Timothy Street was born on December 9, 1923, in downtown Charleston, SC. As his father had done before him, he decided to attend The Citadel, entering in September of 1940. A member of the class of 1944, Street and all his classmates were called together to active duty in May 1943, prior to graduation. Prior to attending The Citadel, Street worked in his father’s steamship agency and stevedoring business, an experience that influenced his later decision to join the Navy. After months waiting to attend officer candidate school to receive an Army commission, he learned that the Seabees were looking for people with his background. He applied for and soon received a commission as a Navy ensign. Shortly after the Japanese surrender, Street’s unit was sent to support the First Marine Division in China during the repatriation of Japanese soldiers. He said of his service that “I want to stress the fact that I don't consider what I did amounted to much more than a hill of beans compared to my friends that were combat veterans.” After the war, Street returned to Charleston, completed his business degree at The Citadel, joined Street Brothers Shipping in the summer of 1947, and stayed until he retired 37 years later.
Poulnot was born on August 2, 1922, and was a member of The Citadel class of 1944. While most of his classmates went into the Army after their junior year, Poulnot decided to join the Navy in the fall of 1942. After his two years at The Citadel, he knew how to march and was appointed commander of his boot camp company. After boot camp in Virginia, he was sent to Quartermaster School in Newport, RI, he served three years in the Navy including combat tours in the Pacific. Poulnot reflects on mine sweeping operations at Kwajalein, Eniwetok, Saipan, and Tinian. Afterwards assigned to a destroyer, he took part in the battles for the Philippines and Okinawa. As a quartermaster, Poulnot was in charge of steering the ship to dodge incoming Japanese kamikazes. “You knew these guys were shooting at you and you knew they were trying to light on you like mosquitoes, and the name of the game was ‘stay the hell from under them,’ which we did successfully.” After the war, Poulnot enrolled in the College of Charleston, but he decided to apprentice as a Charleston Harbor pilot instead of getting a degree. He worked as a harbor pilot for forty-two years before retiring in 1987.
Ernest F. Hollings was born on January 1, 1922. A Charleston native and World War II veteran, Hollings graduated from The Citadel in 1942. He served as Governor of South Carolina (1959-1963) and represented the state in the United States Senate (1966-2005). He is credited with enhancing the state’s system of public education and expanding its industrial base through the establishment a network of technical education centers and the State Development Board. During his tenure in the Senate, he was instrumental in envisioning and developing the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. In this interview, Hollings credits The Citadel for preparing him for WWII and life as a politician. He recounts the state’s “embarrassing” treatment of returning African-American veterans after WWII. Hollings also asserts that the establishment of the state sales tax improved public schools. Drawing upon his life in public service, Hollings reflects on contemporary political problems, including the economy, the war in Iraq, the current state of politics, and the press. For a full account of his experiences in WWII, see Hollings’s interview with H.W. White, a transcript of which is located in The Citadel Archives.
Warshaw was born on October 27, 1920. From an early age, he wanted to go to college at The Citadel. When his high school record seemed likely to derail his hope, direct appeal to Gen. Summerall got him in. After overcoming some early problems, Warshaw settled down and graduated in 1942. He received orders on graduation day to report on June 10, 1942, for active duty and soon was assigned to the 433rd automatic weapons battalion, an anti-aircraft unit. Shipped to Casablanca, on the Moroccan Atlantic coast, his unit was assigned a training and support mission until the July-August 1943 invasion of Sicily. After the conquest of Sicily, his unit joined the Allied invasion of Italy and advanced to the Cassino front where the attack stalled. Withdrawn from the Cassino front and sent to the Anzio beachhead, he was able to visit Rome after the breakout for one evening. Withdrawn once again, Warshaw’s unit left Italy to join the invasion of southern France, fighting from there into Germany. Warshaw was promoted to first lieutenant and to captain as the war progressed, but when asked he said that he had absolutely no interest in staying in the Army. The morning after the capture of the Dachau concentration camp, Warshaw’s colonel took him to see the camp. There they found the odor was such that “we could hardly stand it . . . piles and piles of bodies.” He opened one of camp’s four ovens where “Bones were still smoldering,” and the colonel handed him a camera and told him to take pictures, some of which are archived at the Jewish Heritage Collection at the College of Charleston. A retired merchant of men’s clothing, he resides in his home town of Walterboro, SC.
Webb was born November 30, 1919, and grew up in Portsmouth, OH. After high school, he attended Kentucky Military Institute to prepare for enrollment at Virginia Military Institute, but after reading an article about The Citadel in National Geographic magazine he applied for admission in 1939 and was accepted. He became battalion commander for Padgett Thomas Barracks and lettered on The Citadel rifle team. With the rest of his class, he missed final summer ROTC camp in 1942 because the camps were filled with Army recruits. After graduation in 1943, Webb was assigned to officer candidate school at Fort Benning, GA, graduating first in his class. In November 1943 he was commission and assigned to the infantry school cadre, remaining there nine months until sent to the 174th Infantry regiment at Camp Chafee, AR. Two months later he was shipped to Europe as an individual replacement officer and was assigned as a platoon leader in C Company, 48th Armored Infantry Battalion, 7th Armored Division, in charge of roughly 40 men. Immediately sent into combat, he became acting company commander six days after joining the unit, because he was the only remaining officer. After a month in combat, he received a battlefield promotion to first lieutenant and was awarded a Silver Star medal for valor and later received a Purple Heart. Webb said that a first hand account of a war scene cannot be conveyed verbally. “If you could smell it, if you could feel it, if you could taste the food, if you could hear the noises—it’s a very all-encompassing experience.” He continued, “The most horrendous smell I ever smelt was later in the Bulge when I opened the door to a house, and a German soldier had been laying there for two or three days, and the stench was such that your stomach involuntarily vomited.” After being wounded in the Battle of the Bulge, he was treated at a hospital in Paris. Six weeks later he was back in action as a platoon leader, often sleeping in a foxhole in the snow. After the war, Webb returned to Ohio and ran a lumber company for a while, but in 1951 he returned to military service, including a tour in Korea near the end of the war there and two tours in Vietnam. He also served two tours at The Citadel, as tactical officer for several years in the 1950s and as commandant of cadets for six months. After retiring from the Army in 1973, he returned to Charleston, where his wife had grown up, operated an charter fishing business for fifteen years.
Henry Rittenberg was born and raised in Charleston, SC, only a few blocks away from the Citadel campus. In 1934 after winning the City of Charleston Scholarship, he had the means to attend The Citadel and entered that fall semester. After repeatedly failing to pass the physical examination for various commissioning programs, he was accepted for the OCS Limited Service but found there were no vacancies. Afterwards, he was assigned to the coast artillery near Boston as an enlisted soldier. When coast artillery troops were taken for field artillery assignments in 1943, Rittenberg volunteered and was deployed to England, later serving as a forward observer. He took part in the crossing of the Rhine and the battle of the Ruhr pocket in which thousands of Germans were taken as prisoners of war. He was present at the Elbe River on VE Day, May 8, 1945, and returned home in February 1946. After working as a pharmacist, Rittenberg went to medical school, which he completed in 1955. He worked as a general practitioner until he retired. He was named a Distinguished Alumnus and received an honorary degree from the Citadel. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, the AOA Medical Honor Society, and the Hebrew Orphan Society.
Philip S. Minges, Jr. was born on December 1, 1923, in Charleston, SC. He reported for active duty in 1942 during his sophomore year at Clemson University. Although he began training in the Corps of Engineers, combat replacement requirements led to Minges’ assignment as an infantryman to the Eleventh Armored Division. Minges reflects on his combat experience during the Battle of the Bulge when he had to try to dig a foxhole under fire in frozen ground. In his first battle, only three men of a 12-man squad, Minges and two others, came through unharmed. All others were wounded or killed. A few battles later, Minges was wounded: “I heard something hit on the side of the track, about waist high. I knew what it was. [If the shot] had been over about a foot [it would have gotten] me in the back…. I heard another pop and dirt flew up around my feet…. I got shot in the foot.” Following World War II, he enrolled at The Citadel in 1946 and graduated in 1948. After the war, Minges worked fifty years for Dupont in Camden, SC, and retired as an Army Reserve colonel with thirty years of service.
Gregory Crocker was born in Smithfield, Virginia. In this interview, Crocker talks about his family’s tradition of military service, its influence on his decision to attend The Citadel in 2004, and an unanticipated tour of duty in Afghanistan. During his first year, Crocker enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve, believing that the experience would make him a better officer. In August 2006, the Army notified Crocker that he would be ordered to Afghanistan in 2007. He chronicles his surprise at the news, his preparation, and duties during his time there. Some of his duties were routine, some unsavory. The more mundane work of patrolling and training is punctuated by a horrific cleanup following a suicide bombing at a school in Baghlan, Afghanistan. Crocker also reflects on the peculiarity of a visit home midway during his deployment when, in a 24-hour period, he went “from being in a combat zone to walking in Wal-Mart back in Virginia.” After a wearying trip, Crocker returned to the U.S. on May 13, 2008. He comments on the Army’s well-meaning if irksome effort to help soldiers readjust to life at home. “ . . . You just go to all these briefings, basically that says, don't hit your wife, don't commit suicide, don't drink and drive. But by the time you get out of them, you really just want to kill somebody. They're that monotonous. I mean, they try to do that, but you really just, all you want to do is just get home.” Asked if his return to student life at The Citadel was difficult, he says, “most people here are more receptive, just 'cause they know I was a veteran. So they really don't give me any crap.” Crocker admits that his combat experiences in Afghanistan caused him to reconsider his initial decision to attend The Citadel in search of a commission. After his experiences, he has decided to remain an enlisted soldier.
John Burrows was born in Saginaw, Michigan. An excellent student and athlete he graduated high school and received a full scholarship to go The Citadel. He entered in September of 1936 as a civil engineer major, and quickly became number one in his class academically. He also excelled in football, basketball and track, making all-state for basketball three years in a row, and remains in the Citadel Athletic Hall of Fame. Upon graduation from The Citadel in 1940 he received a regular army commission and joined the 61st Coast Artillery Regiment. From there he was eventually assigned to the air defense division of the Supreme Headquarters under General Eisenhower in London, and oversaw the then top-secret plan codenamed Operation Overlord. Burrows recalls his decision to enter The Citadel and his active duty in WWII. Although never in direct combat, his time on the Supreme Headquarters staff allowed him an insider's perspective on the planning for Operation Overlord and the European Theater. He discusses the US Army's ingenuity when it came to advances in weaponry, which were occurring in front of his eyes. He also discusses in detail the German surrender at Reims and how the US Army so effectively handled the multitude of issues surrounding the details of such an event. Upon returning from his service in the army, Burrows worked for a book publishing company before returning to Charleston take a job as Assistant Commandant at The Citadel. Audio with transcript.
Colonel John Allison was born September 19, 1921 in Albany, Georgia. He entered the Citadel in September of 1939 and left at the end of his Junior year in 1942 to enter the Army Air Corps as an Aviation Cadet. During World War II he received three Distinguished Flying Crosses as a bomber pilot. He flew 59 combat missions as a B-24 pilot and five as a B-25 pilot during almost two years in the Pacific, including the bombing of Japan. After returning to the Citadel after the war, he graduated in 1947 and then rejoined what was then the Air Force, becoming a squadron commander in Vietnam. He currently lives in Charleston and is an avid golfer. Allison reflects on his decision to attend The Citadel and his combat experiences in both WWII and Vietnam. He discusses his training as an Army Air Corps pilot and subsequent World War II military experience as a bomber pilot in the Pacific theater. He also alludes to his post-WWII career during the Cold War, including flights to gather intelligence over Russia and Cuba. Audio with transcript.
Chandler discusses the decision to attend The Citadel and recalls that his family lacked the resources to send him to a North East or Ivy League School. Though he enrolled in ’39, he was forced to delay his education for financial reasons, and became part of the class of ’44. After attending OCS training he was commissioned as 2nd Lt. in the 271st Infantry, 69th Division and served with distinction in the European Theater during WWII. He recounts his combat experiences, including when he was injured in Germany along the Siegfried Line, an incident for which he received the Purple Heart. After returning from the war, Chandler began a civic and legal career, elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives, Circuit Judge, Associate Justice and eventually the Chief Justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court. He has remained active in his community, both through economic development boards as well as in his church. He currently presides as Deacon of his church in Mt. Pleasant, SC where he resides with his wife.
