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who asked about the men’s morale but no one responded. Then Hinton addressed Sgt. George Gayles, a Black soldier, about the troops' morale and he replied: “The men are dissatisfied.” Hinton then asked, “Are you dissatisfied?” Gayles replied, “Yes.” As a result of his response, he was demoted to private, the lowest rank.</p><p id="04a7">James came to Gayles’ rescue of being demoted advising that it was unfair to demote Gayles for just answering a question. This was a great injustice and because James who was a sergeant came to the defense of Gayles, he was commanded to remove his stripes, and other Black soldiers followed suit and turned in theirs, also.</p><p id="90ba">Two months later, military police officers with submachine guns swarmed the camp and arrested the 18 soldiers. After their arrest, they were court-martialed and convicted after a hasty trial aka kangaroo court per James.

James was imprisoned at the Shepton Mallet, a facility constructed during the reign of James I over England, and William Shakespeare was alive. He was later sent to Rikers Island in New York and later to Terre Haute, Indiana.</p><p id="d899"><b>James’ </b>family heard of his imprisonment and sought local leaders in Chicago where James grew up and received help from a Catholic organization, the Friendship House, a civil rights entity.</p><p id="bc00">October 1945, the Chicago Sun-Times reported on the court-martial and his Attorney Leon Despres pressed for a Senate investigation. Because of their intervention, James along with a few others were sent back to duty at Ft. Knox.</p><p id="174a"><b>James</b> was imprisoned a little more than a year and was honorably discharged in 1947. The military docked his service for the time incarcerated. James began a new life by returning to school, first at the University of Michigan and then Harvard University.</p><p id="49a1">James as a mathematician for the aerospace industry found himself in demand as he moved his family across the country several times, eventually landing in Southern Califonia and working for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.</p><p id="3c4b">Never forgetting how wrong he was treated in the military, during the 1980s and 90s, James contacted the Army to clear his record but the Army did not respond. February of this year, his son David contacted the Army, and no response. James never gave up his pursuit to clear his name.</p><p id="dcb1">Due to the efforts of The Times inquiring about James, case, Army officials responded that they will connect James and his family with the Army Review Boards Agency, the highest level of administrative review.</p><p id="6e0c"><b>Jam</b>es received a response that they place a high priority on error or injustice cases and advised of the protocol to follow and they couldn’t guarantee a speedy process but due to James' age will expedite the matter.</p><p id="9d9b">Soon to be 101 thereafter ushering in his 102nd year of birth, believed when encountering racism, it was an obligation t

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o speak out about it. He encountered racism all of his life and lived by this simple rule, “You recognize it and you speak up. But then you move on. Life is too short.”</p><p id="7c26">James was born on February 7, 1921. His father was Black and Cherokee and his mother were Creole whose family migrated from Haiti to the United States. After graduating high school, James attended the Illinois Institute of Technology and Wilson Junior College in Chicago and worked as a junior engineer draftsman before being drafted in 1943. He served as a technician in the Army.</p><p id="e426">In conclusion, James served his country well in the military and it is long overdue for the Army to do the same for him. The Army should not allow this man to close his eyes and leave this earth with a blemish on his record due to racism. As Dr. King stated, “One should be judged by their character and not the color of their skin.” America needs to stop the hate that it has been doing for hundreds of years. The day of reckoning is here and long overdue.</p><p id="c117">For additional reads:</p><div id="80c1" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/the-legendary-general-charles-mcgee-tuskegee-airman-102-d6c2afff65b4"> <div> <div> <h2>The Legendary General Charles McGee-Tuskegee Airman — 102</h2> <div><h3>How a celebrated life leaves a legacy of a barrier breaker.</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/0*ZPLviafP2R2gDHVC.jpg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><div id="3005" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/the-supeme-court-plessy-vs-ferguson-gets-a-makeover-8d6fcd171f57"> <div> <div> <h2>The Supeme Court — Plessy vs. Ferguson Gets a Makeover</h2> <div><h3>How segregation was an evil that caused much harm and death.</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/0*SxubBHmVjgCyKhLh)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><div id="0607" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/u-s-colored-troops-thank-you-for-your-service-564c0bf69b5c"> <div> <div> <h2>U.S. Colored Troops Thank You for Your Service</h2> <div><h3>How the United States Colored Troops help win the war</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/0*DShQEkQJIpegg280.jpg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div></article></body>

Bernard James Fights for his Dignity from Army’s Injustice

How the first one hundred years of his life were the hardest, 101 looks good and 102 even better.

Many are born to be while others strive to be making contributions to America’s fabric. Some shine in the sun, as the sun emerges with much glow around them.

