In God We Trust
Where to begin? Although the President of the United States ordered integration of black and white troops, the injustices against black veterans were extensive. For instance…
"A newspaper reporter from Baltimore's Afro-American first informed Thurgood Marshall that more than 50 black soldiers had been arrested in Korea, a number out of proportion to the average arrests of white soldiers. In 1951, the NAACP sent Marshall into the war-zone to investigate; he eventually cleared most of the soldiers' charges. Marshall: 'There were records of trials, so-called trials, in the middle of the night where the men were sentenced to life imprisonment in hearings that lasted less than ten minutes. They were the old well-known drumhead court-martials, done in the heat of passion and in the heat of war.'
There were fifty or sixty involved. One death penalty case. I remember in particular: the record showed that this man was charged with being absent in the presence of the enemy. Instead of being charged with AWOL, (Absent Without Leave) he was charged with cowardice in the presence of the enemy. And fortunately for him, he produced two witnesses: a major in the Medical Corps and a lieutenant in the Nurse Corps, both of whom testified that he was in a base hospital the very day that he was supposed to be AWOL. And despite their testimony, he was convicted and given life imprisonment." [Source: Korean War Courts Martial, American Radio Works Public Radio]
In 1950, Lieutenant Leon Gilbert of the still-segregated 24th Infantry Regiment was court-martialed and sentenced to death for refusing to obey the orders of a white officer while serving in the Korean War. Gilbert maintained that the orders would have meant certain death for himself and the men in his command. The case led to worldwide protests and increased attention to segregation and racism in the U.S. military. Gilbert's sentence was commuted to twenty and later seventeen years of imprisonment; he served five years and was released. [Source: Military History of African-Americans, Wikipedia]
on August 1, 1952, Pvt. Sarah Keys was en route from Fort Dix, New Jersey to her family's home in Washington, North Carolina, on a Carolina Coach Company Bus. During a bus change stop, the bus driver ordered Private Keys to give up her seat to a white Marine. Sarah refused, was put in jail for 13 hours, and forced to pay a $25 fine for disorderly conduct. Her parents encouraged her to file a lawsuit against the bus company, which she did. Her attorney was former WAAC and African-American lawyer Dovey Mae Johnson Roundtree (1914-2018). Attorney Roundtree graduated from Howard University Law School in 1950. Miss Keys won her case, resulting in an Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) ruling prohibiting segregation on interstate buses. The ruling was made public on November 25, 1955, six days before Rosa Parks refused to move to the back of a bus. The ICC did not enforce its own ruling until 1961. Sarah Keys married George Evans in 1958 and became a hairdresser in Harlem. On August 1, 2020, a plaza with eight chronological murals and two bronze plaques was dedicated to Sarah Keys Evans in the MLK Park, Roanoke Rapids.
T/Sgt. Peter J. Paulfrey Jr., a World War II and Korean War veteran, was sentenced to 20 years in an army prison for disobeying an order to be sent to the front. He disobeyed because he suffered from recurring headaches and depression as the result of a motorcycle accident. Born January 24, 1924, he died February 19, 2007. On his tombstone in the Port Hudson National Cemetery, Zachary, Louisiana, is written: "I fought the good fight, kept the faith, and won."
Earl Phoenix of Rialto, California, a former member of Company M, 24th Infantry Regiment, was the recipient of a Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star with Oak Leaf Cluster, Bronze Star with two Oak Leaf Clusters, Purple Heart with three Oak Leaf Clusters, and other awards. He wrote to Gen. Colin Powell, Joint Chief of Staff, Pentagon, Washington, D.C., with this statement: "All of these medals, citations and ribbons won't put a loaf of bread on the table." He continued, "I am a very disappointed Black Korean War-time disabled veteran, disappointed at the government of the United States for letting those biased prejudiced generals and colonels treat the black soldiers who are defending this nation with their lives. Yes, we took an oath and promise to defend this nation with our lives if necessary. This, the black soldier has done and fulfilled their obligation to this nation.l Now it's time this nation fulfilled her promises and obligation to our wartime disabled veterans and keep her promises to us. This was the promise that this nation made to us. This great nation of liberty and justice for all men should your country ever call you into uniform and should you ever become disabled in the defense of our nation, your comfort lies in the assurance that quality medical care and compassionate help will be there when needed, this nation's gratitude never wanting a defender's deed ever forgotten but the best of care for their disabilites and lasting help for families. The help and care from a nation that truly believes no one has more earned the nation's support than American war-time disabled veterans. Were these just words spoken with a forked tongue, or are they just trying to back out of this nation's obligation? We have fulfulled our obligation and debt to this nation with our blood. Now our nation's leaders are trying to back out of this nation's obligation to us wartime disabled veterans. Then, to make it so bad, they are trying to give it away to some foreigner--a million dollars a day to someone that don't give a damn about this nation but what they can get out of them. Here I am totally disabled. Can't work. Can't see. And they are hollering paying this totally disabled wartime veteran 100% disability benefits, but they are giving millions away to some foreigners. That's no justice and liberty for us disabled veterans."
Capt. Forest Walker led a successful bayonet and hand-grenade charge against well-dug-in North Koreans during the battle at Wonju in mid-January 1951. As a result of his bravery he was awarded the Silver Star. However, when Gen. Ned Almond heard about the award he stopped it and relieved Walker of his command.