Cart, a Charleston native, enlisted in the Navy at the end of his sophomore year at The Citadel in 1942. After finishing the Navy V-7 aviation cadet program at the University of Georgia, he began flight training at Lambert Field in St. Louis, followed by advanced training in different types of aircraft at Pensacola, Florida. He applied for and was accepted by the Marine Corps, commissioned as a second lieutenant, and became a dive bomber pilot in spring 1943. He tells of his combat flights in the Pacific Theater and also of taking the remains of two childhood friends back to Charleston for burial after crashes during their period of flight training. He was among the first to fly Corsairs in a unit that worked with company engineers to resolve a major safety problem. At the end of 1944, he went overseas to the Marshall Islands, flying from a land base to attack Japanese supply craft and other targets. He recalled that during the dive “you could see a grey streak. That meant the bullet just went by you.” He later flew more advanced planes, roughly 50 combat missions in all. After the war, he returned to Charleston, feeling a duty to take over his ailing father’s jewelry store. Twelve years later, he went into regional sales, flying a company plane while covering a large area during one period, and selling private planes during another. His Citadel experience, he recalled, taught him sufficient discipline that when he went into the Marine Corps, “I was ready for it.”
Reamer Lorenzo Cockfield was born on December 2, 1924, in Johnsonville, SC and moved to Lake City shortly thereafter. He was a pre-med student in The Citadel class of 1945 and therefore was exempted from the draft. Nevertheless, Cockfield voluntarily enlisted in the Marine Corps in December of 1943. As a private first class, he served in combat operations in the Pacific Theater. After the war Cockfield led a highly successful life serving as a public school teacher, principal, superintendent and one term as mayor of Lake City. Cockfield reflects on his experience as a stretcher bearer for 30 days of continuous combat during The Battle of Iwo Jima. The stretcher bearers hauled ammunition, food, and medical supplies from battalion headquarters to company headquarters and often returned with a wounded marine on the stretcher. Cockfield was the only member of his original eight-man team to survive. "It was at that time that they replaced me and assigned me to the K Company of the Ninth Marines which was on the front lines and I was delighted to get on the front lines because it was a lot safer up there in a foxhole than where I had been moving around all of the time." Audio with transcript.
Clarence A. Renneker Jr. grew up in Orangeburg, SC, and enrolled at The Citadel in 1939. His brother-in-law, a graduate from the school, influenced his decision. He majored in business and graduated from The Citadel in May of 1943. Renneker was sent to Ft. Benning, GA, where he completed OCS and was commissioned. He was then assigned for a time to the 80th Infantry division. After training in the southwest, he was shipped overseas in June 1944 as an “excess officer.” After arriving in England, he was assigned to the 118th Infantry after speaking with the regiment’s executive officer by chance in a barbershop. The Regimental executive officer was Citadel graduate Colonel Caldwell Barron, Jr. As an officer in the 118th division, Renneker helped run training schools around England, and later in France, he helped train replacement troops from other branches as riflemen by teaching them map reading skills, to shoot and care for their rifles, and other basic infantry skills before they were sent to the front lines. After the surrender was signed in Germany, Renneker helped coordinate the post-war return of soldiers to the United States. In June 1946, he returned home to his wife and eventually took over his father’s clothing store in Orangeburg. He is retired and living in Mt. Pleasant with his wife.
Orvin was born and raised near The Citadel in Charleston, SC. He decided to go to The Citadel and entered in September 1939. In his senior year at The Citadel he began medical school at the Medical College of Charleston as part of a government program to increase the number of doctors in the Medical Corps during WWII. After graduating from medical school in May 1946 he went straight into the Army Air Corps as a flight surgeon trainee but was discharged due to a hearing impairment after a physical examination revealed scars on his ear drums. After his discharge Orvin interned in New York City before returning home to Charleston and opening a general practice in 1948, which he ran for ten years. During this time he realized he enjoyed listening to patients and helping them with their problems. He trained in psychiatry, founded two hospitals specializing in the treatment of adolescents, and joined the Medical University faculty in Charleston. Orvin discusses his time at The Citadel and his fond memories of the years he spent there. His love for his alma mater inspired him to create the Brigadier Club in 1948, which continues to raise money for Citadel Athletics.
Arthur Swanson entered The Citadel in 1941 at the urging of his father whose friend had assured him it was a school that would instill discipline. After two years pursuing an English degree, he went on active duty in July 1943. Assigned to an anti-aircraft unit, he applied for pilot training but was selected to become a navigator. Before he could complete the course, he was reassigned to an infantry unit because of a shortage of young officers. He recalls this abrupt change of plans. “I ended up in Northern California from the comforts of the Air Force to the rigors of the infantry in the Eighty Ninth Division.” In December 1944, he embarked for Europe, landed at Le Havre, and entered the fighting in Luxembourg, moving from there into Germany. He received the Combat Infantry Badge and the Bronze Star for his efforts in Germany with his regiment—the 355th Infantry. He returned from the war in 1946, but visited Europe again before graduating from The Citadel in 1948. Shortly after graduation he began his accidental career in banking, eventually retiring as President of the South Carolina National Bank in 1985. He continues to hold an office at the South Carolina Bank and Trust Company and plays golf regularly.
Michael Veeck was born in Tucson, Arizona in 1951 and is co-owner of the Charleston Riverdogs baseball team. He is the son of Bill Veeck (1914-1986), the colorful if not always successful owner of the St. Louis Browns, the Chicago White Sox, and the World Series champion Cleveland Indians (1948). Michael Veeck inherited his family’s love of baseball, but may be best known as the originator of one of baseball’s most infamous promotions—“Disco Demolition.” What began as a light-hearted gag to blow up disco records symbolizing the death of the 1970s dance craze, ended in a riot at Chicago’s Comiskey Park and considerable damage to the stadium and playing field. In this interview excerpt, Veeck details the planning of “Disco Demolition,” and boasts of his role in hastening disco’s demise. The interview took place during a “US Since 1945” course at The Citadel.
Henry Berlin was born August 19, 1924, in Charleston and enrolled at The Citadel in 1941. After enlistment and training, Berlin eventually served as a radar operator on an LST during the early Normandy landings. After the war he studied law at the University of South Carolina for two years and returned to work at Berlin's clothing store on the corner of King and Broad Streets in Charleston, SC. Berlin details his brief but rebellious tenure at the Citadel before going on active duty in May 1942. He describes how this rebellious streak ended his naval officer training in Columbia, SC, and how he was shipped to Maryland for boot camp. He discusses how he eventually became a radar operator on an LST ferrying troops and material across the English Channel in the days and months after D-Day. He relates harrowing trips across the channel, being targeted by German artillery during the early landings on Normandy, and the loss of troops as they disembarked from the LST in rough seas. After V-E day he describes his return to the US, his trip through the Panama Canal and his arrival at Pearl Harbor just before V-J day. He also touches upon his immediate post-war life including law school, a brief stint playing semi-pro baseball and return to his father's clothing shop in Charleston. Audio with transcript.
Robert S. Adden was born 1 January 1923 in Orangeburg, SC, and enrolled at The Citadel in 1940. He went on active duty with his class of 1944 classmates at the end of their 1943 spring semester, first to basic training at Fort McClellan, AL, and then to 18 weeks of Infantry Officer Candidates School at Fort Benning, GA. His regiment was shipped overseas to England for a month and then to Germany, where they were attached to the British Second Army and became engaged in combat in an attack on the Siegfried line a month before the Battle of the Bulge. After the war he earned an M.B.A. and Ph.D., and returned to The Citadel as a faculty member and administrator until he retired. He received an honorary degree in 2008 in a ceremony that honored the class of 1944, "the class that never was." Adden describes how his Citadel class (1944) was called to active duty at the end of their spring semester in 1943. He describes basic training in Fort McClellan, AL, and his stint in Officer Candidates School in Fort Benning, GA. Commissioned a second lieutenant in May 1944, he began training with the Eighty-fourth Infantry Division at Camp Claiborne in Louisiana where he became a mortar platoon leader. His regiment was shipped to Europe and was attached to the British Second Army during the Rhineland campaign. Adden discusses his first major combat experiences in November, 1944, when his battalion was assigned to secure the town of Prummern, Germany. Shot 5 times in the streets of Prummern, Adden describes how he played dead for hours as German troops and tanks passed beside him. He recalls stumbling to an American aid station after the streets cleared followed by hospital stays in Europe and the US. He returned to active duty in August 1945. Adden also touches briefly on his life and education after the war. Audio with transcript.
A native of Rocky Mount, North Carolina, Adams recalls his WWII experiences and decision to enlist in the Navy as a seventeen year-old. Adams was assigned to the USS Duchess, which primarily served as an attack transport carrier. His most vivid combat experiences came in off-loading troops during the battle of Okinawa in the spring of 1945. Although stationed in the boiler room of the transport, he went topside during part of the unloading and helped carry one of the wounded men aboard ship. After returning home from the war he graduated from The Citadel (1950) and capitalized on his entrepreneurial spirit, founding his own blueprint business as well as Charleston Yacht Sales until he retired from his real estate business, which his daughters continue to run in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina.
Major General James Alexander Grimsley was born in 1921 in Florence, South Carolina. After graduating from The Citadel in 1942 he was commissioned 2nd Lieutenant in the US Army. He served for thirty-three years and finished his Army career as the Director of Security Assistance Plans and Policy in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Among his thirty-five major decorations are Two Silver Star medals for gallantry in Action; four Bronze Star medals for Valor; four Legion of Merit awards; and three Purple Heart medals. In September 1975, Grimsley accepted the position of Vice President of Administration and Finance at The Citadel and five years later was named the 16th President of the military college. Upon retiring in 1989, the Board of Visitors named him President Emeritus, a position held only by Generals Charles P. Summerall and Mark W. Clark. Grimsley, reflects on his decision to attend The Citadel and his combat experiences in Vietnam. He also discusses several of his major achievements as Citadel President. On transitioning from the Army to The Citadel, Grimsley observes that “it was made easier for me coming to The Citadel because it was a military college so there was a structure here that I understood. They just wore cadet uniforms and not army uniforms.” In an April 4-6, 2000 interview, a transcript of which is at the Citadel Archives and Museum, Grimsley detailed his active duty service during WWII.
Burnet Maybank entered The Citadel in September 1941 at the urging of his father, who had agreed to fund his college expenses so long as he attended The Citadel. He reflects on his decision to enter the Citadel and his tour of duty in WWII. In September 1942 Maybank joined the Army Air Corps and served as a B-17 bomber pilot flying on around thirty-seven missions in the European Theater of WWII. Maybank discusses some of his most memorable missions, including flying over the Normandy beaches a few days after D-Day in 1944, in some of the earliest bombing missions over Berlin, a mission against a “secret” facility in Denmark. He tells of a fellow Citadel cadet’s plane, Bill Daniel’s, going down in the North Sea. For his war service he was awarded a Presidential Unit Citation, the Air Medal, and the Distinguished Flying Cross. After the war years he returned home to become a lawyer and later lieutenant governor of South Carolina. Maybank resides in Charleston.
Richard H. Kellahan was born on April 6, 1923, in Kingstree, SC. He was a member of The Citadel class of 1944 and left to join the Army with his classmates at the end of his junior year in 1943. Kellahan was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army after completing Officer Candidate School in May 1944 and was assigned to the 84th Infantry Division’s 335th regiment. Kellahan reflects on his wartime experience in Belgium and Germany, where he was captured and spent six months in a German prisoner-of-war camp. He arrived in Belgium in October 1944, prior to the Battle of the Bulge. While leading his platoon in the 3rd battalion’s attack on the village of Lindern, Lt. Kellahan and his platoon expended all their ammunition and were captured by the Germans on November 29, 1944. Kellahan was sent to Oflag 64 in Szubin, Poland. In January 1945, as the Russians advanced, he endured forced marches in the snow with temperatures as low as -20 ºF and on a bare subsistence rations. At first, he walked along with refugees fleeing the Russians and then spent a week in a German boxcar traveling before stopping at a camp near Potsdam, German. “We could see through the crack at the doorway if it was night or day. . . . One guy had dysentery. We all had to go and whatever. But they finally stopped the train and opened the doors and we got out. I fell out.” The Russians liberated Kellahan’s camp on April 21, 1945, and he rode in a truck convoy to the Elbe River before ending at a hospital near Nancy, France. There he was put on a train to the French coast and later shipped from Le Havre to New York. A Purple Heart recipient, Kellahan returned to Kingstree, South Carolina, and spent some time hunting and fishing. He did not return to The Citadel. He farmed and helped found the Williamsburg First National Bank, working there until 2000 as director and president.
