93rd Infantry Division (United States)
The 93rd Infantry Division was a "colored" segregated unit of the United States Army in World War I and World War II. However, in World War I only its four infantry regiments, two brigade headquarters, a provisional division headquarters were organized, the divisional and brigade headquarters were demobilized in May 1918, its regiments fought under French command in that war. During tough combat in France, they soon acquired from the French the nickname Blue Helmets, as these units were issued blue French Adrian helmets; this referred to the service of several of its units with the French Army during the Second Battle of the Marne. Its shoulder patch became a blue French helmet, to commemorate its service with the French Army during the Spring Offensive; the division was reactivated with the "colored" infantry designation on 15 May 1942 at Fort Huachuca and shipped overseas in 1944. Most of the division did see service in the Pacific Theater during World War II, but the division's regiments were utilized as construction units and in defensive operations.
In 1945, the 93rd Infantry Division was inactivated, though the lineage of several of its units are carried on by the Illinois and Maryland Army National Guard. The 93rd was known as the 93rd Division, it was never formed except for infantry units, which fought under French command. The unit became known as the 93rd Division and was composed of the following regiments: 185th Brigade 369th Infantry Regiment. Now the 719th Transportation Company, 369th Sustainment Brigade. 370th Infantry Regiment. Awarded the Fourragère. Now lineage is carried on by the 1st Battalion, 178th Infantry, Illinois National Guard.186th Brigade 371st Infantry Regiment 372nd Infantry Regiment Made up of troops of the 1st Separate Battalion, District of Columbia National Guard. Now its lineage is carried on by the 229th Main Support Battalion, Maryland National Guard, the 372nd Military Police Battalion, District of Columbia National Guard; the division was sent to France. Over the objections of the division's commander, Brig. Gen. Roy Hoffman, its brigades were broken up and the regiments brigaded with French Army formations.
They wore US uniforms. Each regiment was brigaded with French forces for three time periods: 1 to 21 July 1918. However, the outcry by African-American leaders including W. E. B. Du Bois and A. Philip Randolph forced the US to reconsider; the alternative would be the potential loss of needed African-American recruits for labor and service units. Four independent regiments were chosen to assume the designations of the 93rd Infantry Division's regiments; the problem was, where to place them? The main American Expeditionary Force refused to have African-American soldiers in combat; the commander of the AEF, General John Joseph "Black Jack" Pershing had earned his nickname and reputation as an officer in the 10th Cavalry Regiment still a black Buffalo Soldier regiment. While Pershing was an early supporter of having "colored" soldiers in the military, he seems to have bowed to political expediency in this case; the British had several American divisions under their command. This was due to a deal struck with the American armed forces, which had no transport fleet when they entered the war.
The United Kingdom and their Commonwealth allies would transport six American divisions by sea to Europe. The American divisions would be folded into British Corps; the French had a similar deal where they exchanged the Americans' 3-inch guns for early-model French 75 mm cannon to simplify the supply of ammunition and Chauchat light machineguns to replace the Americans' scarce Lewis Guns. In return, they demanded that American troops be placed under their command to replace their early-war losses; the regiments fought in several battles alongside French troops, who were used to colonial North and Sub-Saharan African "colored" soldiers. All received unit citations from the French. Numerous individual soldiers exhibited extraordinary heroism and were decorated by the French. One of these was Cpl. Freddie Stowers, who decades after his death would be awarded the American Medal of Honor; the division's shoulder patch, with its blue French Adrian helmet, commemorated this period. Total casualties from all regiments were 3,167.
The 93rd Division had two Medal of Honor recipients, 75 Distinguished Service Crosses and 527 Croix de Guerre medals. In May 1918, French General Mariano Goybet was ordered to command the French 157th Infantry Division, decimated after the Third Battle of the Aisne. On 4 July 1918, it was reconstituted by putting together the 333rd
Luray, Virginia
Luray is a town in and the county seat of Page County, United States, in the Shenandoah Valley in the northern part of the commonwealth. The population was 4,895 at the 2010 census; the town was started by Willian Staige Marye in 1812, a descendent of a family native to Luray, France. Luray is located at 38°39′51″N 78°27′16″W. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 4.8 square miles, of which, 4.7 square miles of it is land and 0.21% is water. As of the census of 2000, there were 4,871 people, 2,037 households, 1,332 families residing in the town; the population density was 1,026.8 people per square mile. There were 2,191 housing units at an average density of 461.9 per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 92.45% White, 5.52% African American, 0.25% Native American, 0.33% Asian, 0.45% from other races, 1.01% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.35% of the population. There were 2,037 households out of which 27.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.8% were married couples living together, 13.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 34.6% were non-families.
