(DOG BARKING) (GONG SOUND) [CHARITY ADAMS EARLEY] ON MARCH the 2ND, 1945, I ISSUED AND SIGNED GENERAL ORDER NUMBER ONE.

(AUDIENCE LAUGHS) THE UNDERSIGNED HEREBY ASSUMES COMMAND OF THE SIX TRIPLE EIGHT CENTRAL POSTAL DIRECTORY BATTALION AND I CITED THE PROPER AUTHORITIES.

(AUDIENCE LAUGHS) THE LONGER, THE SIX TRIPLE EIGHT WAS ON THE JOB, THE MORE WE APPRECIATED THE VALUE OF OUR WORK.

HOW MAIL CAN MAKE...MAIL, M-A-I-L... HOW MAIL WOULD MAKE THE LONELINESS, THE FEAR, THE DEATH OF FRIENDS ALL OF THESE EASIER TO BEAR.

THERE WAS NO BLACK, NO WHITE, NO RANK, JUST AN UNDERSTANDING OF OUR WORKING MANTRA: NO MAIL, NO MORALE.

I FEEL ESPECIALLY HONORED TO HAVE THIS OPPORTUNITY.

IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA THERE'S A FORM OF ADDRESS WHICH APPLIES TO ONE PERSON ONLY, AND I GET TO USE IT TONIGHT.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

(AUDIENCE APPLAUSE AND CHEERS) [PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON] GENERAL POWELL... GENERAL DAVISON... ADMIRAL GRAVELY... OSSIE DAVIS...

COLONEL EARLEY...

I HATE TO THROW ANY COLD WATER ON THIS MAGNIFICENT NIGHT.

BUT I'M JUST SITTING HERE THINKING WHETHER AS COMMANDER IN CHIEF, I SHOULD DISMISS OR SIMPLY DEMOTE WHOEVER IT WAS WHO ARRANGED FOR ME TO SPEAK AFTER COLONEL EARLEY.

(AUDIENCE LAUGHS) (UPBEAT MUSIC) ♪ [COLONEL EDNA W. CUMMINGS] IN 1925, THE ARMY WAR COLLEGE CONDUCTED A STUDY.

TO ASSESS THE...FOR LACK OF BETTER TERM, YOU KNOW, THE COMBAT READINESS OF THE NEGRO.

AND THE STUDY CONCLUDED THAT THEY WERE MENTALLY UNFIT, YOU KNOW, FOR DUTY AND THEY HAD TO BE LIMITED TO THE PERCENT OF THE POPULATION.

THE STUDY ALSO CONCLUDED THAT EVEN THOUGH THEY'RE MENTALLY UNFIT, YOU KNOW, FOR DUTY.

UH, CAN ONLY PERFORM MENIAL TASKS, THEY HAD TO TRAIN WITH WHITE OFFICERS.

BUT THEY HAD TO BE HOUSED IN SEPARATE FACILITIES, SEPARATE HOUSING, YOU KNOW, SLEEPING FACILITIES AND SEPARATE RECREATIONAL FACILITIES.

SO IT'S KIND OF IRONIC THAT YOU ARE UNFIT FOR DUTY YOU MENTALLY INCAPABLE BUT YOU MUST MEET THE SAME STANDARD.

SO THAT WAS THE BASIS, YOU KNOW, OF THE STUDY IN 1925 TO KEEP BLACKS OUT OF COMBAT SPECIFICALLY, YOU KNOW, UNITS SUCH AS A TUSKEGEE AIRMAN.

[EDGAR BROOKINS] WE AS A COMMUNITY MUST TELL OUR OWN STORY.

AND SO, FROM THAT POINT FORWARD BLACK NEWSPAPERS BEGAN TO SPRING UP ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY MAINLY IN THE SOUTH, AND UP THE EAST COAST PRIMARILY.

AND THOSE NEWSPAPERS BEGAN TO FLOURISH IN TERMS OF CIRCULATION, IN FACT.

PAPERS LIKE THE AFRO, THE PITTSBURGH COURIER AND SO FORTH.

AT ONE POINT, THEY WERE OVER A HALF MILLION WEEKLY CIRCULATION TO TELL OUR STORY TO THE BLACK COMMUNITY.

IN FACT, IT BECAME THE VOICE OF THE NEGRO COMMUNITY USING THE WORD NEGRO THAT TIME PERIOD.

AND SO, AS THEY MOVE FORWARD AND BEGIN TO MOVE INTO THE SITUATION WITH THE WORLD WAR I AND INTO WORLD WAR II.

AND THE WHOLE CHALLENGE OF HOW DOES AFRICAN AMERICANS OR BLACKS PARTICIPATE IN THE U.S. ARMY TO FIGHT IN DEFENSE OF THIS COUNTRY WHICH AT THAT POINT THEY WERE BEING DENIED THAT OPPORTUNITY TO DO SO.

AND SO, THE BLACK PRESS TOOK ON THAT RESPONSIBILITY OKAY, HOW DO WE PUBLICIZE?

HOW DO WE PUT THIS AND MAKE THAT OUT THERE IN THE GENERAL COMMUNITY, TO GATHER SOME SUPPORT FOR THIS AND ONE OF THOSE PERSONS WAS DR. MARY MCLEOD BETHUNE WHO SAID, WOW.

WHY SHOULD NOT AFRICAN AMERICANS BE ALLOWED TO ENTER THE MILITARY.

GO AND FIGHT FOR THIS COUNTRY AS OTHERS DO.

[COLONEL KEWASKY SALTER] MARY MCLEOD BETHUNE WAS VERY INSTRUMENTAL IN THE RECRUITMENT OF THE WACS.

AND SHE WAS AN INFLUENTIAL BECAUSE BY 1942 SHE HAD BEEN AROUND AND HAD MADE THOSE RELATIONSHIPS FOR YEARS.

IN 1904, SHE STARTED A SCHOOL FOR YOUNG GIRLS IN FLORIDA WHICH BECAME BETHUNE-COOKMAN COLLEGE.

YEARS LATER SHE WAS A PART OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF COLORED WOMEN.

SHE EVENTUALLY BECAME THEIR PRESIDENT.

SHE STARTED SEVERAL ORGANIZATIONS TO INCLUDE HER OWN ORGANIZATION, THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF NEGRO WOMEN.

AND SHE WAS APPOINTED IN 1935 AS WELL, TO OUR PRESIDENT FDR'S, NATIONAL YOUTH ADMINISTRATION.

AND SHE EVENTUALLY STARTED THE BLACK CABINET IN 1936.

SO, ALL THAT SAID BY THE TIME YOU GET TO 1942 SHE HAS BUILT THIS FOUNDATION IN THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY AND IN THE WHITE COMMUNITY.

SO, WHEN IT CAME TIME FOR THE WOMEN'S ARMY AUXILIARY CORPS TO BE ESTABLISHED AS IT WAS- AND THEY NEEDED AND WANTED AN AFRICAN AMERICAN TO BE AN ADVISER SHE WAS SELECTED AS THEIR NEGRO ADVISER.

SO, SHE KNEW EXACTLY WHO TO TALK TO, WHERE TO LOOK, WHERE TO GO TO RECRUIT SOME OF THE BEST AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN THAT SHE FELT COULD REPRESENT, AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE MILITARY.

BECAUSE REMEMBER THIS WAS THE FIRST FOR WOMEN PERIOD.

[EDNA] SO, AS UNITS OF WHITE WOMEN WERE BEING SENT TO THE EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS OR THE ETO.

DR. MARY MCLEOD BETHUNE AND THE FIRST LADY ELEANOR ROOSEVELT RALLY TO HELP BLACK WOMEN INCLUDED IN THE OVERSEAS EFFORT.

AND THIS EFFORT BETWEEN THE TWO OF THEM ALSO ENGAGE YOU KNOW, THE BLACK MEDIA.

[EDGAR] AND WHAT THEY DID IN SUCH A STRATEGIC WAY THAT THEY, TIED IT TO THE POLITICS OF THE DAY ALSO.

FROM AN ACTIVIST STANDPOINT, SAYS WE CAN PUSH THIS AGENDA AS A NATIONAL AGENDA TO THE LEADERSHIP OF THE UNITED STATES.

AND WE CAN TELL THAT STORY THE WAY NO ONE ELSE CAN TELL THIS STORY IN TERMS OF THAT OUR YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN ARE THERE ON THE BATTLEFIELD DURING WORLD WAR II DOING AS EVERYONE ELSE WAS DOING AND NOT JUST ALWAYS THOSE MENIAL JOBS FOR BEING COOKS OR JANITORIAL JOBS AND SO FORTH.

(WAR DEPARTMENT FILM) [SPEAKER] PRIVATE ROBERT.

SERGEANT JACKSON.

LIEUTENANT CARTER.

AND AH...UM... [PRIVATE PARK] PRIVATE PARK FIRST CLASS.

[SPEAKER] FIRST CLASS IS RIGHT.

[MAN] MY SISTER WANTS TO JOIN THE WACS.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THAT.

[MAN #2] SHE'S CRAZY WHAT THE DEVIL IS A WOMAN WANT TO BE A SOLDIER FOR.

[MAN] JUST A WASTE OF TIME.

THIS IS A MAN'S WAR.

WHAT SORT OF JOBS CAN THEY DO?

[ALLISON KOLLEDA] SO, THE WOMEN'S ARMY CORPS THE IDEA FOR THE WOMEN'S ARMY CORPS ACTUALLY CAME FROM MASSACHUSETTS CONGRESSWOMAN EDITH NOURSE ROGERS AND SHE HAD ACTUALLY BEEN IN FRANCE DURING WORLD WAR I. I BELIEVE HER HUSBAND WAS AN AMBASSADOR.

AND SHE HAD VOLUNTEERED IN RED CROSS HOSPITALS.

AND SO, SHE HAD SEEN FIRST HAND THE HELLO GIRLS, THE NURSES WORKING OVERSEAS ON BEHALF OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY AND NOT GETTING VETERANS BENEFITS, AND THIS STRUCK HER.

AND SO, WHEN SHE CAME HOME AND SHE WAS ELECTED TO THE MASSACHUSETTS LEGISLATOR, SHE FELT THAT IT WAS HER DUTY TO MAKE SURE THAT WOMEN NEVER AGAIN SERVED WITHOUT THE SAME RIGHTS AS MEN.

AND SO, SHE ACTUALLY PROPOSED A BILL TO CONGRESS.

WELL BEFORE OUR ENTRY INTO WORLD WAR II BUT BECAUSE OF THE SOCIAL DYNAMIC IN THE UNITED STATES AT THE TIME, THE SOCIAL ROLES CREATED FOR MEN AND WOMEN.

IT WAS VERY DISLIKED AND DID NOT PASS ACTUALLY UNTIL AFTER PEARL HARBOR WHEN WE ENTERED INTO WORLD WAR II.

AND THE UNITED STATES REALIZED WE HAVE A MANPOWER SHORTAGE AND WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.

[EDNA] YOU KNOW, THE ENTIRE COUNTRY WAS MOBILIZED IN SUPPORT OF THE WORLD WAR.

MEANING, YOU KNOW, MULTIPLE THEATERS, MULTIPLE ENGAGEMENTS.

[ALLISON] THEY PASS THE WOMEN'S ARMY AUXILIARY CORPS BILL WHICH WAS A VERY ABBREVIATED VERSION OF EDITH NOURSE ROGERS BILL.

INSTEAD OF ENLISTING IN THE ARMY, THE WOMEN SERVED WITH THE ARMY AS AUXILIARIES.