Raymond Kessler was born November 29, 1922, in Charleston, SC, attended the public schools, and enjoyed his first military experience at Porter Military Academy, now the Porter-Gaud private school. At The Citadel, he majored in civil engineering and served as company commander. After graduation in 1943, he was assigned to an engineering officer candidate school at Fort Belvoir, VA. There he learned the military aspects of civil engineering including training in demolitions. Sent to Fort Leonard Wood, MO, he taught draftee recruits basic engineering skills. In August 1944, he was sent to the 1381st Engineer Air Petroleum Distribution company in Camp Claiborne, LA. Kessler overseas experience began with his departure by ship from California to an unknown destination. After stops in Fiji and Australia, his unit arrived in Bombay [modern Mombai], India, in October 1944 and went from there by train to Assam Province in northern India. From Assam Province, his unit was flown over the Himalayas, the world’s highest mountain range with a dozen peaks higher than 25,000 feet, to China. This route was known in World War II as “the Hump”; it claimed the lives of many airmen. His unit’s assignment was to build a 1,000-mile pipeline from India across Burma to China to pump high octane gasoline for American airfields being built to support the war against Japan. There he was put in charge of fifty men and assigned to build a fifty-mile stretch of the pipeline. Though otherwise safer than in combat, he lost two men who were inspecting the pipeline. Locals presumably knocked a hole in the pipeline for fuel, and when the leaking gasoline caught fire it flashed back up the mountain and burning the two men to death. Shortly after the arriving in the US, Kessler signed up for the army reserve and was promoted to captain. He retired as a colonel in 1976. In his civilian career, he worked for a time with the South Carolina Electric and Gas Company before taking a teaching appointment at The Citadel. He later worked for DuPont and then the US Navy until retirement.
Thomas Thorne was born in Savannah, GA, on July 17, 1918. He acquired his love of the military through his father, who was a major in the Georgia National Guard. He entered The Citadel in 1935, and a year after graduating, received a commission in November 1940 as a second lieutenant in the 76th Coast Artillery, a black unit with white officers. While on active duty he served for a time as the anti-aircraft officer for 16th Corps during the Battle of the Bulge when his commanding officer was relieved. For his service in WWII, he received the Distinguished Service Medal and the Meritorious Service Medal. Thorne recalls his decision to attend The Citadel and his thirty-five years in the Army Reserve. He discusses some memorable events of his service in WWII, including chance meetings with General Patton and with two armed SS men alone in the woods. After retiring from the Army Reserve in 1974, Thorne remained active in the Charleston, SC, community, serving as president of the Greater Charleston Chamber of Commerce and vice chairman of the Charleston Development Board.
Bishop G. Edward Haynsworth explains his strong family connections to The Citadel. His father and two brothers were Citadel graduates, and he said his grandfather was credited with firing the first shot at the Star of the West in 1861. His decision to apply, he said, was “relatively simple.” He was called with his entire class of 1944 to active duty in 1943 at the end of his junior year. Within a year he had been commissioned as a Second Lieutenant and shipped to the European theater with the 84th Infantry Division. He describes his combat duty in WWII, including being wounded on November 29, 1944 during an action against the Germans near Aachen. He and his platoon came under attack while advancing, and he was shot through the arm and returned to England for medical care. After returning to The Citadel to complete his English degree, Haynsworth attended the School of Theology at the University of the South. Haynsworth asserts that his wartime experiences confirmed his desire to go to divinity school. Since then, Haynsworth, has traveled the world as a Christian missionary, helping to establish churches in Central and South America as well as in Asia.
Robert Kirksey was born in Aliceville, AL, in 1922. Although his family wanted him to attend school closer to home, Kirksey chose to attend The Citadel. He entered in the fall of 1940 without knowing a single person. Kirksey recalls his choice of The Citadel over Virginia Military Institute and his experiences during WWII. As a member of the class of 1944, he served in combat as an infantry lieutenant in Europe during WWII. He was wounded in action during an attack of the Siegfried Line in the fall on 1944, just inside the German border. For his actions he received the Purple Heart and a Silver Star. He notes that although it took a long time for training and preparation, his actual time in combat was very short. After the war, Kirksey returned to The Citadel to complete his final year and graduated in 1947 with a degree in political science. Afterwards, he returned home to Alabama where he became a lawyer and served for many years as probate judge of Pickens County. He later spent a year in Washington, DC, and one in Orangeburg, SC, as secretary to U.S. Rep. Hugo Sims.
Gerald Meyerson was born in Spartanburg, SC, on December 19, 1921. After his sophomore year at The Citadel, he transferred to Duke University. While still at Duke as a first-year law school student, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, and he enlisted in the Army Air Corps communications cadet program. He then returned and completed his law school exams while he waited to start the training program. As a communications officer, he later served in London and Paris. From there his unit coordinated communications with various Air Corps units in the European Theater of Operations. After the German surrender, he transferred to the Judge Advocate Generals Corps because he had attended law school. He worked there on minor cases for only a short time before returning to the United States. Meyerson reflects on his decisions both to enroll at and subsequently transfer from The Citadel. He also discusses his postwar career, initially as an attorney and subsequently as a men’s clothing merchant.
William Ladson was born in Moultrie, GA, on October 10, 1915. He chose to enter The Citadel in 1932 but returned home after two years to help his father run the family business, which was strained due to the Depression. He eventually returned to school and graduated in 1938 with a degree in engineering. He entered the Army Reserve in 1940 as part of the Coast Artillery and, due to his background and degree in engineering, worked stateside as part of the engineer corps during WWII. Ladson recalls his decision to attend The Citadel and his experiences during WWII and the Korean War. Anxious to go overseas, he eventually went to Korea after the Korean War broke out. There he was executive officer and commanding officer of combat engineers in direct support of the frontline troops. He retired from the army in 1965, and his engineering background led him to take a job as city manager of Cocoa Beach, FL. He maintains strong ties to his alma mater, recently attending his class reunion and speaking to a class of Citadel Cadets.
Robert Stehling is chef and owner of Hominy Grill, located in downtown Charleston, SC. Prior to opening Hominy, Stehling worked under the tutelage of Bill Neal at Crook’s Corner in Chapel Hill, NC. After working his way from dish washer to head chef there, he moved to New York City where he worked for several years at a number of restaurants before moving to Charleston in 1996 with his wife Nunnally Kersh to open Hominy Grill. Since then Stehling and his restaurant have received national attention for his ability to innovate while remaining true to the southern culinary traditions. In 2008 he received the James Beard Award as Best Chef in the Southeast. In this interview with Citadel graduate student Shannon Hungerford, Stehling reflects on his career path and the various influences on his cooking. Stehling also describes the challenges of owning and running a popular restaurant while raising a family.
Rhonda Jones (1970) is a sanitation worker for the City of Charleston, South Carolina. Having grown up in Brooklyn, New York; Rhonda moved south as a teenager to care for her ailing grandparents. A self-described outspoken and aggressive "Northerner," Jones had trouble assimilating into the slowness of life in the Lowcountry. In this interview, she recalls her life as a teenager displaced in Charleston and her efforts to provide for her children. In 2000 Jones applied for employment with the City of Charleston and became one of the first women that worked in sanitation as collector. In a traditionally male dominated environment she faced multiple challenges that included sexual harassment due both being a women and being a lesbian. Furthermore, Jones articulate the struggles that all sanitation workers, regardless their gender, face in their battle for better working conditions and the right to organize a union. At the time of the interview Jones was very involved with Local 1199, an organizing body fighting for the formation of a sanitation workers' union.
Timothy Grant was born in 1954 at the Naval Hospital in Charleston, South Carolina and grew up on Jackson Street on the East Side of Charleston. He recalls memories of the women that raised him: his mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother and their ties to the city. Grant talks about his affiliation with the Jackson Street Panthers, a street gang that in 1969 protected Mary Moultrie, a leader of the Hospital Strike, when she was forced to leave her residence and hide at the union hall. He shares his memories of the strike and its aftermath and remembers other older young organizers such as Robert Ford and John Reynolds. In the second part, the interview focuses on Grant’s experiences as a Black worker at the Street and Sidewalks Department of the City of Charleston and reflects about the importance of keeping the lessons of the past and to fight for workers’ rights.
Before settling in the Lowcountry in the late 1990s, Pilar resided with her husband and her young son in the city of Mendoza, Argentina. Pilar worked as a teacher and her husband worked for a company called Villavicencio. The young couple was able to meet their obligations and attend to the needs of their child until a reduction of staff left her husband out of work. Like so many other Argentines hit by the economic crisis, after unsuccessfully looking for work for months, disillusioned and desperate, her husband decided to try his luck abroad. A few months later Pilar joined him. In the interview, Pilar tells about the process of preparing to emigrate and the adaptation to the new life in the Lowcountry. She recalls the people and programs that helped her in her journey and reflects on how the experience of migrating affected the family’s roles and dynamics as well as the construction of her own identity.Antes de establecerse en el Lowcountry a fines de los años noventa, Pilar residía junto a su esposo y su hijo pequeño en la ciudad de Mendoza, Argentina. Pilar trabajaba como maestra y su esposo lo hacía en la empresa Villavicencio. La joven pareja era capaz de afrontar sus obligaciones y atender a las necesidades de su niño hasta que una reducción de personal deja a su marido sin trabajo. Como tantos otros argentinos golpeados por la crisis económica, después de buscar trabajo infructuosamente por meses, desilusionado y desesperado, su esposo decidió probar suerte en el exterior. Unos meses después Pilar, se le unió. En la entrevista Pilar cuenta como fue el proceso de prepararse para partir y la adaptación a la vida en el Lowcountry. Recuerda las personas y programas que la ayudaron en este proceso y reflexiona acerca de cómo la experiencia de migrar afectó la dinámica de los roles familiares como así también la construcción de su propia identidad.
Janie Campbell was born in Moffett near Edisto Island, South Carolina, and raised in New Jersey. There, she worked in a group home for youth with disabilities and served as Chief Shop Steward for the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, (AFSCME). In 1991,she reluctantly left her job and returned to South Carolina for family reasons. After holding various jobs in the region, she began working as a sanitation worker with the City of Charleston in 1997. She was one of six women employed by the department at the time and recalls some initial embarrassment at riding on the back of a truck. With the encouragement of male coworkers, however, she became a driver. Campbell took part in two failed efforts to unionize the sanitation workers in order to bolster their pay and improve their working conditions. She discusses the poor working conditions in the department as well as the difficulties of sustaining a union in South Carolina.
Adrian Williams (1970) was born and raised in Charleston, SC. She was among the first female sanitation workers with the City of Charleston. In this interview, Williams recalls her early days growing up in Charleston and Johns Island and asserts that being a sexual abuse survivor made her a strong person who fights for her rights and who understands the sufferings of others. When asked about her source of strength, she affirms that becoming a mother when she was a teenager made her resolute about building a better life for herself and her child. She is particularly grateful for three women that provided support and inspired her: her aunt, her psychotherapist, and an English teacher. After a life crisis, Williams started working as a bus driver with the City of Charleston and later she moved to the sanitation department. She liked it at first. However, soon she discovered the problems that plagued her job which included abusive managers, sexism and sexual harassment, as well as, safety hazards related to the lack of appropriate training and equipment. Williams talks about her experiences as a union organizer, the barriers to engage more workers in the process, and the development of more effective strategies to negotiate with the authorities. This interview brings light to the efforts of the Local 1199C to be recognized by the City of Charleston in 2009.
For over three months in 1969, four hundred African-American hospital workers from the Medical College of South Carolina and Charleston County Hospital walked off their jobs in protest over discrimination and the right to form a union. The state government and hospital boards argued that workers receiving pay from public funds could not engage in collective bargaining. The hospital strikers were mostly women, some of whom earned below the federal minimum wage; white hospital workers performing the same jobs were paid higher. This interview details the experiences of two women involved in the strike, Mary Moultrie and Rosetta Simmons, and a local civil rights activist who helped organize the strike, William Saunders. Moultrie and Simmons describe the working conditions before the strike and their demand for “respect as human beings.” Saunders remembers the racial tension in the city during the strike, detailing threats made by local officials and the false arrests of activists. All three interviewees report that African Americans at the hospital today are “afraid” to push for better pay and working conditions. Saunders also comments on the fact that “nothing is illegal in South Carolina,” referring to the fact that the state continues to deny public sector workers the right to collectively bargain. The session, which took place at the office of the union representing City workers (Local 1199-Charleston), was part of a Citadel graduate course on local history. Citadel history professor Kerry Taylor guided the initial portion of the conversation and various students followed with their own questions. For additional interviews related to the hospital workers strike, visit the Southern Oral History Program collection at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Avery Research Center at the College of Charleston.
Richard Polite was born in Charleston in 1951 and raised on Strawberry Lane before his family moved to Cannon St. near President St. After attending Burke High School, where he played football, Polite served in the U.S. Army and served one tour in Vietnam. In this interview, Polite recalls growing up in segregated Charleston and later working at the Naval Shipyard. He explains why he enjoys the job he has now held for 12 years driving a truck for the City of Charleston’s environmental services department. The job affords him the opportunity to serve and interact with the public. Hazardous working conditions and mismanagement have nevertheless led Polite and many of his coworkers to establish a union this past year. While there is no shortage of dissatisfaction among his coworkers, fear of losing their jobs in a poor economy has kept many of them on the sidelines.