30.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.7% had someone living alone, 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.85. In the town, the population was spread out with 22.1% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 27.0% from 25 to 44, 23.0% from 45 to 64, 21.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 87.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.3 males. The median income for a household in the town was $34,306, the median income for a family was $39,972. Males had a median income of $30,039 versus $19,841 for females; the per capita income for the town was $16,205. About 11.3% of families and 13.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.4% of those under age 18 and 9.6% of those age 65 or over. Luray Caverns is located in the western part of Luray. Luray is the nearest town to the Thornton Gap entrance to Skyline Drive, as well as serving as the headquarters for Shenandoah National Park.
Murder Mountain, located off Old Wagon Road in Luray, has become a destination for ghost hunters. The Luray Downtown Historic District is a Virginia Main Street Community and a registered National Historic District, it is home to the 2010 Valley Baseball League Champion Luray Wranglers. One of the dominant hills in the Town of Luray is the location of the Grand Old Mimslyn Inn, a 1931 classic Southern mansion style hotel; the hotel is a popular site for wedding receptions. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt visited the Mimslyn during a short visit in the late 1930s and former Virginia Governor Mark Warner visited in January 2008; the site of the Mimslyn is on the former location of "Aventine Hall," the home of Peter Bouck Borst, a mid-19th century lawyer. Aventine was removed to make way for the construction of the Mimslyn in the 1930s. "Aventine Hall" is now located on South Court Street in the Town of Virginia. The only high school in Luray is home of the Bulldogs; the town is home to The Page News and Courier, the major newspaper for the county.
In 1893 was founded the Blue Ridge Bank, one of the oldest still functioning banks in Virginia. The community's proximity to the South Fork of the Shenandoah River provides recreational opportunities connected with boating, white water rafting, fishing as well as hunting in the fall; the Luray Singing Tower known as the Belle Brown Northcott Memorial, was erected in 1937 in memory of Colonel Theodore Clay Northcott's wife. At 117 feet high the Luray Singing Tower contains a carillon of 47 bells from John Taylor & Co of Loughborough, Great Britain; the largest bell is six feet in diameter. The smallest weighs a mere 12½ pounds. Recognized as one of the country's major carillons scheduled recitals are held, free of charge, through the spring and fall; the carillon is situated in a park opposite Luray Caverns. Archeological Site No. AU-154, Blackrock Springs Site, Jeremey's Run Site, Paine Run Rockshelter are archaeological sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In addition to the Luray Downtown Historic District, Aventine Hall, archaeological sites, the Heiston-Strickler House, Luray Norfolk and Western Passenger Station, Massanutton Heights, Mount Calvary Lutheran Church, Page County Courthouse and Sallie Printz Farm, Redwell-Isabella Furnace Historic District, Ruffner House, Skyline Drive Historic District, Isaac Spitler House, Stover House, Wall Brook Farm are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Page County Public Schools serve Luray, as well as the rest of Page County. Luray Elementary, Luray Middle, Luray High School serve the entire town and nearby surrounding areas. Luray Middle and High serve northern Page County, from feeder elementary school, located near Rileyville. Mount Carmel Christian Academy is a private Christian school. Lord Fairfax Community College has a campus in Luray which provides students with nearly all necessary classes needed to graduate from the institution. Many students that attend the Luray Center of Lord Fairfax are from Page, southern Shenandoah, southern Warren Counties. Well over three quarters of the town's population lives in one of the several planned neighborhoods of Luray; each neighborhood serves as a landmark to the residents of Luray citing their neighborhoods a
Italian Campaign (World War II)
The Italian Campaign of World War II consisted of Allied operations in and around Italy, from 1943 to 1945. The Joint Allied Forces Headquarters was operationally responsible for all Allied land forces in the Mediterranean theatre and it planned and led the invasion of Sicily in July 1943, followed in September by the invasion of the Italian mainland and the campaign in Italy until the surrender of the German Armed Forces in Italy in May 1945, it is estimated that between September 1943 and April 1945, 60,000–70,000 Allied and 38,805–150,660 German soldiers died in Italy. The number of Allied casualties was about 320,000 and the German figure was over 330,000. Fascist Italy, prior to its collapse, suffered about 200,000 casualties POWs taken in the Allied invasion of Sicily, including more than 40,000 killed or missing. Over 150,000 Italian civilians died, as did 35,828 anti-Fascist partisans and some 35,000 troops of the Italian Social Republic. In the West, no other campaign cost more than Italy in terms of lives lost and wounds suffered by infantry forces of both sides, during bitter small-scale fighting around strongpoints at the Winter Line, the Anzio beachhead and the Gothic Line.
