[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 103 (Thursday, July 22, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1490-E1491]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    THE PATH TO GLORY: CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR, NAVY CROSS AND 
        DISTINGUISHED SERVICE CROSS AFRICAN AMERICAN RECIPIENTS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. CORRINE BROWN

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 22, 2004

  Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, the setting for the 15th 
Anniversary of the Congressional Black Caucus's Veterans Braintrust 
took place amid repeated inferences that the Congressional Black Caucus 
CBC and other Democrats were unpatriotic. Despite the CBC's 
determination to express it's patriotism we support the troops while 
continuing to raise the volume of criticism about the current 
engagement in Iraq, and/or the War on Terrorism.
  With this as the larger socio-political backdrop the Veterans 
Braintrust decided to invite some of our most heroic African Americans, 
their family members and advocates such as Sgt. Andrew Bowman, Asa 
Gordon, Elizabeth Rankin-Fulcher, Maj. Robert Greene, USA, Ret., John 
Howe, Steve Harris, Alonzo Swann, Jr., Allene Carter, CDR. Ross Fowler, 
USCG, Ret., Lee & Cornelius Charlton, Mark Pitts, Baba Henderson, Dr. 
Frank Smith, Jr., Betty Stokes, Mary Jones, and Isaac Prentice to 
Washington, DC as a special testimonial to our collective patriotism, 
sacrifice and valor on behalf of this great nation during her many 
times of trouble and conflict.
  Thus, consciously choosing to illuminate some historical facts and 
advocate in effect that countless African Americans have served in 
America's wars, been shot, wounded and disabled, yet continue to be 
neglected, or denied quality health care and access to other benefits 
and services, including basic equal rights.
  Equally important, the 15th Anniversary Veterans Braintrust National 
Issues Forum ``The Path to Glory: The Congressional Medal of Honor, 
Navy Cross, and Distinguished Service Cross Recipients'' also known as 
the pyramid of honor; and subtitled: ``Revisiting the Battles of Sgt. 
Henry Johnson and Dorie Miller for the Congressional Medal Honor,'' was 
indeed a historic milestone. For the first time in our nations history 
the families of African American recipients of the Congressional Medal 
of Honor, along with awardees of the Navy Cross and the Distinguished 
Service Cross (DSC) were gathered in one room. Additionally, the issues 
forum was exceptionally well attended with representatives coming from 
as far away as Albany, New York, Detroit, Michigan, Indianapolis, 
Indiana, and Los Angeles, California.
  While the CBC represents 26 million African Americans, including more 
than 2 million African American veterans, we all recognize our country 
faces many challenges both within and without that is why 
Representative Sanford Bishop, Jr. D-GA and I felt a moral obligation, 
not a duty at this time to look back and reexamine issues from the 
past, closely related to the awarding of the military's highest awards 
for heroism and valor--The Congressional Medal of Honor, Navy Cross and 
Distinguished Service Cross.
  Here again, the Veterans Braintrust which is widely recognized as the 
premiere forum for debate between veterans of African descent and 
government officials sought to examine some of the historically vexing 
issues, individual war narratives, and family testimonies associated 
with more than a century and a half of the awarding of the military's 
highest awards for bravery and valor.
  To help provide a framework for this historical and contemporary 
analysis war/veteran narratives included the Civil War, Indian 
Campaigns of the 19th Century, and World War I, World War II, Korean 
and Vietnam Conflicts of the 20th Century in the wake of growing 
criticism of US Foreign Policy, raising concerns about the fate of 
affirmative action, and the ever increasing African American health 
disparities.
  Executive Director Ron Armstead layed the groundwork by researching 
William Raspberry's `Two Heroes, No Medals of Honor' column examining 
two black war heroes quest for posthumous Congressional Medals of 
Honor: Sgt. Henry Johnson, a World War I Infantryman from Albany, and 
Seaman Dorius `Dorie' Miller, a World War II hero from Waco, Texas. The 
column cited, although the military services, while not discounting 
their heroism, have steadfastly refused to go along with any attempts 
to grant Johnson and Miller the Medal of Honor. While countering, that 
although no black soldier was awarded the medal of honor during WWI, 
approximately 50 black soldiers were awarded the DSC, the Army's second 
highest award for valor in combat, for their extraordinary heroism in 
WWI. As a result, the number of black servicemen to receive CMH's for 
their heroism in the two world wars of the twentieth century remained 
zero until the 1990's.
  Further, our war/veteran narratives revealed the Navy's reluctance to 
embrace black war heroes in 1944 met it's timely demise 48 years later 
when Alonzo Swann, Jr., then 67, of Gary, Indiana stepped aboard his 
old ship the USS Intrepid, an aircraft carrier and accepted the Navy's 
highest award for bravery--the

[[Page E1491]]

