Staff photo / Bob Coupland
Warren residents George Bossard, left, who served in the U.S. Navy, and Roy Yancey, who served in the U.S. Army, were among a panel of seven local black veterans who shared their experiences Monday at the Trumbull County Veterans Service Commission in Warren. A Black History Program with other veterans will be at 6 p.m. today at the commission.
WARREN — Seven local black veterans who served during different wars shared the experiences they faced, including racism, while defending the country.
The Warren Heritage Center hosted the first of two panel discussion programs Monday at the Trumbull County Veterans Service Commission titled “The Flag, the Fight, the Future: An Interactive Discussion with African-Americans from Warren Who’ve Served in the Military.”
Seven veterans shared their stories Monday as part of the Black History Month program.
Another panel discussion with other local veterans will be at 6 p.m. today at the veterans services offices on East Market Street.
Event host Garrett Matlock, whose father served in the U.S. Army, said it is so important that the stories of these veterans who served their country be shared.
He said people can learn from the past as they progress to the future.
The panel said they were fighting two fights — one defending the United States internationally against its enemies and the second on the homefront against racism and discrimination.
Those who served during World War II, Korea and Vietnam in the 1940s through 1960s, explained the racism they faced while those who served during more recent conflicts said racism was not as prevalent.
Eugene Dawson, 95, who served in the Air Force in the 1950s during the Korean War, said he lived in Georgia in the 1930s, so he was familiar with segregation. He said he learned that prejudice and discrimination are taught, and are not ideas with which people are born.
“The conflict comes from people not getting to know each other. People are people regardless of color or nationality,” Dawson said.
He said his military service allowed him to see places he would have never been able to see.
FACING OPPOSITION
Roy Yancey, who served in the Army from 1967 to 1991, said he faced racism in the South, noting that no matter where he went there was opposition to black soldiers such as only being allowed to go to certain clubs.
Yancey said he remembers not being allowed to sit on trains in Germany, but German prisoners of war were allowed to do so.
Herbert Caldwell, who served from 1966 to 1968, said he remembers learning that Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968, and that bothered him.
He said it was hard to get over what people called the soldiers who served during the Vietnam War when they returned home.
“We were very disrespected when we returned home,” he said.
George Bossard, who served in the Navy from 1964 to 1968, said he saw on television the discrimination in the South and learned that people’s hearts needed to change.
“I came from a Christian home where I learned God made everybody of all races, creeds and colors. I was taught to put God first in your life,” Bossard said.
He said those who serve should gain experience to use what they learn in future careers after the military.
For those who served in more recent times, they faced a different world than those who served before them.
Kim Johnson, who served in the Marine Corps from 1982 to 2004, said he grew up in New Orleans in a mostly black neighborhood where families strived for excellence and to be the best.
“That carried over to me in the military to be the best and excel in whatever you do,” Johnson said.
Johnson said he tells young people not to be afraid to serve in the military.
Woody Jones, who served in the Air Force from 1985 to 2005, said the American flag represents the core value of why people serve in the military.
He said he came from a family of veterans, including his father in Vietnam and his grandfather in Korea.
Jones said those who served before him paved the way for the next generations to serve. He encouraged anyone to serve in the military and gain the respect for the country,
Laura Baugh Miller, who served in the U.S. Air Force from 1992 to 1996, said with her birthday in July and the Fourth of July, the flag represents the ideal of the American dream.
“I was excited to go into the service. For me it was mostly a good experience,” Miller said.
She said it always upset her how the veterans, many of whom were drafted, were treated during the Vietnam War.
“It is hard to hear what they had to go through,” she said.
Mayor Doug Franklin said he and so many others benefitted from those who served in the military,
“Black history is American history and world history. It is a story of triumph over adversity that must be told,” Franklin said.