The campaign ended when Army Group C surrendered unconditionally to the Allies on May 2, 1945, one week before the formal German Instrument of Surrender. The independent states of San Marino and the Vatican, both surrounded by Italian territory suffered damage during the campaign. Before the victory in the North African Campaign in May 1943, there was disagreement among the Allies on the best strategy to defeat the Axis; the British the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, advocated their traditional naval-based peripheral strategy. With a large army, but greater naval power, the traditional British answer against a continental enemy was to fight as part of a coalition and mount small peripheral operations designed to weaken the enemy; the United States, with the larger U. S. Army, favoured a more direct method of fighting the main force of the German Army in Northwestern Europe; the ability to launch such a campaign depended on first winning the Battle of the Atlantic. The strategic disagreement was fierce, with the U.
S. service chiefs arguing for an invasion of France as early as possible, while their British counterparts advocated a policy centred on operations in the Mediterranean. There was pressure from some Latin American countries to stage an invasion of Spain, which under Francisco Franco was friendly to the Axis nations, although not a participant in the war; the American staff believed that a full-scale invasion of France at the earliest possible time was required to end the war in Europe, that no operations should be undertaken that might delay that effort. The British argued that the presence of large numbers of troops trained for amphibious landings in the Mediterranean made a limited-scale invasion possible and useful; the U. S. and British political leadership reached a compromise in which both would commit most of their forces to an invasion of France in early 1944, but launch a small-scale Italian campaign. A contributing factor was Franklin D. Roosevelt's desire to keep US troops active in the European theatre during 1943 and his attraction to the idea of eliminating Italy from the war.
It was hoped that an invasion might knock Italy out of the conflict, or at least increase the pressure on it and weaken it. The elimination of Italy would enable Allied naval forces, principally the Royal Navy, to dominate the Mediterranean Sea, securing the lines of communications with Egypt, the Far East, the Middle East and India. Italian divisions on occupation and coastal defence duties in the Balkans and France would be withdrawn to defend Italy, while the Germans would have to transfer troops from the Eastern Front to defend Italy and the entire southern coast of France, thus aiding the Soviets. A combined Allied invasion of Sicily began on 10 July 1943 with both amphibious and airborne landings at the Gulf of Gela; the land forces involved were the U. S. Seventh Army, under Lieutenant General George S. Patton, the British Eighth Army, under General Bernard Montgomery; the original plan contemplated a strong advance by the British northwards along the east coast to Messina, with the Americans in a supporting role along their left flank.
When the Eighth Army were held up by stubborn defences in the rugged hills south of Mount Etna, Patton amplified the American role by a wide advance northwest toward Palermo and directly north to cut the northern coastal road. This was followed by an eastward advance north of Etna towards Messina, supported by a series of amphibious landings on the northern coast that propelled Patton's troops into Messina shortly before the first units of the Eighth Army; the defending German and Italian forces were unable to prevent the Allied capture of the island, but they succeeded in evacuating most of their troops to the mainland, with the last leaving on 17 August 1943. The Allied forces gained experience in opposed amphibious operations, coalition warfare, large airborne drops. Forces of the British Eighth Army, still under Montgomery, landed in the'toe' of Italy on 3 September 1943 in Operation Baytown, the day the Italian government agreed to an armistice with the Allies; the armistice was publicly announced on 8 September by two broadcasts, first by General Eisenhower and by a proclamation by Marshal Badoglio.
Although the German forces prepared to defend without Italian assistance, only two of their divisions opposite the Eighth Army and one at Salerno were not tied up disarming the Royal Italian Army. On 9 September, forces of the U. S. Fifth Army, under Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark, expecting little resistance, land
Purple Heart
The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after April 5, 1917, with the U. S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, which took the form of a heart made of purple cloth, the Purple Heart is the oldest military award still given to U. S. military members – the only earlier award being the obsolete Fidelity Medallion. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in New York; the original Purple Heart, designated as the Badge of Military Merit, was established by George Washington – the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army – by order from his Newburgh, New York headquarters on August 7, 1782. The Badge of Military Merit was only awarded to three Revolutionary War soldiers by Gen. George Washington himself. General Washington authorized his subordinate officers to issue Badges of Merit as appropriate. From on, as its legend grew, so did its appearance. Although never abolished, the award of the badge was not proposed again until after World War I.