THEY DID NOT HAVE THE SAME BENEFITS AS MEN.

IN MANY CASES THEY WERE NOT ALLOWED TO DO THE SAME THINGS.

BUT THEY WERE MEANT TO RELEASE A MAN.

[FRANCOIS BONNELL] FOR THE CREATION OF THE WOMEN'S ARMY AUXILIARY CORPS.

EVERY BRANCH OF THE ARMY HAS SOME SORT OF INSIGNIA THAT REPRESENTS IT.

AND SO, FOR COLONEL HOBBY WHO WAS ACTUALLY DIRECTOR HOBBY, UM, SET ABOUT TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THAT SYMBOL MIGHT BE, BUT SEEM TO BE MOST APPROPRIATE WAS PALLAS ATHENA, THE GREEK GODDESS OF WISDOM IN WAR.

AND THE ART OF WAR AS WELL.

IT IDENTIFIED THEM FIRST AND FOREMOST AS A MEMBER OF THE WOMEN'S ARMY CORPS.

IF YOU'RE A YOUNG LADY AND YOU JOIN THE ARMY BETWEEN 1940 TO 1978, YOU WORE THE INSIGNIA OF THE WOMEN'S ARMY CORPS.

[ALLISON] IN JULY 1943 GENERAL EISENHOWER HAD ASKED FOR WOMEN TO BE SENT TO HIM IN A POST HEADQUARTERS UNIT IN NORTH AFRICA.

AND AUXILIARIES WERE NOT ALLOWED TO BE SENT OVERSEAS.

SO, AT THAT TIME THEY STARTED TO CREATE THE WAC BILL, THE WOMEN'S ARMY CORPS BILL, THEY DROPPED THE AUXILIARY.

AND THEN, WOMEN AT THAT TIME WERE OFFICIALLY ENLISTED IN THE ARMY.

THEY WERE GIVEN THE CHOICE TO GET OUT OR ENLIST AND CONTINUE THEIR SERVICE, AND THE MAJORITY OF THEM DID CHOOSE TO STAY IN.

[EDNA] THE BLACK WOMEN WERE RECRUITED FROM ALL WALKS OF LIFE, ALL SOCIO ECONOMIC LEVELS, YOU KNOW, WOMEN IN COLLEGE.

AND THEY WERE OVER 6000 BLACK WOMEN AT THE TIME IN THE ARMY DURING WORLD WAR II.

OF THOSE 6000 BLACK WOMEN, 855 WERE IDENTIFIED TO FORM THE SIX TRIPLE EIGHT.

[LENA DERRICOTT BELL KING] WE WENT TO THEATER ONE NIGHT AND LIEUTENANT CLARKE AND A COUPLE OTHERS BUT- AN MP CAME UP TO US AND SAID THAT YOU LADIES CAN'T SIT HERE.

SO LIEUTENANT CLARK SAID WHAT'S, WHAT'S THE PROBLEM, ARE WE IN AN OFFICER'S SEAT BECAUSE I AM AN OFFICER AND YOU KNOW THE REST OF THIS ENTOURAGE IS WITH ME.

YOU KNOW, AND SO, I SAY IT IS OKAY.

HE SAYS, OH...NO IT IS NOT THAT.

HE SAYS, YOU PEOPLE ARE SUPPOSE TO SIT OVER ON THAT SECTION.

SO, SHE SAID IN ANOTHER WORDS THIS IS A SEGREGATED THEATER.

LET ME TALK TO THE HEAD OF THE BASE SO.

AND SHE SAID, I NEED TO TALK TO HIM RIGHT NOW.

SO, HE GOT HIS NUMBER AND CALLED HIM AND SHE SAID, LOOK... SHE SAYS, MY LADIES HAVE JUST BEEN INSULTED.

SHE SAID, WE CAME HERE TO DO A JOB AND YOU'RE TELLING US WE CAN'T ENJOY A THEATER WITHOUT SITTING SOMEWHERE IN SOME SEGREGATED... SHE SAID, IF THIS IS THE WAY YOU FEEL ABOUT US, I WILL TAKE EVERY WOMAN OFF THIS BASE TOMORROW.

SHE SAID BECAUSE WE CAME HERE IN GOOD FAITH TO DO A JOB AND WE'RE GOING TO BE TREATED LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE.

[GLADYS THOMAS] I WENT IN THINKING THAT- IT WOULD BE SORT OF LIKE, A BOARDING SCHOOL.

I HAD NEVER BEEN AWAY FROM HOME.

AND I WAS AH, STATIONED AT DES MOINES, IOWA WHEN I FIRST WENT IN.

[ABBIE N. CAMPBELL] THEY TRAINED US IN SIX WEEKS BECAUSE WE HAD TO HAVE OFFICERS TO TRAIN THE ENLISTED WHO WERE COMING IN THAT FALL.

[MARGARET BARBOUR] I RECALL THE FIRST DAY THAT WE WENT OUT FOR GAS...DRILL.

AND EVIDENTLY I DIDN'T GET MY MASK ON TOO GOOD.

I ENDED UP WITH ALL THESE LEAVES IN MY FACE, YOU KNOW... [INTERVIEWER] BURNING?

[MARGARET] ...UH-HUH...YES.

[EDNA] THE BLACK WOMEN HAD TO GO TO RECRUITING STATIONS...NORTH BECAUSE THEY COULD NOT ENLIST IN RECRUITING STATIONS IN THE SOUTH YOU THINK OF 6520 BLACK WOMEN THEY PASSED THE TEST, THEY PASSED THE PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS AND THOSE ARE THE ONES WHO MADE THE CUT... [ABBIE] I VOLUNTEERED TO GO OVERSEAS, SO ALL THE TRAINING WAS IN OGLETHORPE GEORGIA.

AND I WAS TRANSFERRED DOWN TO FORT OGLETHORPE.

[CLARA ADAMS-ENDER] THEY GOT DOWN THERE AND JUST AS THEY GOT INTO THE AREA, THE COMMANDER OF THE BASE SAID, I KNOW WHY YOU'RE HERE, WE KNOW WHY YOU'RE HERE.

AND BECAUSE WE HEARD THAT YOU WERE COMING, BUT I WANT TO TELL YOU THAT I WILL DO NOTHING TO HELP YOU GET READY TO GO OVERSEAS.

[EDNA] ...JIM CROW WITHIN THE MILITARY AND KEEP IN MIND THIS IS BEFORE TRUMAN'S ORDER, IN 1948 TO INTEGRATE THE ARMED FORCES.

SO THIS IS YOU KNOW EARLY 1940s '42, '43, '44, WHERE YOU HAVE BLACK WOMEN, YOU KNOW, JOINING THE MILITARY.

AGAIN, BECAUSE IT WAS YOU KNOW, THE NATION IS AT WAR.

[CLARA] IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO GET THE EQUIPMENT THAT THEY NEEDED FROM THE COMMANDER DOWN THERE THEY HAD TO GO OUTSIDE AND GET A MESSAGE BACK TO WASHINGTON ABOUT IT.

AND AFTER THEY GOT THE EQUIPMENT THE COMMANDER CAME AND SAID, I KNOW SOMEBODY HAD TO CALL TO WASHINGTON.

NOW, YOU JUST TELL ME WHO IT WAS.

[ABBIE] AND WHEN CLARA ADAMS CALLED ME AT HOME, CHRISTMAS OF 1944 AND ASKED ME IF I WANTED TO GO OVERSEAS, I SAID, YES.

SHE SAID THAT I WOULD LIKE FOR YOU TO BE MY BATTALION EXECUTIVE OFFICER AND OF COURSE, WHILE I WAS AT HOME I GOT ORDERS TO REPORT BACK THERE FOR DUTY.

[GLADYS] ANOTHER HISTORY MAKING THING TO ME WAS THE FACT THAT WE SAILED ON THE ILE DE FRANCE AND I HAVE READ ABOUT IT WHEN I WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL AND I FELT HOW I NEVER THOUGHT I'D BE ON THE ILE DE FRANCE.

[MARGARET] YES, IN FEBRUARY OF '45, WE WENT OVERSEAS AND WE LANDED IN SCOTLAND.

AND OUR FIRST ASSIGNMENT WAS IN BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND.

[CLARA] THEY THOUGHT THEY HAD THOUGHT OF EVERYTHING THAT THEY NEEDED TO DO BUT SOMEBODY ASKED WHO'S GOING TO DO OUR HAIR?

[DELORES L. RUDDOCK] WHEN I GOT OVERSEAS THAT WAS ANOTHER LIFE, YOU KNOW.

ON OUR WAY OVER UM...WE WERE, BECAUSE THIS IS WAR TIME... AND WE WERE BEING CHASED BY SUBMARINES AND WE HAD SOME SHOOT OUTS- AND UM, WE MADE A LANDING, UM, IN IRELAND.

AND THEN UM, WE GOT MOVING ON OUT, YOU KNOW.

AND SO, WE ENDED UP WORKING IN BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND, WHICH IS OKAY.

AND WHILE I WAS THERE, I DOING MAIL SERVICES AND THAT WAS IT.

AND- I WORKED ON THE DAY SHIFT I DON'T REMEMBER WORKING ON OTHER SHIFTS THEY HAD THREE SHIFTS, OKAY, BECAUSE IT WAS A 24 HOUR DUTY AND THAT'S PROBABLY WHY WE WERE ABLE TO GET THE WORK DONE IN SUCH A SHORT SPAN OF TIME.

WE GOT ALL THAT WORK FOR THE ENGLISH SOLDIERS, THE SOLDIERS THAT WERE STATIONED IN ENGLAND.

WE GOT WE GOT THAT DONE IN ABOUT THREE MONTHS.

[GLADYS] WHEN WE WENT OVER AND AH, WE WERE, BUNKED INTO BEDS.

AND I HAD ALWAYS HEARD OF TROOP SHIPS, YOU KNOW, AND I WAS THINKING OF HAMMOCKS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

WELL...WE WERE, WE HAD BEDS AND AH, IT WAS VERY INTERESTING.

[EDNA] THEY WERE TOLD, OKAY, WE'RE GOING OVER TO ENGLAND, WE DON'T KNOW IF WE'RE GOING TO GET ATTACKED, SO BE READY.

[GLADYS] NOW, ONE NIGHT WE HAD A, AH, A LITTLE DEAL OVER THERE BECAUSE THE SHIP LURCHED AND ALL OF THE BAGS WENT FROM ONE END TO THE OTHER END AND THE GIRLS WERE SCREAMING WITH ME.

I AH, LOOKED FIND OUT EXACTLY WHAT'S GOING ON AND THEY TOLD ME SOMETHING.

AND I JUST TURNED ON OVER AND WENT TO SLEEP.

AND I COULDN'T BELIEVE THE RUMOR BUT LATER ON I FOUND OUT IT WAS NO RUMOR.

[INTERVIEWER] THAT TURNED SUDDENLY BECAUSE OF THE SUBMARINE WAS CHASED.

[GLADYS] YES, UH-HUH.

[EDNA] AND ONE LADY I SPOKE WITH SAID THAT HER SHIP WAS DIVERTED TO IRELAND BECAUSE OF THE INCOMING FROM THE GERMAN U BOATS, YOU KNOW, ANOTHER LADY MENTIONED THAT THEY WERE TOLD, DON'T CHANGE CLOTHES, YOU KNOW, STAY IN UNIFORM BECAUSE WE DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN.