“Sugar” is a bakery located on Cannon Street in downtown Charleston, S.C. that was founded by Bouffard and Bowick in November of 2007. Bowick, a native Tennessean, and Bouffard, a native of Vermont, have replaced an old vegetable stand with a new sweet shop. Both men worked in New York as architects, but moved to Charleston twelve years ago to pursue their dream of baking. In this interview, Bowick and Bouffard discuss their career backgrounds and inspirations, and how their background in architecture relates to the process of baking. They also discuss family connections to Charleston and local cuisine, the relationship between history and Charleston history in recipes, and how customers are attracted to the historical side of certain treats. An openly gay couple, Bowick and Bouffard also comment on the warm welcome they received upon moving into the neighborhood and what it says about how Charleston has changed in the last decade.
Father Leonard Cunningham (1923-2010) was born in Charleston, SC to Harley and Marion Cunningham. In this interview, conducted several months before his death, Cunningham discusses his rich family history. His ancestors included a former Confederate officer and federal judge, a midwife, a Baptist minister, a supporter of Marcus Garvey, and many skilled craftsmen. His father was a skilled plasterer and ornamental worker who worked on the Francis Marion Hotel, as well as many historic Charleston homes. He also built the family home at 15 Larnes St. and sent his children to the Immaculate Conception School. In 1950, Cunningham was ordained a Catholic priest, joining the Holy Ghost Fathers. That year he became the first African American priest to celebrate mass at the Cathedral of St. Johns in Charleston. In 1960, he joined the community at Mepkin Abbey, but was given leave a few years later to work in North Charleston during the civil rights movement. This interview was conducted in conjunction with College of Charleston graduate student Joi Mayo’s 2011 thesis, “A Beacon Light: Immaculate Conception School's Encouragement of Charleston's Black Middle and Upper Classes.”
Rev. Joseph A. Darby was born in Columbia, South Carolina. He is a graduate of the University of South Carolina and a product of the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary. Darby has long been involved in numerous racial, cultural and faith based programs to improve South Carolina race relations and education, most notably as former President of both the Greater Columbia Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance and the Greater Columbia Interfaith Clergy Association. He also served on the Charleston County School District’s Superintendent Search Committee, which led to the hiring of the School District’s first African-American Superintendent. Reverend Darby is also a former First Vice-President of the South Carolina Conference of the NAACP. In this interview with Kerry Taylor, Rev. Darby discusses the Democratic Party’s strategies within the state of South Carolina leading up to the 2008 Presidential Election. He comments on the differences between Hilary Clinton’s versus Barack Obama’s campaigns, of which he found Obama’s more successful by focusing on making personal connections within the Democratic voter base. In addition, he also discusses the role of the ministerial clergy in relation to the Democratic presidential campaigns, how those contacts were made, and the impact they had on the eventual outcome. A fourth generation minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church he has over thirty years experience and currently serves as Pastor of the Morris Brown AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina.
William Lindsay Koob III (b. 1946) is a Citadel graduate (1968) who served fourteen years in US Army intelligence, rising to the rank of Major. While stationed at the Pentagon in 1987, he admitted under interrogation to being gay and was forced to resign his commission. A short time later, he came out to his parents and brother: “I told the whole story, and by that time I was in tears. My brother said a few things, and basically,everyone sat and waited for my father to respond--the retired army colonel. Here I was, the third generation of my family to serve in the military. But, my dad just kind of sat there, looking down at the table. After a while, he just got up from the table, and he walked around, and he pulled me to my feet and said, ‘Son, I don't like it, I don't understand it. I’m going to have to think about this for a long time, but you're my son and I love you.’ Could I have asked for anything more? No.” Koob further reported that his Citadel classmates, following the leadership of their company commander, have been accepting of his homosexuality: “I am still one of the brotherhood. And, for that, I will be eternally grateful.” Koob, who resides in Ladson, South Carolina, is an accomplished classical music critic and journalist.
Joseph Goodson was born on January 23, 1930, in McBee, South Carolina, and grew up in nearby Darlington. The only son of a widowed mother, enrolled in The Citadel following a campus visit to a friend who was a member of the Corps of Cadets. After graduation (1951), he joined the US Marine Corps with three classmates and was commissioned as a second lieutenant. He completed the Officers’ Basic Course at Quantico, VA, and was assigned to an anti-aircraft artillery unit, the 2nd 90mm Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion at Camp Lejune, NC, in early 1952. Goodson planned to apply for flight training, but on the recommendation of his commanding officer was assigned to command an artillery battery in Korea. He reflects on his experience in Korea during the time just after the Armistice was signed in 1953. He also discusses his Marine career during the 1950s and a tour in Vietnam in 1968 during the Tet Offensive and the defense of Khe Sahn. Goodson also offers observations on life at The Citadel during the period between WWII and the Korean War and contemplates the impact attending The Citadel had on his life and career. Goodson returned to The Citadel in 1972 and spent the next three years as Commanding Officer of the NROTC Unit. He discusses the question of hazing in some cadet organizations during this period. After his retirement from the Marines in 1975, he stayed on in various administrative positions at The Citadel until 1990. He lives in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina.
Baker was born November 2, 1924, in Tuckahannock Township, Pennsylvania. He was a member of the Citadel class of 1948. He served in WWII in the European Theater and remained in Europe after the surrender to serve on the US Strategic Bombing Survey team. When that duty concluded, he was sent to Charleston for release from active duty. There he decided to attend The Citadel as a veteran student. While at school, he remained in the Navy Reserve, and when the Korean War began, he was recalled to active duty. He was assigned to the destroyer, USS Porter (DD-800), where he served as gunnery officer. After Korea, he continued in the Navy Reserve and completed twenty years of service. Baker discusses his naval service in Europe, in destroyers, in Korea and his civilian career. After his release from active duty after Korea, Baker settled in Charleston, where he worked for the Westvaco Company until retirement in 1987. He lives in Charleston, SC, West of the Ashley.
Brandon K. Brezeale, Citadel Class of 2007, was born in Charleston, South Carolina in 1985 and grew up in Moncks Corner. In this interview, Brezeale, who attended the Citadel with a full scholarship as a baseball player, discusses his experiences as a young man, questioning and exploring his sexual orientation in the context of the ambiguous homophobic-homoerotic culture of a military college. In his junior year, outside of school, he met two other gay men associated with the Citadel that supported him and introduced him to a larger gay-friendly community. He came out to his family during his senior year but waited after graduation to come out to his Citadel friends. He states his old classmates accept him and his boyfriend, but he is skeptical about The Citadel's readiness to openly embrace the gay cadets. He is grateful for the large Citadel alumni community and the doors it opened for him after graduating with an engineering degree. At the time of the interview, Brezeale was living in Washington, D.C. with his partner and working in an engineering firm while preparing to get married in the coming spring.
Duane Flemming, Citadel Class of 1982 was born in France in 1960 and grew up in Baltimore where he resided until attending The Citadel. He remembers his experiences as a Band Company cadet, his first week as a cadet, his knob year, and the institutional changes that occurred under the leadership of three different presidents. He explains The Citadel culture was challenging not just for gays but for anybody that showed any kind of weakness. He never disclosed his sexual orientation to anybody and continued protecting his privacy while working with the Army Medical Service Corps where he served until 1992. He first met Citadel gay alumni while living in Washington, D.C through GALA (Gay and Lesbian Alliance). Flemming asserts the association provides a different kind of bond for people that have mixed feelings about their Citadel experience. After leaving the Army, Flemming went to work for the Veterans Health Administration. At the time of the interview, he was the Director of Enrollment and Forecasting.
Stefan Kosovych was born on October 5, 1979 in Washington, DC. He graduated from The College of William and Mary with a B.S. in Chemistry in 2002 and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army through ROTC. Contracting with the Army in 2000 during a time of peace, he found himself going to war following his initial training at the Field Artillery Officer Basic Course. In this interview, Kosovych recounts his experience as a platoon leader in Iraq from August 2003 to July 2004. Lieutenant Kosovych and his unit performed diverse missions, sometimes with little or no training. They hauled Iraqi munitions to be destroyed, conducted infantry patrols in downtown Baghdad, and participated in large-scale raids. Kosovych stresses the difficulties of being a leader including the tensions between him and his Noncommissioned Officers, as well as the strain of both completing the mission and taking care of his soldiers. His account contains situations that highlight the confusion of combat and the moral ambiguities of modern warfare. He also reflects on failures of leadership—those of his superiors as well as his own. Kosovych is a graduate from and holds a M.A. in History from The Citadel/College of Charleston.
Clarissa Lugo was born October 28, 1979 in Del Rio, Texas. Acting on a dare by one of her high school soccer teammates she decided to apply to The Citadel, which had only recently begun to admit women. After graduating in 2002 with a B.S. in education she taught sixth grade social studies for one year. In 2005 she became the first female graduate of the South Carolina Corps of Cadets to hold a position in the Citadel’s Office of Admissions. As assistant director of admissions her work focuses on recruiting female and Hispanic cadets. On April 20, 2009 she was honored for superior performance by Citadel President Lt. Gen. John W. Rosa. In this interview with graduate student Kate Gallo, Lugo explains her decision to attend The Citadel, and the support she received from family and friends. She discusses the difficulties she faced as a new cadet, both as a woman and as a Mexican-American. As part of the first wave of women, she reflects on the legacies of her cohort and the impact of the inclusion of women at The Citadel. Lugo believes it has enriched the traditional qualities of what it means to be a Citadel cadet. As a member of The Citadel’s first women’s soccer team she also discusses the differences between being a Citadel cadet versus a student-athlete. The mother of two daughters, she enjoys her work in the Admissions Office and continues to reflect fondly on her years as a cadet.
Norma Hoffman-Davis (1940) was born and lived in Charleston until she left for college in 1957. Hoffman's parents were Ellen Wiley, a school teacher, and Joseph Irvin Hoffman a prominent African American physician who practiced in Charleston until he was in his eighties. In this interview, Hoffman-Davis reflects about growing up in Charleston peninsula, in a time when black and whites lived in the same neighborhoods but all institutions were segregated. She attended a catholic school for blacks, Immaculate Conception, and her family worshiped at St Peter's Catholic Church. Hoffman- Davis remembers the stories of her father, a black doctor, practicing in downtown Charleston and rural Johns Island. She tells about the health care institutions available for black people when she was a child, Cannon Street Hospital and the black section of Roper Hospital and also remembers her father's colleagues. Hoffman-Davis reflects about the mixed results that desegregation brought to the black community in terms of the access to healthcare services, as well as how changes in the healthcare industry have negatively impacted the doctor- patient relationship. Hofmann and her husband Mr. Leonard Davis lived in Detroit Michigan for thirty-eight years. After retirement they move back to the Lowcountry and reside in the house in which her parents used to live.
Deuward Bultman was born in 1925 in Sumter, SC. In this interview, he discusses his family roots in Germany, their business in Sumter, and longstanding connections to The Citadel. He enrolled in the fall of 1942, and enlisted a few months later before going on active duty in June of 1943. His WWII flying career consisted primarily of flight training for B-17 and B-29 aircraft. He was released from active duty in December 1945 before attending the University of North Carolina where he graduated with a degree in commerce in 1948. He was in the US Air Force reserve before returning to active service during the Korean War. Bultman also discusses the Cold War and recalls a near accident he had at Langley Airbase in Virginia. He has worked as an accountant for more than fifty years.
Ida Ostendorff was born in Gilbert, South Carolina. At the start of WWII she traveled to Washington D.C. where she passed a typing course and began work as a “government girl” working in the Judge Advocate General’s office. In 1942, upon turning 21 and meeting the minimum age requirement, she jointed the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC). She completed her basic training at Ft. Oglethorpe, Georgia, where she was trained to use a gas mask. She volunteered for an assignment overseas and traveled to New York City to embark on the Queen Elizabeth. She landed in Scotland on June 6, 1944, having no idea at the time that it was D-Day. She was then transported to her assignment at Stone Staffordshire, England. On her way there she remembers the commotion caused by the Normandy landings: “As we were going along, people were just waving wildly to us because they knew it was D-Day, but we didn’t know it.” She remained in England until the end of the war. She met her husband after the war when they both took the same French class. They were married for 61 years and have five children, several of whom have served in the military.
Lu Edna Capers (1915) was born and raised in Johns Island, S.C. Capers, like her mother and her siblings, attended Promise Land School, a segregated school for black children on the island. In this interview, Capers recalls her experiences at Promise Land describing the school building and its inadequate equipment. She explains how the classes were organized, what were the students' routines and responsibilities, and the games they played. She also recalls some of her teachers, among them civil right leader Septima Clark.