On October 10, 1927, Army Chief of Staff General Charles Pelot Summerall directed that a draft bill be sent to Congress "to revive the Badge of Military Merit". The bill was withdrawn and action on the case ceased January 3, 1928, but the office of the Adjutant General was instructed to file all materials collected for possible future use. A number of private interests sought to have the medal re-instituted in the Army. On January 7, 1931, Summerall's successor, General Douglas MacArthur, confidentially reopened work on a new design, involving the Washington Commission of Fine Arts. Elizabeth Will, an Army heraldic specialist in the Office of the Quartermaster General, was named to redesign the newly revived medal, which became known as the Purple Heart. Using general specifications provided to her, Will created the design sketch for the present medal of the Purple Heart; the new design, which exhibits a bust and profile of George Washington, was issued on the bicentennial of Washington's birth.
Will's obituary, in the edition of February 8, 1975 of The Washington Post newspaper, reflects her many contributions to military heraldry. The Commission of Fine Arts solicited plaster models from three leading sculptors for the medal, selecting that of John R. Sinnock of the Philadelphia Mint in May 1931. By Executive Order of the President of the United States, the Purple Heart was revived on the 200th Anniversary of George Washington's birth, out of respect to his memory and military achievements, by War Department General Order No. 3, dated February 22, 1932. The criteria were announced in a War Department circular dated February 22, 1932, authorized award to soldiers, upon their request, awarded the Meritorious Service Citation Certificate, Army Wound Ribbon, or were authorized to wear Wound Chevrons subsequent to April 5, 1917, the day before the United States entered World War I; the first Purple Heart was awarded to MacArthur. During the early period of American involvement in World War II, the Purple Heart was awarded both for wounds received in action against the enemy and for meritorious performance of duty.
With the establishment of the Legion of Merit, by an Act of Congress, the practice of awarding the Purple Heart for meritorious service was discontinued. By Executive Order 9277, dated December 3, 1942, the decoration was applied to all services; this executive order authorized the award only for wounds received. For both military and civilian personnel during the World War II era, to meet eligibility for the Purple Heart, AR 600-45, dated September 22, 1943, May 3, 1944, required identification of circumstances. After the award was re-authorized in 1932 some U. S. Army wounded from conflicts prior to the first World War applied for, were awarded, the Purple Heart: "...veterans of the Civil War and Indian Wars, as well as the Spanish–American War, China Relief Expedition, Philippine Insurrection were awarded the Purple Heart. This is because the original regulations governing the award of the Purple Heart, published by the Army in 1932, provided that any soldier, wounded in any conflict involving U.
S. Army personnel might apply for the new medal. There were but two requirements: the applicant had to be alive at the time of application and he had to prove that he had received a wound that necessitated treatment by a medical officer."Subject to approval of the Secretary of Defense, Executive Order 10409, dated February 12, 1952, revised authorizations to include the Service Secretaries. Dated April 25, 1962, Executive Order 11016, included provisions for posthumous award of the Purple Heart. Dated February 23, 1984, Executive Order 12464, authorized award of the Purple Heart as a result of terrorist attacks, or while serving as part of a peacekeeping force, subsequent to March 28, 1973. On June 13, 1985, the Senate approved an amendment to the 1985 Defense Authorization Bill, which changed the precedence of the Purple Heart award, from above the Good Conduct Medal to above the Meritorious Service Medals. Public Law 99-145 authorized the award for wounds received as a result of friendly fire.