SO, THEY WERE CONFRONTED, YOU KNOW, WITH A COMBAT SITUATION EARLY ON BEFORE THEY EVEN ARRIVED TO ENGLAND.

[STANLEY A. EARLEY III] THE EXPERIENCE IN ENGLAND.

YEAH, THEY HAD LIKE, YOU KNOW, IN THE BLITZ IN ALL PRACTICAL PURPOSES OVER BUT THERE WERE STILL V BOMBS AND SO FORTH.

SHE TALKED ABOUT HAVING TEA WITH A BRITISH WOMAN OFFICER WHO SHE GOT TO KNOW ABOUT AND GOT TO KNOW HER NAME.

AND IT'S LIKE, YOU HEAR THESE V BOMBS AND IT WAS REALLY, YOU JUST, YOU KNOW, YOU HEAR IT GO OFF AND YOU'RE FINE, YOU KNOW.

THERE'S A LEVEL OF COURAGE AND BY COURAGE I MEAN, I THINK, I SHOULD DO THIS BUT I DON'T KNOW WHETHER I WILL SUCCEED OR NOT, THAT I WISH I HAD.

AND SHE WAS CONFIDENT.

SHE WAS SMART.

I NEVER THOUGHT SHE WAS LIKE, I KNEW ANYTHING ABOUT TRYING BUT THAT IF GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY.

IF YOU WORK HARD, YOU CAN DO IT.

[CHARITY ADAMS EARLEY] WHAT YOU DON'T REALLY THINK HISTORY WHEN YOU'RE DOING SOMETHING THAT IS NOT HISTORY UNTIL AFTER YOU DO IT.

SO ACTUALLY, I UNDERSTOOD THAT I HAVE HAD SEVERAL OFFICERS HAD WANTED THAT ASSIGNMENT BUT I HAD THE MOST TROOP EXPERIENCE.

SO IF YOU'RE GONNA SEND A NEARLY A THOUSAND PEOPLE OVERSEAS YOU WANT SOMEBODY WHO HAS TROOP EXPERIENCE.

IT WAS ALMOST A CASE OF NOT HAVING MUCH CHOICE.

AND I WANT TO WIN, I WANTED US TO DO AS GOOD A GOOD A JOB AND I THOUGHT WE HAD DONE IT - [INAUDIBLE] AND THEREFORE - THAT'S HOW I THOUGHT ABOUT IT.

DOING THE JOB WELL.

ALTHOUGH, I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT THE JOB WAS AND I DIDN'T KNOW WHERE I WAS GOING WHEN I LEFT THE STAGE.

I KNOW THAT- AND THIS IS A PROMISE THAT I HAVE USED IN THE ARMY, AND ANY PLACE ELSE GIVEN THE SAME OPPORTUNITY AND TRAINING, I'M SURE I CAN DO AS WELL AS ANYBODY ELSE.

[MAJOR FANNIE GRIFFIN-MCCLENDON] (CHUCKLES) THE GENERAL WALKED IN AND I'D NEVER BEEN THAT CLOSE TO A GENERAL WITH STARS.

AND I JUMPED UP AND HE SAID, RELAX, RELAX.

(CHUCKLES) HE SAYS, UH, IS CAPTAIN DONALDSON AROUND?

AND I SAID, WE CAN GET HER RIGHT AWAY, SIR.

HE SAID JUST COOL IT, JUST COOL IT.

AND, UH, UH, UH, HE HAD GRADUATED FROM WEST POINT, I GUESS YEARS BEFORE.

AND THEN HIS SON WAS AT TUSKEGEE AND THEN HE BECAME THE COMMANDER OF THE TUSKEGEE, UH, PEOPLE DOWN THERE.

SO, WHILE I WAS IN ENGLAND, UH HE CAME OVER TO ME AND HE, UH, THE, THE, THE SON, HE CAME OVER TO ME AND HE SAID, UH, YOU'RE ONE OF THE FEW WACS THAT I DON'T KNOW BECAUSE WHEREVER HE WAS STATIONED THERE WERE OTHER WACS, BUT I'VE NEVER BEEN THERE AND, UH, UH, NOT DES MOINES, UM, OHIO, UH, UH THE, WHEN THEY INTEGRATED AND ALL OF THE OTHERS WERE THERE, BUT I WAS SOMEWHERE ELSE.

AND, UH, SO, UH, I TOLD HIM THAT I HAD MET HIS FATHER AND WE HAD A NICE LONG CONVERSATION.

AND THAT'S THE ONLY FAMOUS FOLKS I KNEW OTHER THAN GENERAL...[INAUDIBLE] [KEWASKY] BY 1944, BENJAMIN O. DAVIS HAD BEEN IN THE MILITARY 46 YEARS.

HE JOINED THE BUFFALO SOLDIERS AROUND 1898, SO HE WAS ONE OF THE FEW AFRICAN AMERICAN OFFICERS WHO HAD STAYED IN THE MILITARY THROUGH THE BEGINNING OF THE 1900s TO 1910s TO 1920s.

HE HAD BEEN A PROFESSOR OF MILITARY SCIENCE AT A LOT OF THESE SCHOOLS WHERE THESE WOMEN WENT TO.

SO, HE WAS NO SECRET IN THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY, HE WAS NO SECRET IN THE MILITARY COMMUNITY.

ALSO, WHAT HE SAW IN A THEN, MAJOR ADAMS, BUT THE REASON SHE WAS BEAMING WHAT WENT THROUGH HER MIND SHE WAS MEETING A CELEBRITY.

AND SO, I'M SURE IT WAS A GREAT HONOR.

[GARRY STEWART] SO, FOUR OR FIVE YEARS AGO, MY ORGANIZATION, WE WERE DOING SOME RESEARCH UH, ON WORLD WAR II.

AND WE CAME ACROSS THIS STORY ABOUT 7 TO 800 AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN BEING BASED IN BIRMINGHAM.

AND WE WERE LIKE, THAT'S INTERESTING.

WE LIVE JUST UP THE ROAD.

WHERE IS THIS?

SO, WE THEN REALIZED THAT WE HAD THIS GREAT STORY TO TELL THAT NOBODY IN THIS CITY TALKS ABOUT.

AND THAT'S HOW WE CAME TO FIND OUT ABOUT THE SIX TRIPLE EIGHT WE DISCOVERED, THAT THE ACTUAL MAIL WAS ACTUALLY HELD AT BIRMINGHAM AIRPORT.

WHICH WAS KNOWN AT THE TIME AS ELMDON AIRFIELD AND THE MAIL WOULD COME IN SORTED THERE IN HANGARS, THE HANGARS WERE FULL, THERE WAS SOMETHING LIKE NINE OR TEN HANGARS FULL OF MAIL STACKED TO THE ROOF.

WHAT THEY WOULD DO IS ACTUALLY SHIP IT ACROSS TO HERE.

AND THE WOMEN WHEN THEY FIRST GOT HERE, THESE WERE OLD BARRACKS.

THEY WERE ACTUALLY IN AN OLD GRAMMAR SCHOOL.

SO, THEY LIVED IN THE ACCOMMODATION AND WHAT YOU WOULD SEE IS GOING IN THE DISTANCE THERE, THERE WERE SOME TEMPORARY BUILDINGS THAT WERE ACTUALLY BUILT FOR THEM TO SORT THEM OUT.

AND THAT'S WHERE THEY ACTUALLY WORKED.

[MASTER SGT.

ELIZABETH HELM-FRAZIER] THIS WAS 1940s.

THEY HAD BEEN GIVEN THE TASK OF CLEARING A BACKLOG THAT WAS OVER TWO YEARS LONG.

THE MAIL WAS PILED FROM THE FLOOR TO THE CEILING IN A, A QUANSON HUT.

[DOROTHY TURNER-JOHNSON] AND EVERY MORNING, UH, THE TRUCKS WOULD COME IN LOADED WITH PACKAGES OF MAIL AND PACKAGES THAT HAD BEEN HOUSED IN UH THE WAREHOUSES AND THEY WOULD LEAVE ALL, DUMP ALL OF THESE PACKAGES INTO ONE BIG ROOM.

[ELIZABETH] AND IT HAD BEEN THERE.

SO IT, IT, IT WAS INFESTED WITH EVERY LIVING THING.

AND THESE WOMEN HAD TO GO IN THERE AND GO THROUGH EVERY SINGLE PIECE OF MAIL.

AND IN ORDER TO ACCOMPLISH, THEY WERE GIVEN SIX MONTHS.

[MARY C. RAGLAND] THEY ORGANIZED INTO APO WHERE THEY KNEW WHERE EVERY SOLDIER IN THE WORLD WAS.

THE MAIL AT THAT TIME WAS DOCUMENTED IN THE WAREHOUSES IN BIRMINGHAM ENGLAND UP TO THE CEILINGS.

[DOROTHY] A CADRE OF PEOPLE WHO WENT THROUGH AND SORTED OUT AND GAVE US PACKAGES OF MAIL THAT SUITED OUR FILES.

AND I HAD THE V'S AND YOU WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THAT UH, THAT WAS A SHORT LIST, BUT NO, THERE WERE MANY, MANY PEOPLE IN THE ARMY -- WHOSE NAMES WHOSE LAST NAME BEGAN WITH V. [MAJOR GENERAL MARCIA ANDERSON] AS TIME PASSES, I THINK AND, AND MORE OF THE STORY IS TOLD, I THINK MORE PEOPLE WILL COME TO APPRECIATE THE CONTRIBUTIONS THAT THEY MADE.

NOT JUST BY GETTING THAT, YOU KNOW, THOSE THAT MOUNTAIN OF MAIL MOVED UNDER EXTREME CONDITIONS, NOT JUST BECAUSE THEY WEREN'T RESPECTED BY A LOT OF THE PEOPLE IN THE AMERICAN MILITARY, BUT BECAUSE THEY WERE WORKING UNDER HORRIBLE CONDITIONS UM, FOR MAIL THAT HAD BEEN THERE FOR TWO YEARS, UM, AND HAD STACKED UP AND PEOPLE WOULD - ADDRESSED THE MAIL TO JOHNNY U.S. ARMY AND EXPECTED IT TO GET TO HIM OR OR HER.

IN SOME CASES.

[MARY] WE AS BLACK WOMEN WERE USED TO BEING TOGETHER AS FAMILY.

WE WERE TRAINED AND BROUGHT UP LIKE THAT.

WE RESPECTED EACH OTHER WHEN TROUBLE CAME WITH US, WE WERE ALL TOGETHER.

THAT'S WHY I THINK WE GOT THAT MAIL DOWN.

[CHARITY] I REFUSED TO ACCEPT ANY SEGREGATED FACILITIES THAT THEY WANTED TO CREATE FOR US.

AND UH, AFTER THAT, THEY DIDN'T TRY, THERE WERE NOT ANY WHITE WACS IN BIRMINGHAM, BUT THERE WERE WHITE WACS IN LOTS OF PLACES IN...UK.

AND THEY ALL USE THE SAME WAC RECREATIONAL HOTEL IN LONDON.

AND THIS IS WHERE THE REAL PROBLEM CAME IN.

THE RED CROSS WANTED TO SET UP ANOTHER HOTEL FOR THE BLACK WACS AND I PROMISED THEM THAT IT WOULD BE OVER MY DEAD BODY BEFORE ANYBODY SLEPT THERE.

AND UH, NOBODY SLEPT THERE TO MY KNOWLEDGE, [MARCIA] YOU'RE GONNA GET BRASS.