Vafides was born in 1921 in Hull, MA. He was a member of The Citadel class of 1943. He attended The Citadel at the beginning of World War II, leaving in 1943 to serve in the US Army as a paratrooper. He returned to complete his studies after the war ended. He was assigned to duty as part of a bazooka team in the 513th Parachute Infantry Regiment, Co. H, and deployed with his unit in the 17th Airborne Division to England in late 1944. The Division was alerted for Operation Market Garden but did not participate. When the German attack against Allied forces began in mid-December 1944 in the Ardennes in what is known as the Battle of the Bulge, Vafides was in England undergoing training. His entire division was ordered to France and moved by air and then by truck into Belgium near Bastogne where it joined the fighting as part of Gen. Patton's Third Army. While engaged near Flamierge, Belgium, Vafides was wounded and taken captive by the Germans and sent to a POW camp in Germany. He returned to Allied control when his camp was liberated in early 1945 and returned home. After college Vafides worked as a teacher until his retirement.
Willa Mae Freeman was born and lived most of her life on Johns Island. In this interview Freeman recalls growing up in a rural environment and learning to work on farming since early age. She also remembers her days at Promise Land School, a segregated school for black children. She describes the precarious school structure and the students' responsibilities and routines. When she was in fourth grade, Promise Land building was closed and all the students were transferred to Mt. Zion Elementary. Then, for the first time, they rode the school bus and had access to the bookmobile. Freeman reflects about the importance of education and expresses her concerns for the problems that happen at school nowadays.
Anne Marie Gilliard (b. 1928) was born in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina; her father was a farmer and her mother a seamstress and washerwoman. Gilliard attended school until fourth grade and soon after started working with her mother mending and ironing clothes. In the interview, she remembers going with her sick sister to the Cannon Hospital in downtown Charleston: the trip would take all day; the building was old and dilapidated, but the nurses were kind and professional. Gilliard reflects about the penuries of living in Charleston and negotiating the relationships with white residents but also with upper-class blacks. She states, people from the rural areas distrusted both, white and black doctors and the medications they prescribed. Gilliard recalls she was a teenager when she discovered the places for dancing and drinking. She met a musician from Chicago and started singing in clubs, but when she got pregnant, he abandoned her. Later she got married to another man and had another son. The family relocated on Awendaw and she rarely made it back to Charleston.
Houston, Texas native Jessica Maas had no intention of enrolling in a military college after graduating from high school. But a visit to The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina, solidified her decision to take on the challenges this military school offered, despite several offers to play collegiate-level volleyball at other schools. Maas explains, “I came on campus, and my coaches were talking to me about the challenge and how it would be a different situation from most college students, and that you wouldn't get the normal experience. Once I heard their pitch and heard that it would be a challenge for me, I couldn't turn it down, and I knew that I would regret it if I didn't see if I could handle it, and see if I could excel.” In 2011, four years after first stepping through the Citadel's gates, Maas graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science, proving she had indeed handled every challenge The Citadel had to offer. In her interview, Maas relates her experiences at The Citadel as a female athlete, discussing topics such as gender relationships, friendships, faith, and the leadership styles she encountered. Jessica also recalls her best and worst moments during her four years at college, from academic challenges, to reminiscing about favorite classes.
Charles (Chuck) A. Maxwell, Citadel Class of 1985, was born in Denver, Colorado in 1962 and was raised in the South Carolina Lowcountry. His family has deep roots in Charleston and his parents decided to return to the city when his father left the Air Force. After graduating from Berkeley High School in Moncks Corner, he attended The Citadel and was an accomplished cadet elected to be the Fourth Battalion Regimental Commander. Right after graduation, he joined the Air Force and was initially stationed in North Dakota and later in England. He was named Captain, but his career was cut short when he was subjected to martial court for being gay. In the interview, Maxwell takes pride in his family roots and values that have guided him during his life. He talks about the special relationship he had with an uncle who was a gay artist living in New York City and helped him to accept himself and enjoy life in the big city. He discusses his experiences as a Black gay man in the South and in military organizations before the time of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policies. He is proud about his experience at The Citadel and his accomplishments as a cadet. He explains it was easier for him to be gay at The Citadel than Black at The Citadel because he could hide his sexual orientation but not his complexion. He remembers Hell Week, the knob year, and other abuses he overcame during his time in the institution, including being forced to lead the school fight song, Dixieland. He also talks about his experience and accomplishments in the Air Force, the struggles to be who he was in a homophobic institution, as well as the frustration and despair he went through for being taken to court martial. At the time of the interview Maxwell was living in Atlanta with his partner of thirteen years and was still deeply involved with The Citadel as an alum.
Gladys Pinckney was born in Beaufort, South Carolina in 1915 and made the decision very early to become a nurse. She attended nursing school and was encouraged to become a Red Cross nurse. In 1941, she received a request from the War Department to serve as Second Lieutenant in the Army Nurse Corps, and she reported to Fort Jackson two weeks later. She served at a number of medical facilities in France at the tail end of the war and in its aftermath. As a nurse with a specialty in anaesthesia, she took care of combat casualties and prisoners of war from all over Europe. When asked how she felt about taking care of German POW’s, she said, “Didn’t make any difference. When I took an oath, we vowed that we would take care of everybody who was committed to our care. That’s an oath we had to take.” Pinckney also served as a nurse in a MASH unit during the Korean War. She was asked to serve in Vietnam, but decided to retire due to health considerations. She is presently a resident of Columbia, South Carolina, where she volunteers at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church and drives her own car.
Leila Kikos was born Leila Elizabeth Bailey on President St. in Charleston, SC in 1923. She graduated from Memminger High School in 1940, after which she studied drafting at The Citadel and worked at the shipyards and for the War Department as a switchboard operator on Meeting St. After the formation of the WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service), Kikos consulted with her father and enlisted. She attended basic training at Hunter College in New York City. She was assigned to Washington, D.C. as a drafter. It was there that she met her husband Peter, a Marine studying bomb disposal at American University. After the war, she and her husband moved to Minneapolis briefly before returning to Charleston, where they operated a bakery.
Pearl James Hill was born in 1925, in Aynor, South Carolina. One of fourteen children, she was orphaned at age thirteen, and lived with various family members until she turned sixteen and moved to Charleston. Hill worked at the munitions factory manufacturing hand grenades. Later, she became a ship welder, and worked at the Naval Shipyard until WWII ended in 1945. She then briefly worked at American Tobacco. In this interview with Rebecca Michaud, Hill reflects on her childhood, work at the munitions factory and the ship yard, and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
Helen Rooks was born in Beaufort, South Carolina. She was the oldest of five children and her father worked as a lumberman, while her mother was a homemaker. Though she was initially interested in joining the Navy, a recruiter at the local courthouse convinced her to join the Coast Guard in 1943. Her time in the service began with a rough start when the train in which she was traveling struck a cow on the way to Miami. Upon arriving at her duty station, she worked as a yeoman with Air-Sea Rescue. At a hospital in Coral Gables, Florida, she worked in the burn unit. She recalls witnessing debris floating up onto the beach from battles with nearby German submarines. Rooks spent her off-hours enjoying the nightlife in Miami. She received a citation for being a charter member of the Women in the Military Service for America and was recognized for her service by Governor Olin Johnston. She was married to her husband Milton—a World War II veteran—for 53 years before his death in 1991.
Elma England was raised in Grover, SC sixty miles from Charleston. During the war she moved to Charleston to work in the Charleston Navy Yard as a welder. At the shipyard, England worked on the USS Tidewater and she was on board during the destroyer’s ceremonial launch on 30 June 1945. As someone who had worked her whole life, she found it easy to make the adjustment to working at the shipyard. She was laid off after the war and went to work for the phone company.
In the third of a three-part interview, Langhorne A. “Tony” Motley reflects on his tenures as United States Ambassador to Brazil (1981-1983) and as Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs (1983-1985). Motley was appointed ambassador by President Ronald Reagan after having been recommended by Alaskan Senators Frank Murkowski and Ted Stevens, both of whom were close friends. Having grown up in Brazil and being fluent in Portuguese, Motley enjoyed strong support from the Brazilian press. During the Brazilian debt crisis of the early 1980s, Motley helped the government secure a major loan from the US in exchange for Brazilian support during the international trade negotiations surrounding the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). As Assistant Secretary of State, Motley was a central player in Reagan’s foreign policy, which had a strong emphasis on Latin American affairs. He reflects on his efforts to cultivate the Contra opposition to the Sandinista regime in Nicaragua and his efforts to destabilize the country’s economy. Motley also played a central role in planning the successful invasion of Grenada in 1983. Motley provides personal assessments of many of the political leaders with whom he interacted closely, including Ronald Reagan, Augusto Pinochet, Daniel Ortega, William Casey, and George H.W. Bush.
In the second part of a three-part interview, Langhorne A. “Tony” Motley discusses his career as a real estate developer in Alaska as well as his earliest foray into government when he was appointed the Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Commerce and Economic Development. He then served for four years as a lobbyist for the Citizens for Management of Alaskan Lands, which represented the land development interests of the mining, oil and gas, tourism, and real estate industries. During this period, he also worked on the campaigns of various Republican politicians, including Senators Frank Murkowski and Ted Stevens. In December 1978, Motley and Stevens were the two survivors of a plane crash at the Anchorage International Airport. Stevens lost his wife in the crash. Following his diplomatic career, Motley launched a consulting business, L.A. Motley and Company, Inc. The company represented various US corporations interested in doing business in Latin America as well as Latin American firms working in the United States. Motley recounts his efforts to support Petra Lovetinska, who in 2000 became just the second woman to graduate from The Citadel. He concludes by reflecting on his campaign work on behalf of George W. Bush during the South Carolina primary in 2000.
Langhorne A. “Tony” Motley was born 5 June 1938 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He is the former United States Ambassador to Brazil (1981–83) and Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs (1983–85). In this interview, he reflects on growing up in Brazil as the son of an American oil executive who died in an airplane crash when Motley was twelve. A graduate of The Citadel (1960), Motley discusses the hazing he and his classmates experienced and remembers that, “we made a pledge that we weren’t going to do that, and I think we held it up.” While in the Air Force, Motley was stationed at Feltwell in England, Walker Air Force Base in New Mexico, Albrook Air Force Base in Panama, Scott Air Force Base in Illinois, and Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska. He resigned from the Air Force in June of 1970 to accept a job in Alaska in real estate development. Subsequent interviews on June 4, 2012 and June 9, 2012 explore Motley’s diplomatic career as well as his ongoing relationship to The Citadel.
The oldest of three sisters, Lourdes was born in Mendoza, Argentina in 1972. Her family experienced many economic setbacks, and she learned at a young age to work hard to overcome obstacles. She completed her training as a Physical Education teacher while helping the family business, and right after graduating, she taught swimming lessons, hockey, and operated a small gym. During the Argentina economic crisis at the end of the 1990s, Lourdes reluctantly left her country. This decision had a great impact on her relationship with her loved ones and in her own identity. Lourdes tells about the barriers she faced to adjust to the life in South Carolina and how she coped. She worked in housekeeping but she had a longing for her teaching days and started looking for ways to use her knowledge and passion for fitness and a healthy lifestyle. She presented a proposal to teach a free of charge fitness class for pregnant women at Our Lady of Mercy Outreach in Johns Island, South Carolina. At first, her students were mostly Latinas, but soon her classes were full of women with very different backgrounds. Later, she moved her free classes to the public library on Johns Island. In the interview, Lourdes explains faith has been central in her journey, giving her a new community and the strength to face every day as an undocumented worker without becoming overwhelmed by fears and anxiety. Raised Catholic, she is now a member of an evangelical church. Lourdes and her husband have volunteered at a Hispanic church food bank, which served mostly poor black families in Ravenel, South Carolina. Descripción: La mayor de tres hermanas, Lourdes, nació en 1972 en Mendoza capital en Argentina. Su familia sufrió varios reveses económicos y debido a ello aprendió desde pequeña a esforzarse y trabajar con empeño para superar los obstáculos. Estudio y se recibió de profesora de educación física mientras ayudaba en el negocio familiar y a poco de graduarse ya impartía clases de natación, hockey y tenía un pequeño gimnasio en su casa. Durante la crisis económica de Argentina de fines de los años noventa renuentemente decidió emigrar. Esta decisión produjo cambios profundos tanto en su identidad como en su relación con sus seres queridos. Lourdes habla de los obstáculos que enfrentó para adaptarse a la vida en Carolina del Sur y cómo poco a poco los fue superando. Después de asistir a las clases de inglés comenzó a sentir que podía comunicarse mejor y empezó a participar más activamente en la comunidad. Sin embargo extrañaba trabajar en su profesión y entonces empezó a buscar oportunidades para compartir su conocimiento y pasión por la actividad física y la vida saludable. Fue así que decidió presentar una propuesta para enseñar de forma gratuita, una clase de gimnasia para mujeres embarazadas en Our Lady of Mercy Outreach en Johns Island. Al principio, sus estudiantes eran en su mayoría latinas, pero pronto sus clases se llenaron de mujeres de distintas procedencias. Más tarde, trasladó sus clases gratuitas a la biblioteca pública en Johns Island. En la entrevista, Lourdes dice que su fe y su relación con Dios han sido centrales en su camino. Gracias a su vida de fe tiene fuerza cada mañana para enfrentar su día como trabajadora indocumentada sin quedar abrumada por el temor y la ansiedad. Criada en la iglesia católica es ahora miembro de una iglesia evangélica. Junto con su marido ha sido voluntaria en Ravenel en un banco de alimentos en una iglesia hispana que ayudaba mayormente familias pobres afroamericanas.