Public Law 104-106 expanded the eligibility date, authorizing award of the Purple Heart to a former prisoner of war, wounded after April 25, 1962. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1998 changed the criteria to delete authorization for award of the Purple Heart to any non-military U. S. national s
92nd Infantry Division (United States)
The 92nd Infantry Division was a segregated infantry division of the United States Army that served in both World War I and World War II. The division was organized in October 1917, after the U. S. entry in World War I, at Camp Funston, with African American soldiers from all states. In 1918, before leaving for France, the American buffalo was selected as the divisional insignia due to the "Buffalo Soldiers" nickname, given to African American cavalrymen by Native Americans in the 19th century; the "Buffalo Soldiers Division" divisional nickname was inherited from the 366th Infantry, one of the first units of the division organized. The 92nd Infantry Division was the only African American infantry division to see combat in Europe during World War II, as part of the U. S. Fifth Army, fighting in the Italian Campaign; the division served in the Italian Campaign from 1944 to the war's end. Due to poor combat performance including many instances of unauthorized withdrawals upon meeting the enemy, the division was considered of inferior quality both by German and Allied leadership.
The 92nd Division was first constituted on paper 24 October 1917 in the National Army, over six months after the U. S. entry into World War I. The division was commanded throughout most of its existence by Major General Charles C. Ballou and was composed of the 183rd Infantry Brigade with the 365th and 366th Infantry Regiments, the 184th Infantry Brigade with the 367th and 368th Infantry Regiments, together with supporting artillery, engineer and signal units attached; the division was organized on 27 October 1917 at Camp Funston, the men first being trained at the regimental level. For this division, 104 black captains, 397 first lieutenants, 125 second lieutenants were trained at a "negro officers' camp" in Des Moines, Iowa. A special "negro zone" was to be built at the east end of Camp Funston, with "separate amusement places and exchanges. "A. D. Jellison, a banker of Junction City, gave a plot of land for a "community house," to be erected by the black men from the seven states which sent African-American trainees.
Activated: October 1917 Overseas: 18 July 1918 Major operations: Meuse-Argonne less field artillery Casualties: total: 1,647. Commanders: Maj. Gen. Charles C. Ballou, Maj. Gen. Charles Henry Martin, Brig. Gen. James B. Erwin. Returned to United States and inactivated: February 1919; as would be the case with the 93rd Division, parts of the 92nd would serve under and alongside the French Army after both the main American Expeditionary Force and the British Expeditionary Force refused to have African-American soldiers serve in combat under them. The 92nd was a National Army unit formed from black draftees, with a cadre of 154 NCOs transferred from the four Regular Army regiments led by inexperienced black junior officers fresh out of training and commanded by white officers, they were a green and untried unit, not allowed to maneuver as a division before they were committed to the line. After arrival on the Western Front, the 92nd, like all AEF units, trained for deployment in the trenches, they began to be fed into the French sector front lines by company in mid-August 1918.
The 92nd Artillery Brigade came on line only in October 1918. Unlike the segregated regiments of the provisional 93rd Division which were under French command and control in World War I, U. S. command and control in the Pacific Theater in World War II, the 92nd would fight as a whole under U. S. command and control in both wars. 92nd Division Headquarters, 92nd Division 183rd Infantry Brigade 365th Infantry Regiment 366th Infantry Regiment 350th Machine Gun Battalion 184th Infantry Brigade 367th Infantry Regiment 368th Infantry Regiment 351st Machine Gun Battalion 167th Field Artillery Brigade 349th Field Artillery Regiment 350th Field Artillery Regiment 351st Field Artillery Regiment 317th Trench Mortar Battery 349th Machine Gun Battalion 317th Engineer Regiment 317th Medical Regiment 317th Field Signal Battalion Headquarters Troop, 92nd Division 317th Train Headquarters and Military Police 317th Ammunition Train 317th Supply Train 317th Engineer Train 317th Sanitary Train 365th, 366th, 367th, 368th Ambulance Companies and Field Hospitals Activated: 15 October 1942.
Overseas: 22 September 1944. Campaigns: North Apennines, Po Valley. Awards: Medal of Honor: 2. Returned to the United States: 26 November 1945. Inactivated: 28 November 1945; the division was reactivated as an infantry division with the "colored" designation, under the command of Major General Edward Almond, on 15 October 1942, ten months after the American entry into World War II, at Fort Huachuca and spent two years training in the United States. In late July 1944, the 370th Infantry Regiment was sent overseas to Italy and temporarily attached to the 1st Armored Division; the rest of the division would be sent overseas in September of that year, the division as a whole would see heavy combat during the remainder of the Italian Campaign. During the 92nd Division's participation in the Italian Front, the Buffalo Soldiers made contact with units of many nationalities: beyond the attached 442nd Regimental Combat
Anniston, Alabama
Anniston is the county seat of Calhoun County in Alabama and is one of two urban centers/principal cities of and included in the Anniston-Oxford Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city was 23,106. According to 2013 Census estimates, the city had a population of 22,666. Named "The Model City" by Atlanta newspaperman Henry W. Grady for its careful planning in the late 19th century, the city is situated on the slope of Blue Mountain. Along with Selma, Alabama, it ranks as one of the top cities by most violent crimes in the United States, according to FBI data. Though the surrounding area was settled much earlier, the mineral resources in the area of Anniston were not exploited until the Civil War; the Confederate States of America operated an iron furnace near present-day downtown Anniston, until it was destroyed by raiding Union cavalry in early 1865. Cast iron for sewer systems became the focus of Anniston's industrial output. Cast iron pipe called soil pipe, was popular until the advent of plastic pipe in the 1960s.
