Hispanic Caucus estimates there are about 3,000 instances of veterans being deported to other countries.

“We also know that tens of thousands of immigrants serve in the U.S. military. According to Department of Defense statistics, about 70,000 non-citizen people born outside of the United States were serving in the military between 1999 and 2008.

“According to a 2017 report from the National Immigration Forum, about 40,000 immigrants currently serve in the armed forces and about 5,000 non-citizens enlist each year. Furthermore, as of 2016, about 511,000 veterans were foreign-born. And more than 20 percent of Medal of Honor recipients are immigrants to the United States.

“Those immigrants who can enlist in the U.S. military are often promised fast-tracked access to a green card. In reality, however, most of these vets neither apply for nor attain citizenship. Many of these enlisted immigrants will tell you they were promised citizenship by recruiters or that their paperwork has at least been initiated. Many even believe they attained citizenship simply by enlisting and swearing to defend the United States.

“So why doesn’t the U.S. military ensure that immigrants are presented with accurate facts on the possibility of their path to citizenship? Where’s the support system developed to ensure they complete each step when it’s available to them?”

100th anniversary: end of the Great World War

It’s a tricky thing to recognize the valor of a soldier in combat, even when one opposes the actual incursion.

This is the big one: the 100th anniversary of the end of the Great World War, the war to end all wars, which has not worked out nearly as well as we would have liked.

I read this spring: The 3.3 million veterans who have served since September 11, 2001, “now are roughly half the size of the largest living veteran population: Those who served in the Vietnam era.”

While I knew this intellectually, it pained me to see: “As this year marks the 15th and 17th anniversaries of the onset of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan…” This means that every 16-year-old born in the United States has ALWAYS lived with war, just as every 18-year-old has lived post-Columbine, the Colorado mass shooting.

Or more correctly, warlike conflicts, since the US doesn’t usually bother with such formalities involving Congress declaring war anymore. Because of the voluntary nature of the military, it is not always obvious on the home front that we’re at war, or in conflict, or whatever we call it. No war bonds or victory gardens.

And it’s a tricky thing to recognize the valor of a soldier in combat, even when one opposes the actual incursion. My long-held opposition to the wars in Vietnam and Iraq have led to some to label me in the past as unpatriotic, not “supporting our troops.” To which I said some version of “I support their right to come home in one piece.”

I’ve never understood how a bumper sticker actually translated into helping those who served in the military. Whereas helping homeless veterans, or helping those with the physical and psychological scars of battle are noble callings.

More Census stats:

“Veterans who have served since 9/11 are more diverse

“About 17 percent are women, 15.3 percent are black, and 12.1 percent are Hispanic. Almost half (47.6 percent) are still under the age of 35.

“They are an educated group. More than 46 percent have some college education and 32 percent have a Bachelor’s degree or higher. In 2016, about 612,000 post-9/11 veterans were in college.”