Marion Williamson:
“This is about justice, a sense of correctness, it’s about righting a wrong.”
This decision is one the most important things that has happened to my family. I didn’t think it would happen in my life time. It has been a long time coming, and I only wish my father was still alive to enjoy this. I wish our mom was able to understand what has happen.
In spite of everthing that happen to him, my father was an honorable man, a proud man with strong family values. He took care of his family. He gave a a sense of security. Even as adults, he was always there for us if we needed anything.
He worked very hard and rarely missed a day at work. He taught us the importance of working hard and doing your best at whatever it is you. Even if you didn’t like what you did. Dad always contended that he didn’t do anything wrong. He felt he would be exonerated. When I was growing up, we rarely spoke about it. My mom told us as much as she knew, however, she didn’t have any real details.
I loved my dad so much, and get mad just thinking about what happen to him. I think about how he and all the rest of the innocent men felt. So proud, about to go overseas to serve their country. Only to end up throng in the brigade and charged, convicted and sentence to hard labor. Most of them did not have the support of their families in Seattle. They must have felt so alone.
I hope other families will come forth and clear the names of their loved ones.
My Father was a proud man who put his family first. He was very protective of his family. He always made sure we had everything that we needed. However, throughout our childhood he rarely mentioned what happened to him during his service years. There was a cloud over him, because he felt ashame that there was a part of his life that he could not mention. He could not share war stories and have pride in serving his country. He went to his grave accepting that nothing could ever be done about it and that his status would never change.
The decision gave us hope. The hope that he never had was bestowed upon us. I am so happy that this happened and I saw a change in my lifetime. I always knew that my father was an honorable man, now the world knows it too. It’s important to me to know that my father’s name and honor has been restored and he can rest in peace.
I am amazed and excited that I will get to see my fathers name and honor publicly restored . The things that were denied to him will now be given to him. The momement of honor that I await most....is the 21 gun salute. That will be the moment when my soul will be at peace.
“There is a time for everything and an a season for every activity under heaven” Eccl. 3:1
This is truly my belief, because 63 years is a long time coming! I remember talking to my father about his case many years ago (something that was talked about very little in our household) and he thought that this time would never come. He thought you could never change the government’s actions, so he never tried. Ecclesiastes 3: 7b also says there is a time to be silent and a time to speak. This is our time! Thank God!
I remember last year when we were getting papers together to send in to the Army Review Board, anger left me and it was replace with sadness. I saw my father and grandfather’s enlistment and discharge papers, side by side. How he must have felt. I thought about my dad leaving to go into service with his papers to go to ‘war’ as they use to say, and coming back with papers that said DISHONORABLE DISCHARGE.
Restoration. My father was the oldest brother of ten children and he was very much respected as the protector to all of them. He was respected as a husband, father, grandfather and a family member. He taught me honor, and know matter what, you always protect your family. He also taught me that your word is your bond and that your only as good as your word. With the restoration of my father’s honor, we take joy that everyone now knows what we always knew.
We are thankful for everyone that had any kind of hand in making this possible
Jerome Edwards:
Our hope of seeing our father vindicated has finally come true. This decision brings closure for me. I feel that somewhere in this universe, his spirit has been satistified.
Our dad taught me the importance of what it meant to be the head of a household and strong family closeness. Daddy did not talk about this. I am so thankful that now the world will talk about how he was vindicated. It upset me to read of the atrocities that occurred to him and the other African American soldiers. They were treated less than men. The pride and dignitiy of these men were stripped and the results impacted them for the rest of their lives. However, it takes courage for a man to admit when he is wrong. And for the Army to admit that they were wrong took courage. Their admission and reversal will affect the children and grandchildren of these men for the rest of their lives.
My father was a proud, independent, and hard working individual. He was very friendly, outgoing, well liked, and respected by all that knew him. However, whenever the subject of his military service was in issue, he became a different person. His mood became sullen, and introspective. He was never harsh, or verbally dismissive, but I could feel that he was not comfortable discussing this part of his life. Therefore, we never really knew about that aspect of his life.
My family is so happy that the convictions have been set aside. My Father, Fred, was one of the victims of the riot. He did not remember too much about what had happened, because of his concussion. It was through ON AMERICAN SOIL that he learned that he owed a lot of thanks to one of the black soldiers, who saved his life. After he read the book, he felt that a great injustice had been done to those accused, given the fact that so much evidence was destroyed so soon after the riot and that the attorneys defending the accused were not afforded access to all evidence held by the prosecutors.