Bernard James is a pioneering Black soldier and mutineer in WWII still beaming and soaring as he turns 101 years old amidst much adoration for helping to launch the U.S. into space. He worked on the Apollo and Mercury space missions.

At 101, he is retired and is among a dwindling number of surviving World War II veterans. James as an engineer worked on two space missions. He has a great sense of humor stating that the first 100 years of his life were the hardest. Also chimed that his 101 birthday is a prime number in mathematics and hopes of a piece of chocolate cake with mounds of white frosting.

Many fought and died for the freedom of America. James is among an elite and great generation of men and women who served during World War II. Out of the 16 million Americans that served in the war, approximately 240,300 WWII veterans are alive today per the Department of Veterans Affairs.

As America thrived during the war years, so did racism in the military. James, a Black soldier, dared to question a white superior officer and later found himself imprisoned for mutiny and insubordination.

James’ family consists of 10 children and four grandchildren. The James family sought hard in the face of Covid-19 to get the court-martial expunged from James’ military record. Time was not on their side so there was an extreme push to clear James’ record, as he had hoped and tried during the last 70-plus years to have his record set straight and corrected by the U.S. Army. His Son joined in the fight to clear his dad’s record as he wrote to the military branch a week before James’ 101 birthday and for his father to live to see his record wiped clean.

James and 17 other Black soldiers were court-martialed for asking a white commanding officer a simple question. He was with the 641st Ordnance Company, a segregated all-Black unit with six white officers. They were all subjected to substandard quality of life in the military, degrading racist remarks, and told their bodies were not their own. They were constantly called the N-word.

Not surprisingly, Mr. James conveyed that in the military there was an unwritten code that no Black person would be promoted and would not be acknowledged for any heroic or outstanding accomplishments.

March 1944, 100 men were summoned into a meeting by Hinton, a white officer, who asked about the men’s morale but no one responded. Then Hinton addressed Sgt. George Gayles, a Black soldier, about the troops' morale and he replied: “The men are dissatisfied.” Hinton then asked, “Are you dissatisfied?” Gayles replied, “Yes.” As a result of his response, he was demoted to private, the lowest rank.

James came to Gayles’ rescue of being demoted advising that it was unfair to demote Gayles for just answering a question. This was a great injustice and because James who was a sergeant came to the defense of Gayles, he was commanded to remove his stripes, and other Black soldiers followed suit and turned in theirs, also.

Two months later, military police officers with submachine guns swarmed the camp and arrested the 18 soldiers. After their arrest, they were court-martialed and convicted after a hasty trial aka kangaroo court per James. James was imprisoned at the Shepton Mallet, a facility constructed during the reign of James I over England, and William Shakespeare was alive. He was later sent to Rikers Island in New York and later to Terre Haute, Indiana.

James’ family heard of his imprisonment and sought local leaders in Chicago where James grew up and received help from a Catholic organization, the Friendship House, a civil rights entity.

October 1945, the Chicago Sun-Times reported on the court-martial and his Attorney Leon Despres pressed for a Senate investigation. Because of their intervention, James along with a few others were sent back to duty at Ft. Knox.

James was imprisoned a little more than a year and was honorably discharged in 1947. The military docked his service for the time incarcerated. James began a new life by returning to school, first at the University of Michigan and then Harvard University.

James as a mathematician for the aerospace industry found himself in demand as he moved his family across the country several times, eventually landing in Southern Califonia and working for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Never forgetting how wrong he was treated in the military, during the 1980s and 90s, James contacted the Army to clear his record but the Army did not respond. February of this year, his son David contacted the Army, and no response. James never gave up his pursuit to clear his name.

Due to the efforts of The Times inquiring about James, case, Army officials responded that they will connect James and his family with the Army Review Boards Agency, the highest level of administrative review.

James received a response that they place a high priority on error or injustice cases and advised of the protocol to follow and they couldn’t guarantee a speedy process but due to James' age will expedite the matter.

Soon to be 101 thereafter ushering in his 102nd year of birth, believed when encountering racism, it was an obligation to speak out about it. He encountered racism all of his life and lived by this simple rule, “You recognize it and you speak up. But then you move on. Life is too short.”

James was born on February 7, 1921. His father was Black and Cherokee and his mother were Creole whose family migrated from Haiti to the United States. After graduating high school, James attended the Illinois Institute of Technology and Wilson Junior College in Chicago and worked as a junior engineer draftsman before being drafted in 1943. He served as a technician in the Army.

In conclusion, James served his country well in the military and it is long overdue for the Army to do the same for him. The Army should not allow this man to close his eyes and leave this earth with a blemish on his record due to racism. As Dr. King stated, “One should be judged by their character and not the color of their skin.” America needs to stop the hate that it has been doing for hundreds of years. The day of reckoning is here and long overdue.