I USED TO CALL MYSELF A BRASS MAGNET AND THAT'S PRETTY MUCH WHAT THIS UNIT WAS.

THEY WERE A BRASS MAGNET.

THIS GENERAL DECIDES TO SHOW UP AND INSPECT UM, THE UNIT.

WELL, BECAUSE THEY HAD THESE MOUNTAINS OF MAIL TO GET THROUGH, SHE DECIDED THEY NEEDED TO WORK OBVIOUSLY AROUND THE CLOCK TO GET THIS DONE.

SO, PEOPLE ARE WORKING IN SHIFTS.

SO SOME ARE SLEEPING, SOME ARE WORKING, AND SOME ARE GONNA BE AVAILABLE FOR INSPECTION.

SO, ABOUT A THIRD OF THE UNIT, A BATTALION WHICH IS A COUPLE OF 100 PEOPLE... [EDNA] ...SHOWED UP WORKING 24/7 OPERATIONS, THREE SHIFTS.

YOU'RE NEVER GOING TO HAVE 100 PERCENT STRENGTH AVAILABLE FOR INSPECTION.

SO, HE WANTS TO REVIEW THE TROOPS AND SEE WHAT THESE NEGRO WOMEN WERE DOING.

AND HE BASICALLY ASKED...WELL, WHERE ARE YOUR TROOPS?

[GARRY] SO, WHEN THEY CAME HERE AND THEY SET UP, THEY CREATED A SHIFT SYSTEM FOR THEM TO BE EFFICIENT IN SORTING THE MAIL.

AND AS YOU SAID, MANY OF THE WOMEN WERE ACTUALLY MISSING FROM THE PARADE.

HE WANTED TO WAKE THEM UP.

BUT AS FAR AS I REMEMBER, SHE UNDERSTOOD THAT BY WAKING THEM UP WOULD BREAK THE SHIFT PATTERN JUST BECAUSE HE WANTED TO SATISFY HIS NEED TO SEE ALL THE TROOPS.

[MARCIA] THE GENERAL REALIZED THIS WASN'T THE NUMBER, HE EXPECTED TO SEE AND BASICALLY SAID, WELL, WHERE'S THE REST OF YOUR UNIT?

AND SHE EXPLAINED OR TRIED TO UM, AND HE WASN'T SATISFIED WITH THAT.

HE WANTED TO INSPECT EVERYONE BECAUSE HE WAS A GENERAL OBVIOUSLY.

AND BASICALLY, SHE'S LIKE, WELL, THIS IS NOT GOING TO WORK AND PRETTY MUCH TOLD HIM THAT SHE ENDED IT WITH, SIR.

[EDNA] AND SHE SAID, WELL, SIR, I HAVE ONE SHIFT IS SLEEPING.

I HAVE UH, ONE SHIFT WORKING.

AND SO, THESE THE...THE THIRD, SHE ONLY HAD A THIRD OF HER UNIT AVAILABLE FOR HIM TO REVIEW.

[MARCIA] WELL, OF COURSE, HE DECIDES THAT THIS IS INSUBORDINATE AND HE'S, HE OF COURSE, ALSO SUGGESTED TO HER, NOT SUGGESTED, PRETTY MUCH TOLD HER, HE WAS GONNA HAVE A WHITE MALE LIEUTENANT COME DOWN AND SHOW HER HOW TO RUN IT.

WELL, THAT'S DEMEANING ON A LOT OF LEVELS.

SHE WAS A SENIOR OFFICER.

NO LIEUTENANT IS GONNA COME DOWN AND, AND RUN A BATTALION.

FIRST OF ALL, IT WAS RIDICULOUS, BUT IT WAS JUST A, A, MEASURE OF HOW LITTLE HE RESPECTED HER AND WHAT SHE WAS DOING.

[EDNA] SHE DOESN'T KNOW WHAT TRIGGERED HER RESPONSE.

SHE SAYS SHE DON'T, SHE DOESN'T KNOW IF IT WAS THE WORD WHITE OR THE WORD FIRST LIEUTENANT, BUT SHE COMMENTED THAT SOMETIMES YOUR MIND HAS TO RESPOND LIKE A HUMAN COMPUTER.

AND SHE SAID BEFORE SHE KNEW IT, SHE RESPONDED OVER MY DEAD BODY.

[MARCIA] SO OF COURSE, HE'S GONNA TRY TO, YOU KNOW, HAVE CHARGES BROUGHT IN A COURT MARTIAL.

BUT SHE ALSO WAS QUICK ENOUGH TO REALIZE THERE WERE DIFFERENT ARMY POLICIES IN WRITING THAT EXISTED THAT PROHIBITED THAT KIND OF BEHAVIOR.

-- AND HE PRETTY MUCH CROSSED THE LINE.

[EDNA] WHAT I REALLY, REALLY LIKED ABOUT HER RESPONSE, SHE DEVISED HER OWN WAR COUNCIL BECAUSE SHE KNEW, SHE WAS GOING TO BE COURT MARTIALED OR THREATENED WITH -- COURT MARTIAL.

[MARCIA] AND SO, SHE ALREADY STRATEGICALLY PREPARED HER OWN BASICALLY COUNTERMEASURE, I GUESS I'LL CALL IT UM, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY HE REALIZED THAT, THAT HE'D OVERSTEPPED THAT HE WAS WRONG.

[GARRY] AND I THINK THAT WAS TESTIMONY OF MAJOR ADAMS.

SHE STOOD UP FOR HER WOMEN, SHE MADE SURE THAT THEY WERE TREATED WELL AND THEY HAD THE RIGHT SUPPLIES THAT THEY ACTUALLY NEEDED AS WELL.

SO, IT'S JUST INTERESTING TO SEE THAT THIS MAJOR WOULD HAVE BEEN PULLING RANK AND ALSO FROM A GENDER PERSPECTIVE, YOU KNOW, I'M A WHITE OFFICER.

YOU'LL DO AS I SAY... [MARCIA] HE CAME AND, AND BEFORE HE LEFT THE COUNTRY LEFT, UM, UH, THE EUROPE TO STOP BY AND SEE HER.

UM, AND PRETTY MUCH LET HER KNOW THAT HE RESPECTED HER.

UM, SHE'D OUTPLAYED HIM AND, UM, YOU KNOW, THEY LET IT GO.

SO, UM, I THOUGHT THAT, THAT WAS A LOT.

ONE, SHE COULD NOT LET THAT PASS IN FRONT OF HER SOLDIERS NOT TO HAVE, YOU KNOW, NOT TO LET HIM TRY TO BRING A LIEUTENANT IN TO RUN HER BATTALION.

UM, SHE WAS RESPECTFUL, I THINK IN THE WAY SHE PRETTY MUCH TOLD HIM.

NO, SIR, WITH ALL DUE RESPECT, NO.

AND THEN AGAIN, SHE HAD PREPARED HER OWN COUNTERMEASURES SO THAT WHATEVER HE CAME AT HER WITH, SHE WAS STRATEGICALLY READY TO ANSWER IT.

[MARY] WHEN COLONEL EARLEY APPEARED, SHE WAS TALL, SLIM, GOOD LOOKING WOMAN BECAUSE SHE WAS ABOUT MY COMPLEXION.

-- BUT WHEN SHE APPEARED, EVERYBODY GAVE THEIR UTMOST ATTENTION TO -- HER.

WE RESPECTED HER.

[ELIZABETH] ON THE WEEKENDS OR WHEN THEY WOULD HAVE A BREAK.

THE ENGLISH PEOPLE WERE SO FASCINATED BY SEEING THESE WOMEN OF COLOR.

SO, THEY ACTUALLY THOUGHT THAT MISS RUDDOCK WAS A WHITE WOMAN.

OK?

AND OF COURSE, SHE CORRECTED THEM, BUT THEY WOULD INVITE THEM TO DINNER.

AND MISS RUDDOCK, THAT WAS ONE OF HER FONDEST MEMORIES.

SHE SAID SHE WOULD JUST LOOK FORWARD TO THAT ON SUNDAY BECAUSE SHE WAS GETTING A HOME COOKED MEAL.

AND SHE SAID BY THE WAY, THE FOOD WAS PRETTY GOOD.

AND SHE GOT TO TALK ABOUT OTHER THINGS OTHER THAN BEING IN, IN THIS UNIT BECAUSE THEY JUST THOUGHT IT WAS A JOB.

THEY GOT TO TALK ABOUT UH, BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND AND WHAT THE ENGLISH PEOPLE WERE UH, DOING DURING THE WAR [GLADYS] IN BIRMINGHAM, WE CALLED IT BIRMINGHAM, BUT WE WERE CORRECTED.

BIRMINGHAM.

AND UH, I HAD TO GET USED TO COLD SHOWERS.

WE HAD THE SHOWERS ON THE OUTSIDE.

AND UH, THAT WAS VERY INTERESTING.

WE WERE IN THIS UH, SMALL TOWN AND WE WOULD GO INTO THE CITY, UH, FOR RECREATION AND GO TO THE MOVIES.

[GARRY] WHEN THEY CAME TO BIRMINGHAM, THEY WERE WELL RECEIVED.

NOW, THERE'S ALSO A CONTRADICTORY STORY WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT HISTORY.

BUT AGAIN, MOST OF THE WOMEN SAID THAT THEY WERE WELCOMED IN BIRMINGHAM.

THEY UNDERSTOOD THAT THIS RACIAL SEGREGATION THAT THEY SUFFERED AT HOME FROM THE JIM CROW LAWS WEREN'T PREVALENT IN THIS COUNTRY AT THE TIME AND WERE OUTLAWED.

SO, THEY FELT BIT MORE WELCOMED.

SOME OF THEM TALK ABOUT THE WAY THEY WERE TREATED AS WHITE AMERICAN SOLDIERS HAD PASSED RUMORS ACROSS TO THEM SAYING THEY HAVE TAILS.

AND IF YOU LOOK AT THEIR SKIRTS ALSO, THERE WERE INCIDENTS IN THE CITY CENTER, BUT MOST OF THE WOMEN TALKED ABOUT MEETING FAMILIES FROM BIRMINGHAM AND SPENDING TIME WITH THEM AS WELL.

SO, IT'S INTERESTING TO SEE HOW WE'VE GOT TWO KIND OF, TWO INTERESTING LINES AND SOME PEOPLE SAID THEY WERE GREAT.

AND THEN, WE LOOK AT IT FROM OUR POINT OF VIEW AS BLACK PEOPLE TODAY.

AND WE SAY, WELL, YOU WERE, YOU KNOW, SUFFERING FROM RACISM AT THAT TIME HERE.

BUT I HAVE TO GO BY THEIR TESTIMONY AND THEY ALL SEEM TO SAY THEY ENJOYED THEIR TIME IN THE CITY.

[EVELYN CLARISSE MARTIN JOHNSON] WHEN...

IN ENGLAND, WE COULD GO TO ALL OF THE RESTAURANTS THAT WERE OPEN, WE COULD GO TO ALL OF THE DANCE HALLS AND MOST OF THE TIME THAT'S WHERE WE WENT 'CAUSE WE ENJOYED DANCING.

SO, WE WOULD GO THROUGH ALL OF THE DANCE HALLS AND DANCE.

[GARRY] SO, WE'VE GOT THESE SPOTS IN THE CITY WHERE THEY INTEGRATED WITH US AS WELL.

AND UH, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S JUST REALLY NICE THAT WE ACTUALLY MARK THE FACT THAT THEY CAME HERE.

