African-Americans have fought for our freedoms
since the
founding of the Republic
By Kevin E. Dayhoff, Sunday, November 10, 2013
This coming Monday, November 11, is Veteran’s Day. For many
it is a day to pause and remember that the freedoms we enjoy have been paid for
in full by the service in harm’s way by our country’s nearly 22 million
military veterans.
According to the local Molleville Farm Post # 467 of the
Veterans of Foreign Wars, in 2008 9.2 million veterans were older than 64 years
of age and 1.9 million were younger than 35.
In 2009, 1.5 million of our veterans were female, 1.1
million Hispanic and 2.3 million are African-American.
“If you study American
history very closely, you will see that African-Americans have been stepping up
to the plate to defend our nation since the founding of the Republic,”
according to Brig. Gen. Linda Singh, 49, the recently appointed
commander of the Maryland Army National Guard.
A month ago, on October 11, Singh was one of two keynote
speakers at the 11th annual Carroll County National Association for
the Advancement of Colored People, Branch # 7014 Freedom Fund Banquet in
Westminster – along with U.S. Congressman Elijah Cummings, D-Dist. 7.
Soon after Singh assumed the commander responsibilities in
August, she appointed Command Sgt. Maj. Thomas Beyard to serve as the Maryland
Army National Guard Command Sergeant Major. Many know Beyard, who served twice in
the Middle East between 2006 and 2012, as the Westminster city director of
housing and preservation services.
Singh is the first African-American – and the first woman to
assume the position of commander. “I did not rise to my current assignment by
myself. I stood on the shoulders of giants. For much of America's history, one
nagging fact of life for African American military members is that they were
risking their lives for second class citizenship up to the time of the war in
Vietnam…
“If you ask why they would do this the answer from most is
that this is their country too and there was always a hope that the inequities
of the time would be settled. During the Revolutionary War, a newly freed slave
named Peter Salem joined the Massachusetts Militia as a condition of his
freedom. The folks were also known as
Minutemen… During the American Civil
War, 180,000 African Americans fought for the Union Army…”
“African-Americans have served in all of America's wars,”
according to historian Jay Graybeal. He reported in research that he conducted
for the Historical Society of Carroll County in the early 1990s, “Over 10,000
blacks served in the Continental Army and Navy forces; another 1,000 served
with the British. Black seamen fought with great distinction at the critical
Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812.
“The Federal government enlisted 178,975 blacks during the
Civil War; 69,178 died during the conflict. Blacks were again called for
service in World War I. Approximately 90 Carroll County men served in all-black
U.S. Army units,” wrote Graybeal.
Another historian, Duane K. Doxzen, reported in his research
for the Historical Society in the 1990s, “Although blacks had served in
military units before the Civil War, it was this conflict that saw the
enlistment of blacks in large numbers. A significant number of Carroll County
free blacks and manumitted slaves enlisted in the United States Colored Troops.
Most of these volunteers served in the Fourth Regiment U.S.C.T., a unit that
had been formed around the volunteers from the two thousand black Baltimoreans
who had aided in the fortification of the city amidst the panic of Robert E.
Lee's northward incursion in 1863.
“We know at least fifty three blacks from Carroll County
served in the United States Colored Troops during the Civil War. Of this number
seven were killed in action, died as the result of a wound inflicted in battle
or died of disease. Seven others were discharged or mustered out with wounds or
disabilities resulting from their service,” reported Doxzen.
“After the Civil War, the U.S. Congress allowed four colored
regiments to be part of the United States Army...two cavalry and two infantry,”
said Singh.
“Perhaps the most famous of those regiments was the l0th
Cavalry. The soldiers of the regiment were nicknamed "Buffalo
Soldiers" by Native
Americans because of the similarity of their hair to that of
buffaloes.
“These soldiers fought Geronimo, bandits, bootleggers,
Mexican revolutionaries and guarded the lives of American settlers who were
occupying the West. The regiment fought alongside of Teddy Roosevelt's Rough
Riders during his attack on San Juan Hill in Cuba during the Spanish American
War.”
Singh observed, “The American Armed Forces were still
largely segregated when World War II began in 1941. This did not stop African
Americans from volunteering to serve their country….
“More than 966 African American aviators were trained at an
isolated training complex at the Tuskegee Institute near the town of Tuskegee
Alabama… Four hundred and fifty black fighter pilots under the command of
Colonel (later Lieutenant General) Benjamin 0. Davis, Jr. fought in the aerial
war over North Africa, Sicily, and Europe…”
“While President Truman desegregated the Armed Forces in
1948, the civilian sector, especially in the south stubbornly grasped to
segregation,” said Singh. “This did not stop African Americans from pursuing
successful careers in the Armed Forces… Many African American women have made
and are making successful careers in the American armed forces…
“Despite its historical flaws, the American Armed Forces has
been a stellar example for personal achievement based on merit this is because,
advancement, for the most part, is based upon what you do, not who you know….”
President John F. Kennedy said it best, “A nation reveals
itself not only by the by the people it produces, but also by the people it
honors, the people it remembers”.
Throughout history ordinary people have served in our
extraordinary military and accomplished extraordinary things. For this we are
eternally indebted and grateful.
And let’s not forget to say Happy Birthday Marines. November
10, 1775, is the official birthday of the United States Marine Corps.
Westminster will honor Veterans Day on Monday, Nov. 11, 4
p.m. at the Westminster Recreation and Parks Family Center, located in the old
Longwell Armory, 11 Longwell Ave. The event is hosted by Carroll Post 31
American Legion.
When he is not reminiscing about serving in the Marines and
whistling the “Marines’ Hymn,” “… from the Halls of Montezuma to the shores of
Tripoli…,” while raking leaves, Kevin Dayhoff may be reached at kevindayhoff
(at) gmail.com. Semper Fi.
