f é / <4
■
4 Portland Observer Thursday. N ovem ber9. 1978
'faMdtf /f&M lloVtkuetí,
■>,
. V
■!
•V M .
by Kathryn H. Bogle
TO
ALL
- fe r ir
W HOM
IT
MAY
tw ^*XZ/V ùz< k
/$ « /« < $ _
V 'W W
/
^ > //r ,A Z
CONCERN.
Zs*rS
<6 / / f a----- //< f fZS
» 'M .rX Y *« *- m -
m m
. I*.
^ s »
y
—»
*” ' Z " 7/
/ XYVZx
«•—.« » . «... • « -* , IH.MI II vK«.»li <•--. M. - - — -, ». r.. w ■*». «
Z
f
to e
/J f * /? f / i
»»a -,
With the painful knowledge that
'Me beautiful ideals o f Democracy
exist side by side w ith the ugly
realities
of
segregation
and
inequality. Black Americans have,
nevertheless, borne arms to defend
this country since Crispus Attucks
gave his life for his country in Boston
dunng the .American Revolution.
The Civil W ar had iu “ Colored"
Infantry of the L nited States Army.
Here in Portland lives the grand
daughter of George Lee She is Mrs
Gustavui Sheckles W inslow-Bonner
Her grandfather had been a volun
teer joining "Com pany G o f the
108th Regiment o f the ‘Colored* In
fan try" from Kentucky some 114
years ago. Mrs. Bonner and her
family treasure the original army
discharge papers releasing George
Lee from further army service on
"this 21 day o f March. 1866.”
dr8rt8d
Worid W »r » presented
Perewetl Concert at the Portland Armory on the day of
their induction - Robert Kelly. Qcea McN.tl, Herbert
World W ar I veteran Ralph
Sheckles, 1917. (Winslow Family
Collection)
Uva War Documents. (Winslow Family Collection i
i t s Good to ¿(now...
px.ggȣ-v
M rs. Bonner also holds the
original document issued by the U.S.
Department of the interior which
grants to Jennie Lee. Mrs. Bonner’s
grandmother, the pension earned by
Corporal George Lee for his army
service. The pension came to her as
the widow of her soldier husband.
The amount? $12.00 per month. . . A
faded picture o f James A rthur, a
veteran o f the Spanish American
war, appears in the family album of
Gladys Baker Dukes . . . In the
uniform o f W orld W ar I. Ralph
Sheckles stands straight and tall. An
uncle to Mrs. Bonner. Mrs. Sheckles
also came from Kentucky where
M rs. B onner’ s fam ily had their
roots . . .
. . . W'orld War I I drew many
Black Portlanders in the lottery of
the draft, but there also were some
who enlisted and could choose their
branch of the service.
quickly to Fort Lewis. From there to
“ Boot" training at the U.S. Naval
Center in San Diego was also a fast
trip.
Hilliard saw service from aboard
the “ Windham Bay,” an escort A ir
craft Carrier built in Vancouver,
Washington Despite the fact that
President Harry Truman had at this
time issued the historic order in
tegrating the armed services, the or
ders had not yet reached ’ implemen
tation" in these seas of the South
Pacific where the “ Windham Bay”
sailed. According to H illiard, he,
and only others of dark skin, were
placed together and were designated
as longshore crews.
Bill loaded and unloaded supplies
all through his hitch in the Navy as
the vessels rode at anchor looking in
to the jungles o f Guam and Saipan.
He served "exactly one year and
eighteen d ay s," H illia rd recalls
without hesitation. He was given his
discharge as Seaman ,/c , came home
and was ready for enrollment at
Pacific University.
Tw o other Portlanders. Jack
Holsclaw and Charles Duke, were
Bagley and Hubert Lewis Standing above a James Ar
thur. veteran of the Spanish American War. (Photo Duke
Family Album,
pilots and members o f this proud
group. They flew P-40 Warhawks
with open cockpits. Often as they
flew low, strafing the enemy, the air
scoops under the planes’ noses
picked up the rocks and grass kicked
up by their own machine gun fire.