AND AS YOU CAN REMEMBER THE WOMEN CAME BACK IN 1981 AND THE PLACE WHERE WE HAD, THE INITIAL MEETING WAS AT THE BUILDING WHERE THEY ACTUALLY CAME AND VISITED AS WELL.

SO HOPEFULLY, WHEN THEY SEE THIS, IT MAY SPARK SOME MEMORIES FOR THEM.

[DELORES] I THANK THE GOOD LORD AND DEAR GOD ABOVE.

I'M STILL DRIVING...OKAY.

I ABHOR THE IDEA OF NOT BEING ABLE TO DRIVE BECAUSE I, I FEEL THAT THAT'S GONNA REALLY BE A..., YOU KNOW, THAT TO GO TO MY CHURCH TO DO WORK OR WE GO TO MY CHURCH BECAUSE I LOVE MY CHURCH.

I LOVE THAT MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS THERE BECAUSE THEY LOVE ME.

AND WE ALL ACT THE SAME WHEN YOU'RE AROUND NICE PEOPLE IS EASIER TO SMILE BECAUSE YOU'RE HAPPY.

YOU KNOW, YOU'RE HAPPY.

HEY, A SMILE IS BETTER THAN A TEAR...IS THAT SO?

[ELIZABETH BERNICE BARKER- JOHNSON] WELL, I ALREADY KNEW ABOUT JOAN OF ARC, BUT WE JUST WANTED TO SEE THE POINT OF THE WHERE SHE WAS BURNED AT THE STAKE AND IT WAS CONCRETE AND THERE WAS A, A CROSS THERE.

UH, SO WE WALKED UP AND I CAN'T - I DON'T THINK WE WERE ALLOWED TO TOUCH THE CROSS AT THAT TIME.

AND WE STOOD THERE AND SOME MAN CAME OVER, AND TALKED TO US A WHILE.

AND THEN WE LAUGH, BUT I UNDERSTAND IT'S BEEN REDONE AND I'D LIKE TO SEE IT.

AND, YOU KNOW, WHEN I FIRST HEARD ABOUT IT, I NEVER EVEN DREAMED THAT I'D SEE THE POINT WHERE SHE WAS BURNED AT STAKE.

AND I STILL HAVEN'T GOT IT IN MY MIND WHY THOSE MEN WERE CRUEL ENOUGH TO BURN SOMEBODY ALIVE AT THE STAKE.

STILL, CAN'T GET IN MY MIND.

BUT SHE WAS A BRAVE WOMAN...

VERY BRAVE WOMAN.

[ALVA STEVENSON] WELL, SHE ENLISTED BECAUSE MY - HER BROTHER, MY UNCLE DANIEL THORNTON, UM, HE WAS A SERGEANT IN THE 25TH INFANTRY OUT OF FORT WACHUKA.

OUR FAMILY LIVED IN NOGALES.

HE WAS IN WORLD WAR II IN THE PACIFIC THEATER AND HE WAS BAYONET AT GUADALCANAL.

SO AS A RESULT OF THAT, SHE ENLISTED AT PHOENIX.

AND UM, OUR FAMILY ARE BIRACIAL AFRICAN AMERICAN AND MEXICAN.

OUR GRANDFATHER WAS AFRICAN AMERICAN FROM TEXAS.

HE MIGRATED TO MEXICO AND MY GRANDMOTHER WAS FROM SINALOA AND THIS IS DURING THE MEXICAN REVOLUTION.

SO, THEY MARRIED AND CAME BACK TO THE U.S. WHERE MY MOM AND HER SIBLINGS WERE BORN.

AND UM, SO MY UNCLE BEING BAYONETED, UH, SHE FELT SHE NEEDED TO DO SOMETHING.

SO, HER SOMETHING WAS ENLISTING.

AND SO, SHE WAS ACTUALLY BECAUSE SHE WAS BIRACIAL AND HER FIRST LANGUAGE WAS SPANISH.

SHE DIDN'T SPEAK VERY GOOD ENGLISH AT THAT POINT, THEY GAVE HER A CHOICE.

SHE COULD EITHER JOIN THE WHITE REGIMENT OR THE BLACK REGIMENT.

SO, SHE CHOSE THE BLACK REGIMENT.

[ROSENDA E. MOORE] MY SISTER WAS DOING HER MASTER'S THESIS ABOUT HOW AFRO LATINOS IDENTIFY BECAUSE HER FATHER IS BLACK, HER MOTHER IS MEXICAN.

AND YOU KNOW, AS THE COURSE OF THAT, SHE HAD TO INTERVIEW MY MOTHER AND ALL OF HER SISTERS, SHE HAD TO ANSWER THE SAME SET OF QUESTIONS HERSELF AND INTERVIEW ME TOO.

SO WHEN SHE INTERVIEWED MY MOTHER, SHE TOLD US ALL THIS INFORMATION ABOUT HER TIME WITH THE BATTALION HER EXPERIENCES WITH THE OTHER WOMEN, YOU KNOW, HOW SOME OF THEM REALLY TOOK HER UNDER HER WING AND, YOU KNOW, TAUGHT HER THINGS THAT A YOUNG WOMAN NEEDED TO KNOW, WORKING AND BEING IN THE ARMY AND GOING OVERSEAS FOR THE FIRST TIME FROM A SMALL TOWN.

YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING, JUST, YOU KNOW, SHE SAID ALL THIS WEALTH OF INFORMATION THAT SHE'D NEVER TOLD US BEFORE.

LIKE, THE LADY THAT SHE WAS THE CLOSEST TO.

SHE WAS LIKE BEST FRIENDS WITH AND ALVA AND I ARE NOT SURE WHAT STATE SHE CAME FROM OR ANY, YOU KNOW, HOW WE COULD FIND HER WITH YOU KNOW, HER FAMILY, BUT HER NAME IS MADDIE AND THERE MUST BE LIKE FIVE OR SIX PICTURES OF HER AND THREE OR FOUR OF THEM ARE HER AND MY MOTHER IN THEIR UNIFORMS SMILING TOGETHER AND, YOU KNOW, THERE'S LITTLE NOTES ON SOME OF THEM.

ONE OF THEM, IT'S A PICTURE OF MADDIE BY HERSELF AND ON THE BACK SHE DEDICATES IT TO MY BEST FRIEND CHINO.

CHINO.

YEAH.

HER SISTERS CALLED HER THAT, YOU KNOW, FAMILIES HAVE LIKE THOSE FAMILY NICKNAMES HER... YEAH, THAT'S HER NICKNAME CHINO.

I THINK IT'S BECAUSE OF THE EYES.

THEY'VE GOT HER EYES LOOKED KIND OF ASIAN, YOU KNOW, AND THEN SHE SAYS WHEN YOU GET MARRIED AND HAVE TWINS.

DON'T RUN TO ME FOR HELP.

[ALVA] NOGALAS WAS A SLEEPY TOWN.

UM, SO IT ACTUALLY WAS HER TICKET OUT OF NOGALAS.

[ROSENDA] COULDN'T BELIEVE THAT WE WERE JUST OO-ING AND AH-ING OVER IT AND JUST, YOU KNOW, THE PICTURES OF HER AND ALL OF THESE OTHER WOMEN THAT WE DIDN'T KNOW AND SOME OF THEM SHE HAS NAMES ON AND THEN OTHER ONES, THEY'RE NOT NAMES AND THEN THERE'S A FEW PICTURES OF RUEN FRANCE ON FIRE.

BASICALLY, THERE'S LIKE SMOKE PLUMES.

AND THEN SHE HAS WRITTEN IN THERE, YOU KNOW, IN SPANISH, YOU KNOW, RUEN FRANCE,(SPEAKS IN SPANISH) DURING THE WAR.

WE'RE GETTING SO MUCH OF MORE OF A PICTURE OF HER AS A YOUNG WOMAN AND ALL OF THAT.

AND THERE WERE TWO OTHER THINGS THAT WERE STUFFED IN THE ALBUM.

I WASN'T FAMILIAR WITH IT BUT THEY'RE, THEY'RE LITTLE, THEY'RE SMALLER THAN 45 RECORDS.

IT'S CALLED A VOICE O GRAPH.

AND I GUESS IT'S LIKE PHOTO, A PHOTO BOOTH.

YOU TAKE PICTURES WITH YOUR FRIENDS.

WELL, THEY HAD VOICE O GRAPH MACHINES AND YOU RECORD SOMETHING.

SO ONE OF THEM IS KIND OF SCRATCHY AND IT'S HER, HER PREVIOUS BOYFRIEND WHO WAS ALSO SERVING AND HE'S TALKING TO HIS FRIEND AND I COULDN'T REALLY UNDERSTAND IT.

BUT THE OTHER ONE'S VERY CLEAR AND HE'S ASKING HER TO SING HIM A SONG, THAT SONG, BESAME MUCHO.

AND SHE SINGS IT LIKE, OH MY GOD, THAT'S MY 19 YEAR OLD MOTHER'S VOICE.

YOU KNOW, IT'S LIKE, I, I RECOGNIZED IT.

IT'S LIKE, THAT'S HER, BUT THAT'S LIKE THE YOUNG HER.

I ONLY KNOW HER AS MOM, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, SHE LIVED TO BE 89 YEARS OLD.

AND LIKE, THAT'S MY, MY LAST MEMORY OF HER.

[DOROTHY] NOW, WHAT WAS SO INTERESTING ABOUT, UH, THIS, IN, IN OUR STAY IN FRANCE WAS THAT WE WERE HOUSED IN BARRACKS THAT HAD BEEN USED BY NAPOLEON'S TROOPS AND THAT WAS HISTORY.

YOU KNOW, THEY WERE, WE WERE LIVING IN THE LAP OF HISTORY [EDNA] BECAUSE OF SEGREGATION, THE WOMEN FORMED THEIR OWN TEAMS, SOFTBALL TEAMS, BASKETBALL TEAMS, PING PONG TEAMS AND ENTERED TOURNAMENTS THROUGHOUT EUROPE AND BECAME VERY SUCCESSFUL.

IN ONE INCIDENT, THEY WERE ON THEIR WAY TO STUTTGART TO A BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT AND THEY COULDN'T BOARD THE TRAIN BECAUSE THERE WAS NO CAR FOR UH, BLACKS FOR BLACK WOMEN OR FOR BLACKS PERIOD.

SO, THEY FOUND THE LOCAL COMMANDER AND I BELIEVE HE WAS A GENERAL AND HE ASKED THEM, DO YOU THINK YOU CAN WIN?

WE SAID, YES, SIR.

BUT WE NEED TO GET THERE TO WIN.

SO, HE GOT A CAR FOR THEM, A SEPARATE CAR ON THIS TRAIN AND THEY WENT TO THE BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT AND WON.

[ABBIE] OUR OWN MESS HALL, OUR OWN SUPPLY, OUR OWN UH, MILITARY POLICE.

WE HAD OUR OWN TRANSPORTATION.

AND WE HAD WOMEN WHO DID EVERYTHING.

WE LOOK AT THE SERVICE AND WE NEEDED SOMETHING TO LOOK AT THE SERVICE RECORD TO FIND OUT WHAT THAT PERSON HAD DONE.

WITH 800 WOMEN, WE HAD ALL KINDS OF THINGS.

UH, WE OPENED UP A BEAUTY PARLOR.

WE HAD BEAUTICIANS WHO WE FOUND OUT WHO THEY WERE.

WE HAD BEAUTICIANS.

