Soldiers still remembered for their courage in Vietnam (Photo may be subject to copyright)
Most history lovers, who know the story of Emmett Till, also recognize that this 14-year-old was not a true hero. I have written much about this young school boy from Chicago who on a hot summer night was kidnapped from his uncle’s home in Money, Mississippi and brutally murdered in the Delta, back in August of 1955. Till’s story, thanks to his mother’s quick decision that his body be shown publicly to the world when it was returned home, remains elemental in modern civil rights movement history and is considered the impetus that moved Rosa Parks to take her stand in Montgomery, Alabama.
Parks was horrified that the two men who killed Till were found innocent just months later. They eventually confessed to killing this African American child and throwing his body into the Tallahatchie River, all because he whistled at a white woman, the wife of one of the two murderers.
However, in the process of learning as much as I can about this crime and of those times, I have also discovered truly heroic accounts of vibrant men and women, black and white civil rights heroes, whose stories of bravery and determination have sometimes brought me to tears.
Aaron Henry of Clarksdale, Mississippi, was the first of these heroes I read about, an intelligent and sensitive black man who began advocating for human civility years before going into WWII. When he came home from the war, Henry became known locally and even nationally for his devotion to the cause and for his effective remarks. He was a vigorous leader who spent time in jail, was beaten with clubs and bitten by dogs because took great risks by speaking out against powerful people. A beautiful book about his life was written by Constance Curry, a brave white woman who went into the Mississippi Delta during some of the most violent years following Reconstruction to aid Henry and others in their quests.
This past week, I met up with some heroes, and it was in a very different setting, certainly not confined to history books. After 45 years, I reunited with old classmates from the school I attended in Eastern Oregon during my eighth through sophomore years. As I earlier stated, I often write about the lives of heroes, people like Medgar Evers and James Meredith – Michael Schwerner, James Chaney and Andrew Goodman, or Fannie Lou Hamer. Most are people who I have never met. Most are deceased. However, their heroic stories must keep being told, particularly as new details are discovered.
As it turned out, several of my old high school classmates quietly and bravely served in Vietnam. We listened to their stories, sometimes through tears, realizing how deeply we cared about these old friends and, for me, recognizing how in some ways they reminded me of some of the heroes I have been writing about.
After our three-day camping reunion ended, I was walking through the Portland International airport to catch my flight home. While waiting to grab a quick lunch in a restaurant line, an angry young business-type started throwing a fit about a food server. “He should be fired on the spot!” this man told the manager. I decided to share my reaction (to the delight of others standing in line, waiting to pay their bills). “Cool it, man. You are going to have a coronary. These are just regular people and as far as the rest of us are concerned, they are doing a fine job. They are quick, knowledgeable and nice,” I told him, thinking at the same time that a coronary might bring him some needed humility.
The notion of a quick coronary came up because the night before, one classmate told us around the campfire, he’d had a coronary just last year, and we were all worried for him. His doctor, he said, advised him that taking a daily aspirin would have kept him from having the attack. Well, I think this friend, a pilot in Vietnam, should not have been sprayed with Agent Orange! I also think our country should have welcomed him and all of his brothers and sisters home in a civil and loving manner, not with protest signs and spewing of hate. A better welcome home would have helped, he confided to me. “No one ever truly welcomed us back.”
I watched my old classmate as the fire burned down, and my heart went out to this true hero. His job had been to fly in close enough to pick up wounded soldiers, taking great personal risk. Of course, I did not get to know Aaron Henry or any of the others I have been discovering while writing about Mississippi, but I cherish the most knowing these classmates, now in their early 60s. Some who went to war did not survive, but I can still see their faces, even if so many years have gone by.
I am sure that you know some heroes, too. Why not give them a hug and tell them how great they are. If they went to war, let them know how happy you are that they made it home alive. It is never too late to welcome home a war hero, even if 45 years have passed since the last time you spent time together.
As my friends and I shared farewell hugs, I was thinking we might never see each other again. At least for now, I could say…
Welcome home, my friends.
Welcome home.
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Until the end of July, my eBook, Who Killed Emmett Till? can be downloaded for free. You will find it HERE in multiple formats.
WKET is also available in print.
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