Never seriously injured in the great
number o f assaults he made during
the war years, now in the many years
o f piloting afterwards. Deu. in 1962,
put away ten air medals and his
Distinguished Flying Cross. He had
been in the service “ twenty years,
two months and seven days. ”
"B lack Americans went into
W'orld War 11 in a state o f national
anger phis their own anger with the
place of Black men in American
Society,” said M ajo r Deiz. " W e
used this anger positively and
demonstrated that skill and courage
and pride in a job well done do not
belong to any man just because of his
skin color."
John Leftndge. drafted in Port
land, now 35 years ago almost to the
day. (it was 11/21/43). went to Fort
Lewis but was transferred quickly to
«
John Leftndge
Indian Town Gap, a military reser
vation in Pennsylvania.
John became an expen marksman,
was given duties as a mail clerk and.
as a Tec/5, was assigned to the 550th
Port Battalion. This was an all-Black
unit with white officers during the
time they were stationed overseas in
Wales. The unit also went to France,
arriving a few weeks after D-Day as
(Please turn to Page 5 Column I)
Fred Meyer
S h o t» < » « rtri (
•-» » ••••«
9
C o m b «I Y nbz I
ltM fT n
Super Shopping Centers
Help Lower Your
Cost of Living . . .
W M ,U
U M M T U M U U CtCOTT KAM
* fm ojm m tbi
" /in in e r fia tf’-
MO FINANCE
COMPANY
er BANK
levelvad
DENTURES
S « * r f»«„ • M MOST CAMS
C m m ia bafar« 10 e.m. ana
Wa WM Try M OaMvar yaar
Pannaa» by 4 p.m Saa»« D a y
F * ff
um
Estimates
MO INTEREST OR
CARRYING CHARGE'
P e R te th o l
SLEEP D U R IN G
E x tra c tio n s & FilKnrys
.,eam atí Anwrtwt«» m
[EMERGENCY
ORTHOOOMTIC
Loco toe <n Oar
Forbana o*f.ca
AU
D e ità ]
Iis ir a ic e
Accepted
Torma A v a m o
rOffwa
Anoodanca
O R T H O D O N T IC ------
mi
Treatment fo r
H el fa r t P m tr .n
Accepted
NEW '
of Adult * b Children '•
TEETH
Ear FREE Conauttabon fr Eabmata
A p p o in tm e n t C ab O a r O ttic a -
Phono 277 3427
----------- FAST-
Dental
Repairs
RfNTNRI RIPAUS
I « • J M a a r»
•
ta M m , C o m ,
Phone — 2 2 7 -2 4 2 7
D a . B iwu L
________ - . T
D B W T X P T
S-tK-Un
H iH ift
51 5
» H U M ,.
Closed Saturdays
Tour nearby Fred Meyer Super Shopping Center is filled with ' People Pleasing” services
to make your shopping more pleasant Wide, spacious aisles, friendly helpful clerks and un
dercover parcel loading are just some of the People Pleasing services to you. Plus
everyday low prices on thousands of items you use and need everyday help lower your cost
Of living,
c A ,^ ? USe WB fe ° Pen 9 * ' m tO 10 P’m ’ da'*v' ,nclud,n0 Sunday, you can shop when you
tmoHth* '*00* Wh* n VOU HAVE tO Con*
• nVtifne and "funshop'' in a pleasant, relaxed
I*
A ve
&
lj
taoraar tuda, A WaitMaeWa
S • I
OFFICIS ALSO IN SALIM A INAIMI
William Hilliard
Duke Collection)
(Photo: Gladys
W illiam H illiard in the accom
panying photograph was just out of
high school. He was eighteen years
old, had been senior class secretary
at Benson, had studied technical
radio and also was showing an in
terest in journalism.
Bill, at graduation, had been the
recipient o f a Criterion Club scholar
ship which gave him his choice of
colleges and a year’s tuition. (Mem
bers of this local dub were Mr. and
Mrs. Willis Williams, M r. and Mrs
John M in o r and M r. and Mrs.
Stephen W right.,
W ith in th irty days a fter his
graduation Hilliard received a letter
from Uncle Sam and was shuttled
Walnut Park „
E. Killingsworth at Union
Interstate
• Peninsula
N Lombard at Interstate
Lombard
Plenty of Free and Easy Parking
Open 9 am to 10 pm daily, including Sunday.
F