[ELIZABETH] THESE WOMEN WERE PRETTY GOOD PLAYING SOFTBALL AND I, I CAN BELIEVE THAT BECAUSE THESE WERE, AGAIN, UM, BLACK WOMEN AND THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, THAT YOU DID, UH, AT HOME, YOU PLAYED SOFTBALL OR YOU PLAYED BAT BALL, DEPENDING ON WHERE YOU WERE FROM IN, IN THE COUNTRY.

UM, SOMETIMES YOU HAD A, YOU CALLED IT STICK BALL, YOU KNOW, UH, AND ON SUNDAYS EVENINGS AFTER, AFTER CHURCH, AFTER DINNER, UH, FAMILIES GOT TOGETHER AND THAT'S WHAT THEY PLAYED, THEY PLAYED SOFTBALL.

THEY PLAYED KICKBALL BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT WE DID.

BUT I HEAR THE, THE SIX TRIPLE EIGHT WOMEN, THEY, THEY WERE PRETTY GOOD PLAYING, PLAYING SOFTBALL.

I WOULD NOT HAVE WANTED TO PLAY WITH THEM BECAUSE THEY, THEY WAS GOOD.

[GLADYS] AND THEN THERE WAS SO MUCH TO SEE IN PARIS WE HAD...UH...UM...THE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENT STORES AND...UH, WE ALSO...UH...HAD ALL OF THE...UH...PERFUME HOUSES BUT I MANAGED TO GO TO UH...UH, THE VERSAILLES PALACE.

AND UH...OH...I, I JUST ENJOYED MYSELF.

IT'S THE BEST I COULD IN THE, YOU KNOW, IN THE SITUATION.

(SOFT PIANO MUSIC) ♪ [EDNA] THREE WOMEN, THEY DIED IN A VEHICLE ACCIDENT, UH, WHILE THEY WERE THERE AND THE ARMY DID NOT SEND THE BODIES BACK TO THE UNITED STATES.

AND SO, WITHIN THE BATTALION, SOME LADIES HAD EXPERIENCE WITH, WE CALL IT MORTUARY AFFAIRS.

AND SO, THEY TOOK CARE OF THE BODIES, YOU KNOW, I GUESS THEY PREPPED THEM IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, MAKEUP AND CLOTHING, AND COLLECTED MONEY TO HAVE A BURIAL IN NORMANDY.

AND SO, THE WOMEN'S, THE BODIES ARE STILL THERE IN NORMANDY.

[ABBIE] GIRL WAS TO GET KILLED IN OUR UNIT OVERSEAS.

THEY WERE, THEY HAD LIKE AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENT.

THEN, WE FOUND OUT THAT SOME OF THEM HAD BEEN HAD (INAUDIBLE) FUNERAL PARLORS, AND OF COURSE, THEY FIXED UP THE GIRLS.

THEY WANTED TO PUT THEM IN A...AND JUST PLAIN BOXES.

AND THAT WAS MOST INTERESTING TO ME BECAUSE THEY WERE, I THINK TWO PROTESTANT AND ONE CATHOLIC.

AND WHEN I WENT TO THE FUNERAL, I HAD TO GO TO THE FUNERAL HOME AND THE MAN ASKED ME, HOW TALL ARE THEY?

THERE'S SOME WOODEN BOXES.

I SAID, WELL, ONE IS AS TALL AS ME AND ONE IS AS TALL AS THE OTHER LADY.

SO, HERE I AM STANDING UP BESIDE CASKETS TRYING TO FIND SOME CASKET TO FIT ME.

THEN, WE THEY DIDN'T WANT TO HAVE FUNERALS FOR THEM.

SO WE SAID, NO, WE CANNOT BURY THESE GIRLS THIS WAY.

AND WE'RE NOT GONNA PUT HIM IN JUST A PINE BOX.

SO, WE HAD WOMEN THERE WHO HAD BEEN WORKING FUNERAL PARLORS AND THEY DRAPED IT WITH CHEESE CLOTH OR SOMETHING.

THEY FIXED THEM UP BEAUTIFUL, BEAUTIFULLY.

[FANNIE] WE HAD GERMAN PRISONERS WHO WERE THEY, THEY DID THE COOKING AND UH...I'D SAY, AND THEY WERE STRICT UH, ON THE, THE FRENCH WOMEN WHO WORKED, THEY HAD LIKE A TROUGH OUTSIDE.

THEY HAD THEM WASH DOWN, GET ALL THAT LIPSTICK OFF AND EVERYTHING.

AND UH...BUT MY, MY UH...I, I DIDN'T KNOW THIS UNTIL I WAS OVER THERE THAT UH, THEY BURIED PEOPLE IN A SHELTER HOUSE AND UH, SO EARLEY SAID, NO, WE'RE NOT GONNA DO THAT.

THE GERMAN PRISONERS BUILT COFFINS AND THEN PUT THEM IN THE COFFIN AND BURIED THEM.

[LTC RODGER MATTHEWS] THE FAMILY OWNED A NEWSPAPER, THE BALTIMORE UH, AFRO AMERICAN NEWSPAPER, WHICH IS VERY PRE... PREDOMINANT NEWSPAPER THAT FOR BLACK PAPER BACK IN THOSE DAYS, UH...IT HAD EDITIONS IN BALTIMORE, WASHINGTON, PHILADELPHIA, NEW JERSEY.

THERE WAS A NORTH AND SOUTH CAROLINA EDITION AND IT WAS A NATIONAL EDITION AND EVERYBODY WORKED AT THE PAPER INCLUDING ME AND YOU HAD TO LEARN, YOU KNOW, I THINK I STARTED ON THE SWITCHBOARD AND THEN YOU WORKED YOUR WAY UP TO EDITORIALS WHERE YOU WANTED TO GET TO.

UM, BUT ALL OF MY AUNTS WORK THERE TOO.

BUT AGAIN, I CAN'T EMPHASIZE ENOUGH HOW STRONG WILLED ALL THESE, THESE LADIES, MY AUNTS WERE.

BUT MY MOTHER IS THE ONE OF THE FIVE THAT DIDN'T GO TO COLLEGE RATHER THAN GO TO COLLEGE, SHE WENT INTO THE SIX TRIPLE EIGHT, WHICH IS WHY SHE'S NOT IN THE SORORITY.

HER, HER MOTHER WAS ONE OF THE ORIGINAL 22 FOUNDERS OF DELTA SIGMA THETA, HER FOUR SISTERS ARE ALL DELTAS.

MY MOTHER WAS NOT BECAUSE SHE DIDN'T GO TO COLLEGE AND YOU HAVE TO BE AN UNDERGRAD IN ORDER TO PLEDGE.

SHE DIDN'T DO THAT.

SHE WENT INTO THE, UH, TO THE, TO THE SIX TRIPLE EIGHT.

[BETTY SCHULER] MY MOTHER WAS IN THE WOMEN'S ARMY CORPS AND THEN MORE SPECIFICALLY THE SIX TRIPLE EIGHT CENTRAL POSTAL BATTALION.

AND MY FATHER WAS IN THE U.S. COAST GUARD.

THEY MET IN A, AT A FOOTBALL GAME ACTUALLY.

AND I FOUND A LETTER THAT MY FATHER WROTE TO MY MOTHER, UH, BECAUSE HE HAD A PART TIME JOB IN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AND HE ACCUSED MY MOTHER OF A FELONY OF STEALING HIS HEART.

THAT WAS A PRETTY QUICK, UM, ENGAGEMENT.

AND THEY, THEY WERE MARRIED THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS BECAUSE MY GRANDFATHER SAID, YOU WILL NOT, YOU WILL NOT RUIN MY CHRISTMAS.

SO, THEIR ANNIVERSARY IS THE 26TH OF DECEMBER AND THEIR BIRTHDAYS THE SAME DAY JANUARY 9TH.

[RODGER] NEITHER ONE OF MY PARENTS REALLY SPOKE ABOUT THEIR MILITARY SERVICE.

IT WAS MANY YEARS LATER WHEN MY FATHER STARTED GETTING, STARTED GETTING SICK THAT HE AND I WOULD SIT DOWN AND HE WOULD TALK ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED, WHAT HE DID IN THE, IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC.

MY MOTHER NEVER TALKED ABOUT HER SERVICE.

I MEAN, FOR A LONG TIME, I, I MEAN, I KNEW SHE SERVED BUT I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT SHE DID, WHERE SHE WENT, WHO SHE WAS WITH.

I, SHE'D NEVER TALKED ABOUT IT.

[BETTY] THE ONLY THING THAT I CAN REMEMBER AS A CHILD WAS, SHE'D GO AROUND SINGING THIS ARMY SONG.

IT'S KINDA LIKE REVEILLE YOU GOTTA GET UP, YOU GOTTA GET UP, YOU GOTTA GET UP IN THE MORNING AND SHE WOULD SING THAT BECAUSE SHE HAD FIVE CHILDREN.

AND SO, THAT WAS HER WAY OF WAKING US UP IN THE MORNING WAS TO SING THAT SONG.

AND I VAGUELY REMEMBER THAT.

[RODGER] NEITHER ONE OF MY PARENTS EVER TOLD ME THAT THEY WERE PROUD OF ME, BUT THEY SHOWED ME THAT THEY WERE ABOUT BY WHAT THEY DID.

I MEAN, THE FACT THAT SHE WOULD COME DOWN THERE LIKE THAT, IT TOLD ME EVERYTHING I NEEDED TO KNOW ABOUT THAT WHEN I GOT PROMOTED IT, WHEN I TIED THE TWO BETWEEN MY MOTHER AND MY FATHER.

MY FATHER NEVER EVER TOLD ME HE WAS PART NOT ONCE IN...IN...IN HIS LIFETIME OR MY LIFETIME.

DID HE EVER TELL ME THAT?

BUT WHEN I WAS AT FORT BRAGG, I GOT PROMOTED FROM FIRST LIEUTENANT TO CAPTAIN AND MY FATHER CAME DOWN FOR THAT.

[BETTY] THERE'S MY MOTHER.

[RODGER] BUT MY SISTER IS THE ONE THAT SAID, HAVE YOU SEEN THIS?

NO, I DIDN'T SEE...THERE'S MOMMY RIGHT THERE, YOU KNOW, KIND OF A THING, YOU KNOW, AND IT WAS CLEARLY THAT WAS HER, YOU KNOW, SO WE'RE PRETTY PROUD OF THAT.

YOU KNOW, THERE IS A RECORD.

I, I LOVE TO ADMIT THIS.

I AM A BASEBALL FAN.

I'M A BALTIMORE ORIOLES BASEBALL FAN.

MY MOTHER WAS A BASEBALL FAN AND SHE WOULD SIT IN, IN...IN HER ROOM AND SHE, MY MOTHER WAS A BIG CROSSWORD PUZZLE PERSON.

SHE HAD ALL OF THESE, UH, DICTIONARIES, THE CROSSWORD PUZZLE DICTIONARIES ALL OVER THE PLACE THAT AND KNITTING AND SHE'D BE DOING A CROSSWORD PUZZLE, DOING HER KNITTING AND AN ORIOLES GAME WOULD EITHER BE ON THE RADIO OR ON TELEVISION AND SHE WAS JUST FINE.

YOU KNOW, MY FAMILY COULD TELL YOU TODAY, I, I WILL GO TO A ORIOLES GAME IN A HEARTBEAT.

SO IT'S THE, IT'S THE LITTLE THINGS LIKE THAT, THAT I REMEMBER ABOUT HER, YOU KNOW, AND HER TENACITY AND JUST TRYING TO BRING EVERYBODY TOGETHER.