Elsa Mendez was born in Chile in 1976 but grew up in Mendoza, Argentina. In the late 1990s, she fell in love, got pregnant, and married her sweetheart. The young couple suffered the economic crisis affecting Argentina in those years. Frustrated, and on an impulse, she wrote a letter to her sister who was living in South Carolina, asking her for help to move to the United States. In return, her sister facilitated the money to buy airplane tickets and then assisted the young family to get settled in North Charleston. In the interview, Mendez remembers her first impressions in the United States, and the struggles and challenges they faced during the first months as immigrants. She talks with affection and gratitude about the American neighbors who welcomed them with open arms and helped them to find work. Over time, other friends and relatives from Argentina moved to the area, and while she was happy to have loved ones close by, soon the dynamics of these old relationships changed in the new setting. Mendez also tells about her experiences as an undocumented immigrant and the negative impact of the passage of the South Carolina immigration law SB 20, which she protested. She explains that in an attempt to protect her children they, as a family, rarely discuss their legal status. However, the conversation is no longer avoidable, because there are several teenagers in her network of family and friends who will face uncertainty when they finish high school. Finally, she states that her personal relationship with God helps her to accept her life as it gives hope for a better future. Descripción: Elsa Méndez nació en Chile en 1974 pero creció en Mendoza, Argentina. A fines de los noventa se enamoró, quedó embarazada siendo muy joven y se casó. La joven pareja pronto sintió los efectos de la crisis económica que afectaba a la Argentina. Frustrada, casi sin pensarlo, le escribió una carta a su hermana mayor que vivía en Estados Unidos pidiéndole ayuda para llegar hasta allí. Su hermana le facilitó el dinero para comprar los pasajes de avión y luego la ayudó a establecerse junto a su marido y su bebe en North Charleston. En la entrevista, Méndez habla de sus primeras impresiones en Estados Unidos y sobre los problemas y desafíos que enfrentaron durante los primeros meses como inmigrantes. Recuerda con afecto y gratitud a los vecinos estadounidenses que sin conocerlos los recibieron y les ayudaron a encontrar trabajo. Con el tiempo, otros amigos y parientes de Argentina se trasladaron a vivir al Lowcountry. Mendez explica que si bien ella se sintió feliz de tener seres queridos cerca, pronto se dio cuenta de que la calidad de esas relaciones cambiaría en el nuevo entorno. Por último, Méndez relata sus experiencias como inmigrante indocumentada y el impacto negativo de la aprobación de la ley de inmigración SB 20 de Carolina del Sur a la que ella se opuso. Aunque la falta de documentos tiñe toda su vida, en un intento de proteger a sus hijos, rara vez conversan en familia acerca de estos temas. Sin embargo sabe que se acercan a un momento en que ya no van a poder evadir la conversación porque varios adolescentes de su red social están por terminar la escuela secundaria. Por último, afirma que su relación personal con Dios le ayuda a afrontar el día y a tener esperanza en un futuro mejor.
Margarita Perez was born in Veracruz, Mexico in 1992. She was eleven years old when her mother announced she was moving to the United States, and that Margarita and her two sisters would stay in Mexico with their grandmother. The three sisters implored their mother to not leave them, and the very next morning the family began their journey to the north. In the interview, Margarita remembers the harrowing experience of crossing the border and getting lost and separated from her mother for several days. She tells about her first impressions in the United States, how much she liked Hanahan Elementary School, but also how difficult it was to attend an institution that was ill prepared to assist Spanish-speaking children. Her school experience improved when her family moved to Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. In her new school, Moultrie Middle, the teachers were much more supportive and capable of helping her. Margarita states, little by little she realized "she was not dumb" and could be a very good student. She graduated from Wando High School with good grades and dreamed of attending college and becoming a doctor. Unfortunately, she realized her dream was hard to materialize because she was undocumented. Margarita explains she had limited information about her options; she did not receive guidance from her teachers and school counselors nor did she have contact with advocacy groups or other students in similar conditions. Margarita contemplates the pros and cons of moving back to Mexico to study. Mexico is no longer the place she knew. Her grandmother passed away, and if she decides to go back she does not know when she will be able to see her mother again. Margarita discusses her work in housekeeping with her mother in downtown Charleston and in Isle of Palms, South Carolina. Descripción: Margarita Pérez nació en Veracruz, México en 1992. Tenía once años cuando su madre anunció que se trasladaba a Estados Unidos y que Margarita y sus dos hermanas se quedarían en México con su abuela. Las tres hermanas imploraron a su madre que no las dejara y a la mañana siguiente la familia comenzó su viaje al norte. Margarita recuerda la terrible experiencia de cruzar la frontera, perderse y quedar separada de su madre durante varios días. También cuenta acerca de sus primeras impresiones en Estados Unidos como por ejemplo lo mucho que le gustó el edificio de la escuela primaria de Hanahan, pero lo difícil que fue adaptarse a una institución que no estaba preparada para ayudar a los niños de habla hispana. Su experiencia educativa mejoró cuando su familia se trasladó a Mount Pleasant, Carolina del Sur porque en su nueva escuela, Moultrie Middle, los maestros le brindaron más apoyo y atención. Poco a poco Margarita se dio cuenta de que “no era tonta” y que al contrario podía ser una buena estudiante. Se graduó en Wando High School y soñaba con ser médica. Lamentablemente, se dio cuenta de que su sueño era difícil de materializar porque siendo indocumentada no podía aspirar a estudiar en la universidad. Margarita explica que no tuvo información acerca de sus opciones para estudiar, que sus profesores y consejeros no sabían como orientarla y que en ese momento no conocía grupos que estuvieran trabajando por los derechos de los jóvenes inmigrantes como ella. Margarita contempla los pros y contras de regresar a México a estudiar y afirma que no encuentra respuestas fáciles. México ya no es el lugar que ella conoció, su abuela falleció y si ella decide volver a su tierra natal no sabe cuándo podrá ver a su madre que está establecida en Estados Unidos. Mientras tanto, Margarita sigue trabajando limpiando casas de familia con su madre en downtown Charleston y en Isle of Palms, Carolina del Sur.
Charles Stockell was born in Washington, DC. Following a family tradition of service, he joined the military when he was twenty years old, attending basic training at Ft. Bragg and Officer Candidate School in Oklahoma. He was assigned to a division that was very aggressive on the battlefield. ÒI liked the way that they acted. I got better targets that way. He also frequently served as an observer on a Piper Cub aircraft flying combat missions over German territory. Stockell recalls the confusion of the Omaha Beach landing during the Normandy Invasion. He and the men in his battery were forced to swim ashore after disembarking from the landing craft prematurely. The chaos continued on the shore. We hadn't left the beach before I found my first two American casualties. They were lying on the beach, and all four feet of these two men had been [blown] off. And they knew that they were bleeding to death, so in their death, their last thing on earth, they wrapped their arms companionly around each other and died that way. It was a very touching sort of thing. Stockell received four Purple Hearts for wounds he received while serving in the artillery, and rose to the rank of colonel. He also served in the Korean and Vietnam Wars and taught at the National War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. In 2012, Stockell was inducted into France's National Order of the Legion of Honor.
Herman Stramm was born 8 June 1927, in Charleston, South Carolina. In this interview, Stramm discusses his experiences in the Navy during WWII. He attended signalman school in Bainbridge, Maryland before being assigned to the USS Dale, DD353, at Pearl Harbor. On board, the sailor had limited access to information, according to Stramm. “We didn't have an up-to-date news service like they got now--no television. I read Tokyo Rose a time or two, but all of a sudden, we heard, you know, Japanese surrendered.” He expresses deep pride in having been part of the flotilla that escorted the USS Missouri into Tokyo Bay for the Japanese surrender. Stramm’s last station was at Fort Pierce, Florida, where he helped the underwater demolition team before he was discharged to the Charleston Navy Yard. He returned home and attended The Citadel for a brief period. After his military service, he worked at the United States Post Office and at an airport in Atlanta, Georgia for fifteen years before retiring in 1990, a few months after Hurricane Hugo.
Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley was born in the city on June 9, 1943. After graduating from The Citadel (1964), he attended the University of South Carolina’s School of Law (1967). He served in the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1968 to 1974 before being elected Mayor of Charleston in December 1975. He has served 10 terms. Inthe following interview with Citadel Cadet Steven Foster, Riley reflects on the City’s disaster preparations for Hurricane Hugo in September 1989. The Mayor recalls that his main concerns were to encourage citizens to evacuate and to provide for those who needed shelter after the storm. Hunkered down in City Hall with other City employees, they listened anxiously as the metal roof was torn from the building and flung across the street. After the storm, which was among the most destructive to hit the United States, Riley worked closely with political, business, and civic leaders to revive the region’s economy and repair its badly damaged infrastructure.
Arlington Sanford was born on December 21, 1923, in Danbury, Connecticut. He joined the Navy shortly after graduating from high school. After boot camp in Newport, Rhode Island, he went to diesel school in South Richmond, Virginia, and graduated as a Fireman First Class. He was then assigned to landing ship tank (LST-307) in Boston, Massachusetts. He shipped out of New York on St. Patrick's Day in 1943 and took part in the Sicilian Occupation, the Salerno Landings, and the Normandy Invasion. Sanford describes his close relationship with Jack Junior Faughn, Boatswain's Mate Second Class from Peoria, Illinois: We were closer than brothers. We were inseparable; everywhere we went together, all through the war and did the same thing. LST-307 was struck hard by German guns during the Normandy invasion off Sword Beach. Upon impact Sanford sped to the main deck where he found Faughn's badly injured body. I kind of held him and took care of him for a while, until the corpsman came, Sanford recalled. That's the last I ever saw him.
Fleming was born in Charleston, South Carolina on 8 January 1922. To help support his family following the death of his father, Fleming joined the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1939 through which he worked on Bull’s Island. He recalls the Charleston of his childhood: “We didn't have but one street, Spring Street, to go across the old Ashley River Bridge . . . . right back where the stadium is at, all that was the river.” Fleming married and was drafted in 1942. He attended basic training at Camp Sibert, Alabama, where he “learned how to take care of myself through that army life, I learned a lot because when you hit them beach head, there ain’t nobody there to help you, you got to help yourself.” In Hawaii, he received training that prepared him for work as a medic on ship hospitals and in field hospitals in the Pacific. He recalls many harrowing scenes of battle and details life in foxholes during Japanese air attacks. Returning to Charleston after the war, Fleming worked in carpentry and construction, and played baseball for the Avco Corporation team. He concludes by reflecting on the September 2011 death of his wife of 69 years, Dorothy Buckingham Fleming, whose grave he visits weekly: “I go up there and look at the grave, and I got a little clipper, you know, like the stone, and I cut around it and take the brush and brush it all off.”
William Bendt was born in Charleston, South Carolina in 1920. As a teenager, he withdrew from Murray Vocational High School to work at the White Swan laundry. He began working at the Naval Shipyard as a classified laborer when he was eighteen years old and soon transferred to an office position that he held for the rest of his civil service career. In this interview, Bendt recalls seeing Franklin Delano Roosevelt during the president’s visit to the shipyard. “I got within thirty feet of President Roosevelt, watching him come down that gangplank, and out of that back seat, projected out where he could sit down, and then went back in. And I really appreciate that I got to see him real close.” Bendt’s supervisors procured two draft deferments on his behalf, but they were unable to secure a third deferment. Upon joining the Army, he attended basic training at Fort Jackson (Columbia, South Carolina), infantry training at Camp Wheeler (Macon, Georgia), reported to Fort Meade (Baltimore, Maryland), and was sent to Camp Shanks (New York) before shipping out of New Jersey. “Before going aboard, the Red Cross came along and gave us all a little green bag with toiletries, what have you,” Bendt recalled. “I have that bag today and a little container of milk.” Assigned to the Second Army Division in France as a replacement, Bendt arrived on the continent on D-Day plus six. Bendt discusses his brief captivity at the hands of the Germans, while in combat along the Rhine River. After the war, Bendt met Russian soldiers in occupied Berlin. Returning to Charleston after the war, he resumed his work at the Naval Shipyard in the Public Works Department, where he accumulated over thirty-six years of service.