In 1872, the Woodstock Iron Company, organized by Samuel Noble and Union Gen. Daniel Tyler, rebuilt the furnace on a much larger scale, started a planned community named Woodstock, soon renamed "Annie's Town" for Annie Scott Tyler, Daniel's daughter and wife of railroad president Alfred L. Tyler. Anniston was chartered as a town in 1873. Though the roots of the town's economy were in iron and clay pipe, planners touted it as a health resort, several hotels began operating. Schools appeared, including the Noble Institute, a school for girls established in 1886, the Alabama Presbyterian College for Men, founded in 1905. Careful planning and easy access to rail transportation helped make Anniston the fifth largest city in the state from the 1890s to the 1950s. In 1917, at the start of World War I, the United States Army established a training camp at Fort McClellan. On the other side of town, the Anniston Army Depot opened during World War II as a major weapons storage and maintenance site, a role it continues to serve as munitions-incineration progresses.
Most of the site of Fort McClellan was incorporated into Anniston in the late 1990s, the Army closed the fort in 1999 following the Base Realignment and Closure round of 1995. Anniston was the center of national controversy in 1961 when a mob bombed a bus filled with civilian Freedom Riders during the American Civil Rights Movement; as two Freedom buses were setting out to travel the south in protest of their Civil Rights following the Supreme Court case saying bus segregation was unconstitutional, one headed to Anniston, one to Birmingham, before finishing in New Orleans. The Freedom Riders were riding an integrated bus to protest Alabama's Jim Crow segregation laws that denied African Americans their civil rights. One of the buses was attacked and firebombed by a mob outside Anniston on Mother's Day, May 14, 1961. Prior to the bus being firebombed, attackers broke windows, slashed tires, using metal pipes, clubs and crowbars, before the police came to escort the bus away; the bus was forced to a stop just outside of Anniston, in front of Forsyth and Sons grocery, by more mob members.
As more windows were broken, rocks and a firebomb were thrown into the bus. As the bus burned, the mob held. An exploding fuel tank caused the mob to retreat; the riders were viciously beaten as they tried to flee, where warning shots fired into the air by highway patrolmen prevented the riders from being lynched on the spot. A 12-year-old girl, Janie Forsyth, set out against the mob with a bucket of water and cups to help the Riders, first tending to the one who had looked like her own nanny. Forsyth and Son grocery is located along Alabama Highway 202 about 5 miles west of downtown; the site today is home to a historic marker and was designated Freedom Riders National Monument by President Barack Obama in January 2017. In response to the violence, the city formed a bi-racial Human Relations Council made up of prominent white business and religious leaders, but when they attempted to integrate the "whites-only" public library on Sunday afternoon, September 15, 1963, further violence ensued and two black ministers, N.
Q. Reynolds and Bob McClain, were beaten by a mob; the HRC chairman, white Presbyterian minister Rev. Phil Noble, worked with an elder of his church, Anniston City Commissioner Miller Sproull, to avoid KKK mob domination of the city. In a telephone conference with President John F. Kennedy, the President informed the HRC that after the Birmingham church bombing he had stationed additional federal troops at Fort McClellan. On September 16, 1963, with city police present and Sproull escorted black ministers into the library. In February 1964, Anniston Hardware, owned by the Sproull family, was bombed in retaliation for Commissioner Sproull's integration efforts. On the night of July 15, 1965, a white racist rally was held in Anniston, after which Willie Brewster, a black foundry worker, was shot and killed while driving home from work. A $20,000 reward was raised by Anniston civic leaders, resulted in the apprehension and conviction of the accused killer, Damon Strange, who worked for a leader of the Ku Klux Klan.