[FRANCOIS] SO, SO HERE IS CHARITY ADAMS.

SHE'S UH, SHE'S BEEN IN THE ARMY AT THIS POINT FOR ABOUT THREE YEARS, 3.5 YEARS.

-- UH GETTING READY TO BE COMING BACK TO THE UNITED STATES -- [EDNA] ON THE QUEEN MARY.

-- UH, MAJOR ADAMS WAS PUT IN CHARGE OF THE WOMEN ON BOARD.

[FRANCOIS] SHE WENT TO BED, THAT EVENING WAITING FOR THE SHIP TO SAIL AT MIDNIGHT AND ONE OF HER OFFICERS COMES TO HER AND SAYS, THERE'S A...A RUCKUS GOING ON... [EDNA] AND THERE WAS SOME WHITE OFFICERS ON BOARD [FRANCOIS] AND I'M -- NOT REALLY SURE WHAT WHAT'S HAPPENING.

[EDNA] AND -- WHITE WOMEN SAYS WE DON'T WANT TO BE UNDER THE COMMAND OF A BLACK WOMAN.

[FRANCOIS] SO AT SOME POINT, SHE HAD BEEN PUT IN CHARGE BY THE CAPTAIN OF ALL THE WOMEN ON THE SHIP.

UM, AFRICAN AMERICAN, WHITE, UM, REGARDS TO THE RANK, BUT SHE WAS A SENIOR RANKING MAJOR ON THE SHIP.

SO CHARITY ADAMS SAID, WELL, I DON'T, I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT THE PROBLEM IS, WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?

AND THEY SAID, WELL, WE DON'T WANT TO SAIL ON THE SHIP WITH YOU IN CHARGE.

AND SO, CHARITY ADAMS SAID, WELL, UM, I AM IN CHARGE AND THEY SAID, WELL, WE HAVE OUR OWN MAJOR REFERRING TO THE FACT THAT THEY HAD A WHITE MAJOR FOR THE NURSES.

AND SO, THEY THOUGHT THAT IT WOULD BE FINE IF CHARITY ADAMS COMMANDED THE AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN AND THE MAJOR, THE WHITE MAJOR COMMANDED THE WHITE WOMEN.

SO, CHARITY ADAMS WASN'T GOING TO HAVE ANY OF IT.

AND SHE SAID, NO, SHE SAID I AM IN CHARGE.

I'M A SENIOR RANKING MAJOR.

-- I WAS PUT IN CHARGE BY THE CAPTAIN AND THE SHIP IS SAILING AT -- MIDNIGHT.

[EDNA] YOU HAVE A CHOICE, YOU EITHER STAY ON THE SHIP OR GET OFF AND YOU HAVE 17 MINUTES.

IT MAY HAVE BEEN 16 TO DO SO.

[FRANCOIS] AND IT WILL SAIL WITH OR WITHOUT YOU.

AND I GUESS THE ROOM WAS SILENT AT THAT POINT AND AS SHE BEGAN TO STEP AWAY, SHE HEARD A VOICE BEHIND HER AND IT TURNED OUT TO BE THE CAPTAIN OF THE SHIP WHO SAID MAJOR ADAMS IS CORRECT.

SHE IS THE SENIOR RANKING OFFICER.

SHE IS IN CHARGE OF ALL OF YOU.

AND IF THAT IS A PROBLEM, YOU NOW ONLY HAVE 17 MINUTES TO GET OFF MY SHIP.

[EDNA] NEEDLESS TO SAY, THEY STAYED ON THE SHIP TO MAKE IT BACK HOME.

[KELVIN D. CROW] THE UH, THE BUFFALO SOLDIER MONUMENT HAS A NUMBER OF ELEMENTS TO IT.

THERE'S AN ENTRANCE WAY WITH A LITTLE BIT OF THE HISTORY OF THE MONUMENT AND THEN A, A WAYSIDE WHICH HAS AN IMAGE OF THE 10TH CAVALRY IN, IN ACTION.

AND YOU CAN PUSH A BUTTON AND IT'LL TELL YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE...THE UNIT AND ABOUT THE BUFFALO SOLDIER MONUMENT ITSELF.

AND THEN, THERE'S THE MAIN MONUMENT WHICH HAS A HEROIC SIZE STATUE OF A BUFFALO SOLDIER WITH AN UPPER AND LOWER REFLECTING POND.

THE UPPER REFLECTING POND IS UNEVEN TO IN TO INDICATE THE UNEVEN INTEGRATION OF BLACK SOLDIERS INTO THE AMERICAN MILITARY FROM CRISPUS ATTUCKS AT THE BOSTON MASSACRE UP TO THE BUFFALO SOLDIERS THEMSELVES.

AND THEN, YOU HAVE A WATERFALL WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, METAPHOR FOR A TERM WE USE ALL THE TIME, A WATERSHED EVENT IN HISTORY.

AND THAT'S WHERE THE BUFFALO SOLDIERS AND THEN THE TRUMAN INTEGRATION OF THE MILITARY WHERE HE ISSUES AN EXECUTIVE ORDER TO INTEGRATE THE MILITARY.

AND THERE'S A, THERE'S A PERIOD RIGHT AFTER THAT WHERE THE WATERFALL IS IN THE WATER AND IT'S ALL CHURNED UP.

SO, THERE'S A PERIOD OF DISCONTENT OR DISRUPTION WHERE THAT HAPPENS.

BUT THEN, YOU SEE ON THE FAR SIDE OF IT, THE LOWER REFLECTING POND WHICH IS SMOOTH AND ROUND AND THAT'S TO INDICATE THE DESIRED END STATE, THE PLACE THAT WE HOPE TO BE, IF WE'RE NOT THERE NOW, AT SOME POINT IN THE FUTURE WHERE THIS IS JUST NOT A THING.

THIS IS JUST THE WAY, THE WAY IT IS AND THE WAY IT WAS FOR THE GENERATION BEFORE YOU AND EVERYONE JUST ACCEPTS IT.

(AUDIENCE APPLAUSE) ELIZABETH BERNICE BARKER JOHNSON (AUDIENCE APPLAUSE) DELORES L. RUDDOCK (AUDIENCE APPLAUSE) MAYBELLE CAMPBELL (AUDIENCE APPLAUSE) (AUDIENCE APPLAUSE) [COMMANDER CARLTON PHILPOT] IT'S A GREAT DAY, ISN'T IT.

IT IS WELL.

SENATOR MORAN, AND GENERAL CHRISTMAN, GENERAL SUDDEN, OTHER MEMBERS OF THE FISHER PARTY ALONG WITH THE FAMILY AND FRIENDS OF THE 68 CENTRAL POSTAL DIRECTOR BATTALION AND ESPECIALLY THE FIVE LIVING LEGACIES AND THE SON OF LIEUTENANT CHARITY ADAMS EARLEY.

MY TASK THIS MORNING IS THE 688 MONUMENT IN LEAVENWORTH.

WHAT DID THEY DO HERE?

WHAT'S THE HISTORICAL CONNECTION?

I WOULD SAY SIMPLY THIS: THE BUFFALO SOLDIERS MILITARY PARK HONORS AFRICAN AMERICAN MILITARY UNITS.

THE BUFFALO SOLDIERS WAS THE FIRST ALL BLACK UNIT TO SERVE IN PEACETIME AND THEY CHANGED THE FACE OF THE MILITARY FOREVER.

AND THE SIX TRIPLE EIGHT BEING THE FIRST ALL BLACK WAC UNIT TO BE DEPLOYED OVERSEAS, CHANGED THE FACE OF THE, THE ARMY FOREVER...THAT'S THE HISTORICAL CONNECTION.

IT'S A HISTORICAL CHANGE.

[STANLEY] IT'S A WONDERFUL WAY TO RECOGNIZE THE SIX TRIPLE EIGHT UH, IN PARTICULAR TO RECOGNIZE THE FIVE WOMEN WHO ARE SITTING HERE TODAY FROM THAT UNIT.

IT'S ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO EXPRESS THE SCALE OF THE TASK THE UNIT FACED.

[SENATOR JERRY MORAN] MY DAD IS A WORLD WAR II VETERAN SERVED IN EUROPE.

I NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT HIS MAIL.

I NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT HIS PACKAGES.

MY MOM WENT TO WORK FOR A PENNY'S STORE IN EMPORIA, KANSAS AND, AND WORKED THERE FOR THE FOUR YEARS, MY DAD WAS IN THE SERVICE.

I NEVER THOUGHT ON A PERSONAL LEVEL UNTIL I WAS WITH YOU TODAY.

WHAT ROLE YOU AND OTHERS PLAYED IN MY FAMILY'S LIFE TO MAKE SURE THAT MY MOM AND DAD COMMUNICATED WITH EACH OTHER FOR THE LONG PERIOD OF WORLD WAR II.

SO FROM MY FAMILY, A PERSONAL THANK YOU TO YOU FOR KEEP KEEPING TWO PEOPLE WHO LOVED EACH OTHER TOGETHER.

YOU DID THEM A GREAT SERVICE WHEN WE UNVEIL THIS MEMORIAL, WHEN WE UNVEIL THIS MONUMENT, WHAT WE'RE REALLY SAYING IS THIS, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE.

WE RESPECT YOU AND WE LOVE YOU.

GOD BLESS YOU.

(AUDIENCE APPLAUSE) [ANNA MAE ROBERTSON] WHEN WAS I BORN?

MARCH 5TH, 1924.

MY BROTHER WAS IN THE NAVY.

I JUST DECIDED I WANT TO BE IN THE, IN THE ARMY.

I GUESS I FELT AS THOUGH I WANTED TO DO SOMETHING.

[SHEREE ROBERTSON] THINKING OF SOME OF THE THINGS SHE HAD TOLD ME ABOUT.

I DECIDED TO GO GET ME A JOB AT THE POST OFFICE.

I WAS INSPIRED BY MY MOTHER'S JOURNEY IN LIFE WHERE SHE WORKED, GETTING MAIL OUT IN THE ARMY.

SO, I DECIDED TO DO IT FOR A CAREER.

[NATISHA SIMMS] I, I'M OVERWHELMED WITH EMOTIONS REALLY.

UM, OF COURSE, I'M, I'M EXCITED THAT SHE'S FINALLY BEEN GIVEN AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE RECOGNIZED PUBLICLY FOR HER SERVICE.

AND THEN, I JUST FROM TALKING TO HER, IT'S JUST A BIT OVERWHELMING IN TERMS OF ALL THAT SHE WENT THROUGH WHEN SHE WAS IN THE SERVICE AND WHAT WAS GOING ON IN THE STATE OF OUR COUNTRY RACE RELATIONS, DURING THAT TIME.

SO IT'S, IT'S JUST BEEN A LOT, THERE'S AN ORGANIZATION CALLED DREAM FLIGHT.

AND WHAT THEY DO IS THEY RESTORE OLD PLANES FROM WORLD WAR II AND THEY, UM, INVITE WORLD WAR II VETERANS TO COME ON A FLIGHT AND THEY RESTORED THIS PLANE AND THEY ASKED HER IF SHE WANTED TO GO.

AND INITIALLY WE SAID, WELL, NO MOM, THAT'S, THAT'S, THAT'S QUITE ADVENTUROUS YOU SURE YOU WANNA DO THAT?

SHE SAID, OH, I CAN DO IT.

AND SO, SHE WENT AND ACTUALLY WE DIDN'T ACTUALLY KNOW SHE WAS GOING TO GO ON THE FLIGHT.