Navy Cross. His medal came nearly a half-century after he and his 
African American shipmates in Intrepid's Gun Tub #10 shot down a 
Japanese kamikaze plane. However, his odyssey began October 27, 1944, 
when the captain of the Intrepid, Joseph Bolfger, recommended all seven 
survivors for the Navy Cross, just short of the Medal of Honor, the 
nation's highest award and conducted meritorious mast on board the ship 
for the men. Yet, when the commendations were sent on to Washington, 
they came back, with the men being given only Bronze Stars, or lower 
medals with no apparent explanation for the change.
  Notwithstanding Swann's long, arduous and lonely court battle to 
receive the belated honor, it wasn't until 1997 that another of his 
shipmates Navy Petty Officer Robert Jones, by then 71, and a resident 
of Newport News, Virginia received his Navy Cross, again more than 50 
years afterward in a stately ceremony held at the Capitol Building in 
Washington, DC, hosted by Congressman Robert ``Bobby'' Scott (D-VA).
  Furthermore, family testimonies revealed America in 1951 prior to the 
Brown versus the Board of Education decision was a very different place 
when Sgt. Charlton, who would have been 22, had he lived to his 
birthday, July 24, distinguished himself in battle to such an extent 
that he earned his nation's highest recognition for valor--the Medal of 
Honor. However, when his body was returned from Korea, his family was 
denied the right to bury his remains in Arlington National Cemetery 
with other Medal of Honor recipients. Sgt. Charlton was a war hero, but 
Cornelius Charlton was black.
  Moreover, it wasn't until 1990, when the American Legion spearheaded 
an effort to locate the graves of all Medal of Honor recipients. 
Through their efforts Charlton's final resting place was identified as 
Bryant Memorial Park, which had become overgrown.
  Yet, equally poignant, family testimonies revealed that it wasn't 
until 1997, a half century since WWII, and President Harry Truman who 
stood on the White House grounds and awarded 28 United States Medals of 
Honor to white soldiers for their outstanding valor that black soldiers 
who were denied the recognition accorded their white counterparts, were 
awarded the same honor--the Medal of Honor. During a White House 
ceremony former President Clinton presented the nation's highest 
military award for bravery to seven black WWII heroes, six of which 
were awarded posthumously. The only living veteran awarded the medal of 
honor during the ceremony was 77-year-old Vernon Baker, of St. Maries, 
Idaho. The other heroes finally awarded the Medal of Honor were: Edward 
A. Carter, Jr., John R. Fox, Wily F. James, Jr., Ruben Rivers, Charles 
L. Thomas, and George Watson. Attending the ceremony was retired Army 
General Colin Powell, who as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was 
the highest ranking African American in the military.
  And now almost a century and a half after the end of the Civil War, a 
resurgence of interest and advocacy on behalf of legendary Harriet 
Tubman has gradually materialized, while on the other hand the first-
ever memorials to honor black war heroes within: (a) the Commonwealth 
of Virginia is being planned; (b) the first national park monument was 
dedicated to Mississippi Black Civil War soldiers; (c) a monument/
memorial is being planned to honor the Seminole Negro Indian Scouts and 
their families; (d) a US Colored Troops USCT plaque dedication is being 
planned for Andersonville National Historic Site in southwest Georgia; 
and finally planning is underway for the North Chicago Memorial Park/
Monument dedicated to the 100,000 men who went through the Great Lakes 
Naval Training Center during World War II.
  Later that evening we gathered drenching ourselves in the richness of 
Black history and feeling mixtures of both pride and pain as we 
awarded, or publicly recognized, acknowledged and meaningfully 
remembered those who fought for people they had never even met. 
Something quite austere happened at the gala reception and award 
ceremony, which prompted many to say, `I thought we did therapy that 
night,' and left others crying and emotional. We have given these 
awards annually over the course of the past ten years. This year our 
honorees included three categories: (1) individual awardees: Norma 
Baker, GSgt. Maurice Bingham, USMC, Ret., Celestine Caldwell Hollings, 
Paul J. Matthews, Cpl. Fred McGee, USA, Freddi E. Moody, Master Chief 
Vince Patton, USCG, Ret., Ed.D., Lt. Col. Charles H. Rucks, USMC, Ret., 
Isiah J. Williams, III, Master Chief Harold Wilson, USN, Ret., and 
Wallace Terry (Posthumous); (2) organizational awardees: the Center for 
Drug Abuse Research, Howard University, Community Anti-Drug Coalition 
of America, Harlem Youth Marines, Inc., Morgan State University, The 
Association of the 2221 Negro Volunteers, WWII, and the 1279th Combat 
Engineers Alumni Association; and (3) historic groups and/or sites: 
United States Colored Troops Institute and Olustee Battlefield 
Historical State Park.

  Finally, as we prepare our special 15th Anniversary report, after-
action briefs and legislative proposals we must reiterate now more 
resolutely than ever before from the very beginning of independence 
``We were there,'' and despite the adversity, ``We served!' Simply read 
the missing pages of American history, or perhaps the footnotes and you 
will find the names of Crispus Attucks, Salem Poor, Sgt. William H. 
Carney, Cpl. Andrew Jackson Smith, Harriet Tubman, Freddie Stowers, 
Sgt. Henry Johnson, Mess Attendant Dorius `Dorie' Miller, Josephine 
Baker, Pvt. William Thompson, Sgt. Cornelius Charlton, Cpl. Fred McGee, 
Captain Riley L. Pitts, Staff Sgt. Hilliard Carter, and others, as well 
as thunderous places like Breeds Hill, Fort Wagner, Honey Hill, New 
Market Heights, . . ., Kunu-Ri, Hill 188, Hill 528, Hill 543, Pork Chop 
Hill, Hamburger Hill, Heartbreak Ridge, and others looming as silent 
reminders of past deeds, and debts unpaid.
  Therefore, let it be said, here, now and forever more that African 
Americans have not once, not twice, but repeatedly demonstrated 
throughout this country's long history an unwavering dedication towards 
the principles of freedom, liberty and justice for all. This is the 
true testament of African American patriotism and looms as an 
outstanding example for current and future generations of Americans 
nationwide, as well as freedom loving people around the world.
  The struggle continues.

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