Vance L. Crouse is a retired Colonel in the United States Air Force. Born in Henderson, Tennessee in 1921, he was home-schooled, then attended a rural public school, and a junior college, Freede Hardeman College, during the Great Depression. His father worked as a carpenter as well as an auto mechanic and his mother was a teacher. His sister, following their mother’s footsteps, pursued a career as a school teacher. A chance to see Charles A. Lindbergh in Louisville, Kentucky, sparked a lifelong interest in airplanes. Crouse describes the experience, “We went up to visit my uncle in Louisville, Kentucky, and Charles A. Lindbergh came and landed there…he recently completed his transatlantic flight, and we got to see him and his Spirit of St. Louis airplane. And that made a lasting impression on me.” In 1932 after the passing of his mother, he and his father moved to Memphis, while his sister taught in rural schools across the country. It was during a Sunday afternoon visit to his three uncles on December 7, 1941 that Crouse heard a radio report of the attack on Pearl Harbor. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps shortly after his 21st birthday in 1942. Denied the opportunity for pilot-training due to his poor vision, Crouse was sent to Officer Candidate School at Yale University for basic and technical training. He was transferred to Greenville, South Carolina for the Replacement Training Unit then to Key Field in Meridian, Mississippi, and Mobile, Alabama. Crouse was stationed in Gushkara, in the Assam Valley, India, as part of a reconnaissance squadron. He was pulled out of his medical training and sent to Korea to serve as a doctor at Taegu and Seoul. Crouse was stationed in occupied Germany from 1960-1963.
Wilson Thrower was born in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1922. He worked as an electrician at the Charleston Navy Yard before being drafted in 1943 and entering the Navy as an Apprentice Seaman on the USS Jenks. After demonstrating his knowledge of the destroyer escort's communications system, Jenks became an Electrician, Third Class. In this interview, Thrower recounts the capture of the German U-505, which proved vital to Allied code breaking operations. For serving in the submarine task force that captured the German U-boat, Thrower received a Presidential Unit Citation. After the War, he served in law enforcement and ran a series of businesses.
James Young was born in Winnsboro, South Carolina in 1921. Young volunteered for the Army Reserves in 1942. After completing basic training in Miami Beach, Florida, he went to Shepherd Field, Texas for munitions training. He was sent to Las Vegas, Nevada, for gunnery school, then Dalhart, Texas, for combat crew training. At gunnery school, Young recalled firing at a target pulled by an airplane: “Each person had a different color of shells, and he could count his hits by whether they were yellow, black, green.” Stationed in Polebrook, England, Young served as a Technical Sergeant, tail gunner in the 8th Air Force, 351st Bomb Group Heavy, 509th Bomb Squadron from the March 6, 1944 to May 2, 1945. He flew 28 missions, the first of which was into Poland on Easter Sunday, April 9, 1944. He later flew missions over Poland, France, Germany, Luxembourg, and Belgium. In this interview, he recalls details of several of his missions and discusses the annual reunions he attends with the men with whom he served.
In this interview, Henry Rittenberg, a Citadel Graduate Class 1938, remembers his experiences as a Jewish cadet. At this time, about five hundred young men were part of the Corps of Cadets but only ten or twelve of them were Jewish. Catholics and Protestants were able to express their faith on campus, but Jewish cadets did not have that privilege. There were no organized Jewish services, a rabbi never visited the campus, and Jewish cadets had to request permission to leave for the High Holy Days. Moreover, The Citadel did not offer accommodations for the Jewish cadets to have kosher food or keep the Shabbat. However, Rittenberg reflects that these kind of religious issues were not very concerning among his peers, commenting they were not ignored but rather they were “under the radar”. In the interview, Rittenberg names other Jewish cadets that attended The Citadel in the 1930s and early 40s. Finally, Rittenberg tells about his participation on ad hoc committees for the Board of Visitors during the 1990s. In that role, he participated in important discussions such as the admission of women to the Corps and the filming of the movie Lords of Discipline based on Pat Conroy’s book of the same name.
Bordallo was born in San Pedro Coahuila, Mexico, where she lived with her parents and six brothers until moving to the United States. Her father was a milliner and businessman. In 1978, she got married and crossed the border with her new husband. They arrived in Florida and stayed to work in agriculture, from there traveling to Virginia, the Carolinas, Tennessee, Georgia, and anywhere they were needed. They had three children. In 1986, they decided to settle on Johns Island because they wanted a more stable life and better educational opportunities for their children. They kept working on the fields and lived in a camp located on River Road. There, they met the sisters of Our Lady of Mercy, who visited the families and helped them to access community resources. Aspiring to a better quality of life for her family, Bordallo strove to acquire their own house through Habitats for Humanity. Bordallo and her husband regularized their legal status by accepting the amnesty granted by the Reagan administration and later became US citizens.Bordallo nació en San Pedro Coahuila, México y allí vivió junto a sus padres y seis hermanos hasta que emigró a Estados Unidos. Su padre fabricaba sombreros y se dedicaba a los negocios. En 1978, se casó y con su flamante marido cruzó la frontera. Se instalaron en Florida para trabajar en el campo y desde allí viajaban a Virginia, las Carolinas, Tennessee, Virginia, Georgia, donde quiera que hubiera trabajo en la cosecha. Tuvieron tres hijos. En 1986 pensando en el bien y la educación de los niños decidieron establecerse en Johns Island. Al campo donde vivían, ubicado en River Road, comenzaron a llegar de visita las hermanas de Our Lady of Mercy y ellas los ayudaron a acceder a recursos comunitarios. Aspirando a una mejor calidad de vida para su familia luchó para conseguir su propia vivienda con Habitat for Humanity. Bordallo y su esposo se acogieron a la amnistía otorgada por el gobierno del presidente Reagan y más tarde se convirtieron en ciudadanos americanos.
In the second part of her interview, Bordallo recalls how her life changed after her family settled on Johns Island and explains how the island's Latino community has grown in recent years. Bordallo explains that their family has always valued education very highly, and, for that reason, she and her husband did not hesitate to invest their efforts in sending their children to private Catholic schools, first to Nativity and later to Bishop England. Bordallo is also proud of having paid for her children’s college education costs, and is happy to say they are now independent adults, giving her the opportunity to pursue her own projects, study, and travel. Bordallo works as a young children's teacher at Rural Mission, is a student at Trident Technical College, and remains an active member of Holy Spirit Parish on Johns Island. En esta segunda parte de la entrevista, Bordallo recuerda como cambió su vida después que su familia se estableció en Johns Island y describe cómo la comunidad latina de la isla ha crecido en los últimos años. Bordallo explica que la educación siempre ha sido un valor muy importante para su familia y que, por esa razón, ella y su esposo no dudaron en invertir sus esfuerzos para que sus hijos fueran a escuelas privadas católicas, primero a Nativity y más tarde a Bishop England. Bordallo se enorgullece también de haber pagado por los estudios universitarios de sus hijos y tener la capacidad, ahora que ellos son adultos independientes, de abocarse a sus propios proyectos, estudiar y viajar. Bordallo trabaja como maestra de niños pequeños en Rural Mission, estudia en Trident Tech y es miembro activo de la parroquia Holy Spirit en Johns Island.
Carl Roberts was born in Spartanburg, South Carolina in 1929. His father and mother worked in a cotton mill. He was one of seven boys and had one sister. Roberts enlisted in the Navy when he was 17-years old and attended basic training in Maryland. He was assigned to the USS Leyte aircraft carrier as a Seaman First Class in the Pacific at the end of the Second World War. He later joined the Army and was stationed in Seoul during the Korean War where he worked in the motor pool, acquiring mechanical skills and learning to drive various vehicles. He received the Victory Medal for service in World War II, the Good Conduct Medal for service in the Korean War, and the Honorable Service button. After leaving the service, he was a sheet metal worker at Beverage Air in Spartanburg. In the 1960’s, Roberts moved to Charleston to work as an automatic transmission mechanic and to begin a family. He married and had three children.
Edward Dear was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His father worked for the Philadelphia Inquirer, and his mother worked for John Wanamaker Department Store. He graduated from Frankfort High before attending Temple University, where he played football with actor Bill Cosby. He was drafted into the Marine Corps and continued to played football on the team at Quantico. He attended Officer Candidate School, the Basic School, and the Military Occupational Specialty School for engineering. While stationed at Camp Pendleton, he was ordered to the 1st Battalion, 26th Marines, 5th Division and sent to the Philippines. He made two landings in Vietnam, first at the Da Nang airbase in an area known as Dodge City. After transferring to the 3rd Marine Division, he was sent to the demilitarized zone at Dang Ha. He describes the personal impact of his experiences as an officer and alludes to the evolution of the media’s war coverage. His leadership style focused on being honest and fair with his men, which carried over into his civilian life as a swimming and football coach. He continues to attend the Marine Corps Birthday Ball every year and brings students from the Marine Enlisted Commissioning Education Program (MECEP) to have “the Old Corps meet the New Corps.”
Holsapple was born in San Rafael, Mendoza, Argentina, in 1977, where she lived with her family until she left to study drama at the National University of Cuyo in the city of Mendoza. In 2000, while Argentina was in the midst of a severe economic crisis, she decided, like many other young Argentines, to seek new opportunities abroad. She arrived in South Carolina at the age of twenty-three. Although she had friends and acquaintances already living in the Lowcountry, the process of adapting to the new place was not easy. Her life took an even tougher turn when, after marrying an American citizen, she became a victim of domestic violence. Holsapple was determined to leave her situation of abuse, and found refuge in My Sister House, a safe shelter and home for victims of abuse. With the support of professionals, volunteers, and friends, she began the healing process and worked hard to provide proper care for her newborn daughter. A few years later, Holsapple became a citizen of the United States. Currently, she owns her own small business and is proud and grateful for what she has accomplished through hard work and dedication. However, despite these achievements, Holsapple still has mixed feelings about her decision to raise her daughter away from her family and homeland. Holsapple nació en San Rafael, Provincia de Mendoza en 1977 y allí residió junto a su familia hasta que se mudó a Mendoza capital para estudiar teatro en la universidad. A los 23 años en medio de una fuerte crisis económica, decidió al igual que muchos otros jóvenes argentinos, buscar nuevas oportunidades en el exterior. En el año 2000, llegó a Carolina del Sur. Aunque tenía amigos y conocidos el proceso de adaptación a la vida en el Lowcountry no fue fácil. Su vida tomó un giro todavía más difícil cuando se casó con un hombre americano y fue víctima de violencia doméstica. Decidida a salir de la situación de abuso busco refugio en My Sister House. Con el apoyo de profesionales, voluntarios y amigos comenzó a recuperarse y a trabajar para así poder encargarse de su hija recién nacida. Algunos años más tarde, Holsapple se hizo ciudadana americana. Actualmente, es dueña de una pequeña empresa y se muestra orgullosa y agradecida por lo que ha sido capaz de lograr con su trabajo y esfuerzo. Sin embargo, estos logros no disminuyen los sentimientos encontrados que le produce criar a su hija lejos de su familia y su tierra natal.
Kevin Scott, Citadel Class of 1990, was born in 1967 in Augusta, Georgia. He was a JROTC student in high school in Mint Hill, just outside Charlotte, North Carolina, and found The Citadel as a natural choice for continuing with an ROTC program. Scott reflects on his time in the institution, where he found stability and a sense of place. Although he knew he was gay from an early age, the school's physical and academic demands left him with little time and energy to explore his sexuality. After graduation, he was concerned about the military homophobic culture and decided to pursue a job with the Charleston Police Department. He was denied the position because of concerns regarding his sexual preferences. The experience deeply hurt Scott, leading him to return to North Carolina to join the Hickory Police Department. In 2003, Scott founded The Citadel GALA (Gay and Lesbian Alliance) with the purpose of providing support to gay cadets. In this interview, Scott remembers a few remarkable events that occurred when he was a cadet such as the Corps of Cadets’ cold welcoming to General Watts when he was named president, a memorable food fight that happened close to Thanksgiving in 1987, and The Citadel making national news because a group of white students harassed an African American freshmen using KKK symbols. At the time of the interview, Scott was living in Washington, D.C. with his partner of sixteen years.