WE HAPPENED TO BE, UH, MY MOM HAPPENED TO BE RIDING HOME AND HEARD HER NAME ON WTOP THAT SHE ACTUALLY WENT ON A FLIGHT.

WE THOUGHT THEY WERE JUST GONNA TAKE HER TO SEE THE PLANE, BUT SHE ACTUALLY GOT ON THE PLANE AND FLEW IN THE AIR.

IT WAS AMAZING.

[FRANCOIS] MANY OF THE WOMEN IN WORLD WAR II WERE RECRUITED BECAUSE OF THEIR SKILLS.

UM, SO SEEMINGLY THEY HAD SKILLS BEFOREHAND, BUT IT SEEMS THAT, THAT EXPERIENCE THEN WAS ABLE TO BROADEN THE HORIZONS IN THE SENSE OF UNDERSTANDING WHAT THEY THEMSELVES COULD ACCOMPLISH, WOULD BE GREATER THAN PERHAPS WHAT THEY THOUGHT BEFORE THEY HAD JOINED.

BUT AT THE SAME TIME, I SOMETIMES WONDER HOW MUCH THEY, THEY DON'T REALLY REALIZE WHAT ROLE MODELS THEY ARE FOR THE GENERATIONS OF WOMEN THAT COME BEHIND THEM.

UM, BECAUSE I THINK AS PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF THEIR STORIES, ESPECIALLY YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN IN UNIFORM TODAY, AND THEY LOOK AT WHAT THEY ACCOMPLISHED, YOU KNOW, THIS PART OF THE GREATEST GENERATION, EVEN THOUGH OFTEN TIMES WE DON'T THINK OF WOMEN AS PART OF THE GREATEST GENERATION, BUT THEY WERE.

[CLARA] ONE OF THE THINGS THAT HAS BEEN A MARK OF UH, THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN WHITE PEOPLE AND BLACK PEOPLE IS THAT WHITE PEOPLE NEVER EXPECTED ANYTHING OF US.

YOU SEE?

SO WHEN YOU GOT OUT THERE AND DID SOMETHING THAT WAS EXTRAORDINARY, THEY DIDN'T RECOGNIZE THAT.

THEY SAID SOMEBODY ELSE MUST HAVE DONE THAT AND MANY TIMES THEY DENY IT AND GIVE THE CREDITS TO SOMEBODY ELSE.

BUT THE REST OF IT IS THE, THE REAL FACT OF THE MATTER IS NOTHING WAS EVER EXPECTED OF US.

[JOHN THOMPSON, JR.] VERY SELDOM DID AFRICAN AMERICANS EVER BE IN A POSITION WHERE YOU COULD SEE SOMEBODY WHO THEY PUBLICIZED OR YOU SAW A PICTURE OF IT.

BUT MY MOTHER TALKED ABOUT HER ALL THE TIME IN GLOWING TERMS.

OH, GERTRUDE.

LOOK AT HER.

SHE'S DOING THIS.

YOU GOT YOU AND MY SISTERS AND I, Y'ALL SHOULD LOOK AT THAT AND BE PROUD OF THAT.

AND, AND THAT WAS IT.

AND HER NAME, EVEN WHEN HER NAME FIRST CAME UP TO ME OF BEING WITH THESE WACS RIGHT AWAY, IT SNAPPED JUST LIKE THAT.

THEY ACCOMPLISHED A LOT WITHOUT GETTING RECOGNITION FOR IT.

AND THAT'S HARD BECAUSE YOU WANT TO BE REWARD IN LIFE OF BEING RECOGNIZED FOR WHAT YOU DO.

I WAS A REASONABLY GOOD COACH, BUT IT MADE ME FEEL GOOD WHEN I WAS RECOGNIZED FOR IT.

THOSE WOMEN DID AN AWFUL LOT TO INSPIRE PEOPLE AND WOULD NOT ACKNOWLEDGE FOR IT.

HERE WE ARE TODAY IN 2018, ACKNOWLEDGING PEOPLE WHO MADE SUCH A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT WHEN THEY TALK ABOUT GEORGETOWN BASKETBALL AND JOHN THOMPSON, THEY WOULDN'T THINK ABOUT THE FACT THAT THE WAC'S ASPIRED HIM TO SAY, HEY, YOU CAN DO SOMETHING ELSE.

[KEWASKY] THEY WERE PATRIOTIC BECAUSE THEY KNEW THAT IN ORDER FOR THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY TO PROGRESS.

AND THESE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT MARY MCLEOD BETHUNE HAD STATED.

UH, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT UH, BENJAMIN O DAVIS UH, SENIOR STATED AND SOME OF THE THINGS THAT CHARITY ADAMS BELIEVE THAT IN ORDER FOR THE AFRICAN AMERICAN TO HAVE A VOICE AND FOR PROGRESS OF THEIR COMMUNITY, THEN YOU SHOULD SERVE AND YOU NEED TO SERVE UH, YOUR COUNTRY.

SO, AMERICA WAS THEIR COUNTRY.

[MARCIA] AND THEN, YOU KNOW, AFTER THE WAR, THE G I BILL COMES ALONG AND THEY HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT.

PROBABLY IS THE REASON WHY A LOT OF THEM WENT ON TO SCHOOL AND GOT MASTER'S AND PHD'S AND ENDED UP GOING ON TO A SECOND CAREER THAT WAS EVEN GREATER THAN THEIR, THEIR, THEIR CAREER WITH THE MILITARY.

SO, THEY WERE ABLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THOSE OPPORTUNITIES.

AND FOR, FOR AFRICAN AMERICANS THAT WAS A STEP INTO THE MIDDLE CLASS.

I THINK THAT VAULTED THOUSANDS OF TENS OF THOUSANDS OF AFRICAN AMERICANS AND THEIR FAMILIES INTO THE MIDDLE CLASS.

AND IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY THAT WOULD NOT HAVE EXISTED IF THEY HADN'T GONE AND JOINED THE MILITARY DURING WORLD WAR II.

[EDGAR] TELLING THAT STORY AND DOCUMENTING, DOCUMENTING WHAT THESE PARTICULAR MILITARY UNITS THAT IN MOST CASES WERE ALL MILITARY WERE ALL BLACK AND MOST YOU UNDERSTAND THEY HAD A WHITE COMMANDER, BUT THOSE SOLDIERS STILL PERFORMED AT THE SAME LEVEL AS THEIR WHITE COUNTERPARTS IN TERMS OF DEFENDING AND PROVIDING FOR THE DEMOCRACY OF THIS COUNTRY.

[CHARITY] BUT I MUST TELL YOU WHAT HAPPENED JUST BEFORE THE TROOPS ARRIVED IN UH, ENGLAND.

GENERAL JOHN C. H. LEE WHO WAS COMMANDING GENERAL OF THE COM, COM, COMMUNICATION ZONE IN THE ETO, UH, INVITED NOEL AND ME TO DINNER AND IN OUR... AND THEN IT WAS IN OUR HONOR AND IT WAS VERY NICE AND VERY SWANK UP IN THE GEORGE SWANK HOTEL.

AND UH, WE'RE IN THE MIDST OF THE DINNER AS YOU MIX PROTOCOL AND SOCIAL SOCIALITY TOGETHER.

BUT GENERAL LEE SAID TO ME, ADAMS, CAN YOUR TROOPS MARCH?

AND THERE IS ONLY ONE ANSWER WHEN A GENERAL ASKS YOU A QUESTION, THE ANSWER IS YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN BETTER MARCHING TROOPS IN YOUR LIFE.

AND HE SAID, WHEN DO THEY ARRIVE?

AND I SAID, THEY ARRIVE ON THE 13TH, ON THE 12TH, THEY'LL BE IN QUARTERS ON THE 13TH AND HE SAID, I'LL BE DOWN ON THE 15TH TO SEE THEM MARCH.

[INTERVIEWER] THAT WAS YOUR ARRIVAL.

[CHARITY] THAT WAS MY ARRIVAL ROCK OF TROOP.

WELL, THE TROOPS HAD COME OVER ON THE ILE DE FRANCE AND IT HAD TAKEN 11 DAYS AND THEY'VE BEEN CHASED BY SUBMARINES FOR SEVERAL DAYS.

SO THAT WITH THE SALT WATER AND BEING UNACCUSTOMED TO SHIP BOAT FACILITIES, IT WAS A RATHER SAD LOOKING LOT THAT GOT OFF, BUT WE WERE READY FOR THEM AND WE MARCHED FOR GENERAL LEE AND HE WAS SO PLEASED.

HE WROTE MY FATHER A LETTER AND TOLD HIM, I WAS A FINE YOUNG WOMAN.

(chuckles) [INTERVIEWER] THAT IS GREAT... HO HOW ABOUT THE RECEPTION?

(SOFT ORCHESTRAL MUSIC) ♪ [MICHELLE OBAMA] AND WE ARE JOINED HERE TODAY UH, BY TWO AMAZING WOMEN.

UH, THEY GAVE ME THEIR AGES BUT THERE'S NO REASON TO KNOW BECAUSE THEY LOOK ABOUT 30, 40 TO ME, MARY RAGLAN AND ALICE DIXON, UH, WHO SERVED IN THE SIX TRIPLE EIGHT, THE ONLY UNIT OF AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN IN THE WOMEN'S ARMY CORPS TO SERVE OVERSEAS DURING WORLD WAR II.

PLEASE GIVE THEM A ROUND OF APPLAUSE.

I KNOW MARY IS HERE.

AS WELL AS ALICE.

(APPLAUSE) ♪ COULDN'T WAIT FOR THE EGG TO HATCH ♪ ♪ USED TO BURN BOTH ENDS OF THE MATCH ♪ ♪ COULDN'T WAIT FOR THE CAKE TO BAKE ♪ ♪ BUT NOW I CAN SEE IT'S A BIG MISTAKE ♪ ♪ PATIENCE AND FORTITUDE ♪ PATIENCE AND FORTITUDE ♪ PATIENCE AND FORTITUDE ♪ AND THINGS WILL COME YOUR WAY ♪ ♪ RIVER WEAR AWAY THE ROCK WITH PATIENT FORTITUDE ♪ ♪ AND RUST WILL SPOIL THE STRONGEST LOCK ♪ ♪ WITH PATIENT FORTITUDE ♪ HOTTEST FIRES WILL SOON GROW COLD ♪ ♪ WITH PATIENT FORTITUDE ♪ AWFUL NANNY WILL GROW OLD HAVE PATIENT FORTITUDE ♪ ♪ HALLELUJAH ♪ PATIENCE AND FORTITUDE ♪ PATIENCE AND FORTITUDE ♪ PATIENCE AND FORTITUDE ♪ AND THINGS WILL COME YOUR WAY ♪ ♪ HALLELUJAH ♪ ♪ DIRECTOR WILL HAVE A BRUTAL TEST ♪ ♪ WITH PATIENCE AND FORTITUDE ♪ DICK TRACY WILL GET A REST HAVE PATIENCE FORTITUDE ♪ ♪ PULLMAN TRAINS WILL SOON... HAVE PATIENCE FORTITUDE ♪ ♪ CROSBY'S HORSE WILL WIN A RACE HAVE PATIENCE FORTITUDE ♪ ♪ NO DANGER ♪ PATIENCE AND FORTITUDE ♪ PATIENCE AND FORTITUDE ♪ PATIENCE AND FORTITUDE ♪ AND FAITH WILL COME YOUR WAY ♪ AND FAITH WILL COME YOUR WAY ♪ AND FAITH WILL COME YOUR WAY