Historian Taylor Branch called the conviction of Damon Strange a "breakthrough verdict" on p. 391 of his Pulitzer Prize-winning book, At Canaan's Edge. Strange was convicted by an all-white Calhoun County jury to the surprise of many people, including civil rights leaders who had planned to protest an acquittal; this was the first conviction of a white person for killing a b
United States Army Command and General Staff College
The United States Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, international military officers. The college was established in 1881 by William Tecumseh Sherman as the School of Application for Infantry and Cavalry, a training school for infantry and cavalry officers. In 1907 it changed its title to the School of the Line; the curriculum expanded throughout World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and continues to adapt to include lessons learned from current conflicts. In addition to the main campus at Fort Leavenworth, the college has satellite campuses at Fort Belvoir, Virginia; the satellite campuses provide non-residential distance learning opportunities. The United States Army Command and General Staff College educates and develops leaders for full spectrum joint and multinational operations; the college consists of four schools: Command and General Staff School provides Intermediate Level Education for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, international military officers.
ILE is a ten-month graduate-level program. There is one ILE class per year. About 1,200 US military and international officers make up the class. In addition to the ILE curriculum, a graduate masters program exists for students who may qualify to complete a thesis-level research paper and receive a Master of Military Arts and Sciences degree at the School of Advanced Military Studies; the Masters program is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, the accrediting body for collegiate institutions in the midwestern United States. ILE students are mid-career field-grade officers preparing for battalion command or staff positions at the division, brigade, or battalion level. In addition to CGSS at Fort Leavenworth, the school operates satellite campuses at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Students at the satellite campuses complete the ILE Common Core, a condensed ninety-day program without the MMAS option, in lieu of the traditional ten-month program. School of Advanced Military Studies provides post-ILE instruction on complex military issues at the strategic and operational levels.
Students who complete the curriculum receive a Master of Military Arts and Sciences and are assigned as high-level military planners. The Masters program is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, the accrediting body for collegiate institutions in the midwestern United States. School for Command Preparation provides instruction for colonels, lieutenant colonels, command sergeants major who have been selected for brigade or battalion command. Courses are three to four weeks and focus on special topics unique to assumption of command at the levels indicated. School of Advanced Leadership and Tactics provides officer continuing education towards developing the Scholar-Warrior-Leader from first lieutenant to selection for major; the result is mastery of branch-specific technical and tactical skills, staff processes in battalions and brigades, direct leadership and command competencies, initial broadening opportunities. During World War I, the CGSC at Ft. Leavenworth was closed, from 1916 until 1920.
Most of the school staff was sent to Langres, France, to open and conduct the Army General Staff College, which operated from November 1917 to December 1918. This compressed-curriculum school was needed to provide command and staff officers for the exponentially growing number of Army units; the college reports that 7,000 international students representing 155 countries have attended CGSC since 1894 and that more than 50 percent of CGSC International Military Student graduates attain the rank of general. Prime Minister and General Kriangsak Chomanan of Thailand General Alfredo M. Santos of the Philippines Lieutenant General Rafael Ileto of the Philippines Major General Edmund E. Dillon of Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force Prime Minister and General Tran Thien Khiem of South Vietnam General Do Cao Tri of South Vietnam Colonel Le Huy Luyen of South Vietnam General Hau Pei-tsun of the Republic of China President Paul Kagame of Rwanda General Katumba Wamala of Uganda Brigadier General Muhoozi Kainerugaba son of Ugandan president, 2007–08.
General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq of Pakistan General Rahimuddin Khan of Pakistan General Jehangir Karamat of Pakistan General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani of Pakistan Brigadier Abdul Shakur Malik, Force Commander for the Northern Areas, Acting Director-General Military Training, of Pakistan General Eiji Kimizuka of Japan General Hisham Jaber of Lebanon General Krishnaswamy Sundarji of Indian Army Prime Minister and Brigadier-General Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore General Dieudonné Kayembe Mbandakulu of the Democratic Republic of the Congo President Gaafar Nimeiry of Sudan Lt. Col Anastasio Somoza Portocarrero of the Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua General Nguyễn Hợp Đoàn of South Vietnam General Nguyễn Khánh of South Vietnam General Phạm Văn Đồng of South Vietnam Ministry/Chief of Army General Staff and General Ahmad Yani of Indonesia President and General Susilo
United States
U.S. Army
Lieutenant general
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