In this interview, health worker and community activist, Romina McCandless (b. 1983), talks with her mother, Mirna Bria (b. 1946), about her life experiences as immigrants. In 1984, Bria and her husband left their native Argentina and moved with their two young kids to South Africa looking for better economic opportunities. At the end of the Apartheid in 1994, the family relocated to Hilton Head, South Carolina where McCandless lived until she left to attend the College of Charleston. In the first part of the interview, McCandless and Bria remember the years they lived in South Africa, the reasons why they moved to Hilton Head, and the challenges they faced in both places. They share memories but present different explanations about the events they recall. In the second part of the interview, McCandless focuses on her community work. She explains that while working as an interpreter at MUSC, she became aware of the disparities in health care access and delivery related to race, ethnicity and socioeconomic factors that were affecting the Hispanic community. This knowledge fueled her passion for improving the health care system. She obtained a Master’s degree in Health Education and got involved with PASOs, a South Carolina nonprofit organization that focuses on enhancing the Latino community access to health services. McCandless also tells about her work as an SC ACLU Board Member and how this organization was involved in challenging the SC Immigration law SB 20. At the end, mother and daughter remember the last days of Mr. Bria. Descripción: En esta entrevista, la activista comunitaria y trabajadora de la salud Romina McCandless (1983) habla con su madre Mirta Bria (1946) acerca de sus experiencias de vida como inmigrantes. En 1984, Bria y su marido dejaron su Argentina natal y se trasladaron con sus dos hijos pequeños a Sudáfrica en busca de mejores oportunidades económicas. En 1994, después de la caída del Apartheid, la familia volvió a migrar y se estableció en Hilton Head, Carolina del Sur. En esa ciudad creció McCandless hasta que dejó la casa de sus padres para ir a estudiar al College of Charleston. En la primera parte de la entrevista, McCandless y Bria recuerdan los años que vivieron en África del Sur, las razones por las cuales llegaron a Hilton Head y los desafíos que enfrentaron en ambos lugares. Madre e hija intercambian recuerdos, pero ofrecen diferentes explicaciones y significados a los eventos que recuerdan. En la segunda parte de la entrevista, McCandless se centra en sus pasiones: el trabajo comunitario y las políticas de salud. Explica que trabajando como intérprete en MUSC se dio cuenta de las disparidades en la prestación y acceso a servicios de salud y entendió como la raza, el origen étnico y los factores socioeconómicos afectaban negativamente a la comunidad hispana. Este conocimiento alimentó su pasión por mejorar el sistema de salud. Obtuvo una Maestría en Educación para la Salud en la Universidad de Carolina del Sur y se involucró con PASOs, una organización sin fines de lucro cuya misión es mejorar el acceso de la comunidad latina a los servicios de salud. McCandless también cuenta acerca de su trabajo en la junta de directores de la Asociación Americana de los Derechos Civiles (ACLU) y como esta organización lideró el proceso para recusar la ley de inmigración de Carolina del Sur SB 20 . Al final de la entrevista Bria y McCandless recuerdan los últimos días del señor Bria.
Artist and playwright Maribel Acosta was born in Havana, Cuba in 1969. She moved in her twenties to Ecuador and since 2010 has been living in the Lowcountry with her family. Acosta has gained a reputation within the local arts community for her paintings, graphic design, community-based theatrical productions, and community service. In the interview, Acosta tells about her childhood in Havana, her early fascination with the arts, and her training as an artist in the most prestigious Cuban institutions. She also talks about her journey as an immigrant and explains that moving from Cuba to Ecuador represented a true cultural shock. Twenty years later, she decided to emigrate again, this time to the United States, with her musician husband and their two children. In the United States she struggled with learning to communicate in English, but that was not a deterrent for her creative passion and her efforts to share her work. Acosta explains that since her children became more independent she has had more time to focus on her artistic endeavors. She has exhibited her paintings in a private gallery in West Ashley and at the Saul Alexander Gallery at the Charleston County Public Library. Finally, she also tells about her project, "Hola Familia", a radio program in Spanish that is broadcast once a week by El Sol 980. Descripción: La artista y dramaturga Maribel Acosta nació en La Habana, Cuba en 1969. A los veinte años se estableció en Ecuador y desde el año 2010 reside en el Lowcountry junto con su familia. Acosta es reconocida por sus pinturas, diseño gráfico, producciones teatrales y servicio comunitario. En la entrevista cuenta sobre su infancia en La Habana, su temprana fascinación por las artes y su formación como artista en las más prestigiosas instituciones cubanas. También relata su historia como inmigrante y explica que el paso de Cuba a Ecuador representó un verdadero choque cultural. Veinte años más tarde cuando decidió radicarse en Estados Unidos junto a su marido músico y sus dos hijos tuvo que aprender a comunicarse en una nueva lengua. Este desafío no le impidió seguir creando y compartiendo su trabajo. Acosta explica que a medida que sus hijos se han vuelto más independientes ella ha encontrado más tiempo para enfocarse en sus proyectos artísticos. Ha exhibido sus pinturas en una galería privada en West Ashley y en la galería Saul Alexander de la Biblioteca Pública del Condado de Charleston. Finalmente, habla de su proyecto “Hola Familia” un programa radial en español que se emite semanalmente por El Sol 980.
Diana Salazar is a Mexican American born in Homestead, Florida. Her father and grandfather worked as labor contractors, supplying immigrant workers to farmers on the Eastern Seaboard. In the interview, Salazar remembers when she was twelve and a teacher told her “do not become a statistic Mexican girl that works in the fields and gets pregnant. […] You go get your education because you’ve got it in you.” She also recalls that as a child she witnessed an immigration raid on a labor camp in Maryland. Though she knew she was not at risk of being deported, the events left a deep impression upon her. Around the age of sixteen, her parents moved to Orlando and stopped being migrant workers because they did not want this lifestyle for their children. Later, they moved to Hollywood, South Carolina where Salazar completed her high school senior year at Baptist Hill High. She returned to Orlando, Florida where married her first husband. She came back to the Lowcountry in the 1980s with her second husband and first child. Salazar tells about her extensive work experience and activism. In 2006, when massive immigrant protests were held around the country to raise awareness about the struggles of undocumented individuals and demand comprehensive immigration reform, three thousand people congregated in Marion Square in Charleston. Salazar tells she organized the march with the guidance and support of her cousin Emma Lozano, a Chicago activist, but she found no support from local politicians. Salazar is proud of her achievements, among them being the recipient of the Martin Luther King Picture Award. Descripción: Diana Salazar nació en Miami, Florida. Su padre y abuelo trabajaron como contratistas, supliendo de mano de obra de trabajadores inmigrantes a los agricultores de la costa este de Estados Unidos. En la entrevista, Salazar recuerda dos eventos que la marcaron siendo niña. El primero fue una conversación con un profesor que le dijo "no te conviertas en una estadística, otra chica mexicana que trabaja en el campo y se embaraza joven. [...] ve y edúcate". El otro suceso fue una redada de inmigración de la que fue testigo en un campo de trabajo en Maryland; a pesar de que sabía que no estaba en peligro de ser deportada quedó profundamente impactada. Cuando tenía aproximadamente dieciséis años sus padres decidieron dejar la vida migrante y se establecieron en Orlando, Florida. Más tarde se trasladaron a Hollywood, Carolina del Sur y fue allí, en la escuela Baptist Hill donde Salazar curso su último año de la preparatoria. Siendo muy joven se casó y fue a vivir Orlando con su marido. En los años ochenta regresó a Carolina del Sur con su segundo marido y su primer hijo y desde entonces ha residido en el Lowcountry. En la entrevista, Salazar cuenta sobre su amplia experiencia laboral y su activismo. En el año 2006, cuando miles de personas marcharon en distintas ciudades del país para crear conciencia sobre las luchas de los indocumentados y para exigir una reforma legislativa, alrededor de tres mil personas se congregaron en Marion Square en Charleston. Salazar explica que fue ella quien organizó la marcha, que recibió el apoyo de su prima Emma Lozano, una activista de Chicago, pero que en cambio, no encontró repuesta positiva en los políticos locales. Salazar se siente orgullosa de sus logros entre los cuales figura de haber sido elegida para recibir un premio por su trabajo en la comunidad llamado Martin Luther King Picture Award.
Lydia Cotton was born in Puerto Rico in 1962. She moved to the Lowcountry in the 1980s. A hard-working woman, her life changed dramatically in 2003 after surviving brain cancer. She was unable to maintain regular employment, but she was determined to make the best of her life. She concentrated her talents and energies on helping the growing Hispanic community in the City of North Charleston. Soon, she became the liaison between the Hispanic Community and the Department of Police of the City of North Charleston. Thanks to this partnership and strong community work, the level of crime in the city reduced significantly. Cotton explains how she has built trust with the residents and authorities over the years and remembers how she and other community workers organized the first community meetings in Spanish in the City of North Charleston. Cotton reflects about the need for community involvement and participation in civic issues, how she understands leadership, and talks proudly about the volunteer work done by a group of Hispanic residents called “Dame la Mano.” Finally, she tells about her last project, a weekly radio program in Spanish that she sees as a new channel to inform, educate, and help people to access the resources they need. Descripción: Lydia Cotton nació en Puerto Rico en 1962 y en los años ochenta se estableció en el Lowcountry. Independiente y trabajadora, su vida cambió drásticamente en el año 2003 cuando le diagnosticaron un tumor cerebral. Afortunadamente se recuperó, pero quedó incapacitada para trabajar en forma regular. Desde entonces concentró sus talentos y energía en ayudar a la creciente comunidad hispana de la Ciudad de North Charleston. Pronto se convirtió en intermediaria y mediadora entre la comunidad hispana y el Departamento de Policía de la Ciudad de North Charleston. Gracias a este trabajo colaborativo el nivel de crimen en la ciudad se redujo notablemente. Cotton explica la naturaleza de su trabajo y cómo fue el proceso de ganarse la confianza de los vecinos y las autoridades. También recuerda como ella y otros trabajadores de la ciudad organizaron las primeras reuniones comunitarias en español en la Ciudad de North Charleston. Explica cuál es su concepción de liderazgo y discurre acerca de la importancia de la participación en temas cívicos. Habla con orgullo de un grupo de vecinos que han formado una organización sin fines de lucro llamada "Dame la mano". Finalmente, cuenta acerca de su nuevo proyecto “Hola Familia” un programa radial semanal y en español que busca informar y educar a la comunidad.
Lucia (Lucy) Cordero was born in 1941 in Arecibo, Puerto Rico. When she was twenty-one, she married Angel Cordero. They lived and raised their children in the city of San Juan. Her husband worked with the Federal Aviation Administration as a traffic controller and in 1982, he was transferred to Charleston, South Carolina. They moved with their three young adult children and got established in Goose Creek, South Carolina. Cordero describes Charleston in the 1980s, stating the Latino community was almost non-existent. Cordero remembers she met her first friend at Sunday mass at the Naval Weapon Station's church, and thanks to her, they connected with other Latino families. Soon, they started gathering to share celebrations and to keep their cultural heritage alive. This small circle expanded to more military families and gave birth to the Tri-County Hispanic American Association. This organization, the oldest Latino organization in the Lowcountry, was later instrumental in the organization of the first Latino festivals in the area. The Catholic faith was very central to community life, and Cordero remembers their efforts to have Spanish Sunday mass celebrated in the Charleston area. Finally, Cordero reflects on the growing Latino community in the region and the challenges the community faces. Descripción: Lucia (Lucy) Cordero nació en 1941 en Arecibo, Puerto Rico. A los veintiún años se casó con Ángel Cordero. La pareja se estableció en la ciudad de San Juan y allí criaron a sus tres hijos. Angel trabajaba para la Administración Federal de Aviación como controlador de tráfico. Cuando en 1982 fue trasladado al aeropuerto de Charleston en Carolina del Sur la familia se radicó en Goose Creek. Cordero describe Charleston en los años ochenta y afirma que la comunidad latina de tan pequeña, era casi inexistente. Sin embargo, encontraron a su primera amiga en la misa dominical en la base naval (Naval Weapon Station) y fue así que conocieron a otras parejas con las que empezaron a reunirse para compartir su cultura y celebraciones. Tanto disfrutaban estos encuentros que su pequeño círculo pronto se amplió a más familias militares. Los Cordero fueron socios fundadores de una organización llamada The Tri-County Hispanic American Association. Esta organización desempeñó un papel decisivo en la organización de los primeros festivales latinos de la zona. Cordero recuerda también que estas familias trabajaron arduamente para que hubiera misas en español en el área de Charleston. Finalmente, reflexiona sobre el crecimiento de la comunidad latina en el Lowcountry y los desafíos que esta enfrenta.
Erin McKee was born in Brooklyn, New York. Right after college, Mckee started her career as a flight attendant with National Airlines. When this company went bankrupt she joined Tower Air. In this interview, Mckee recalls some of the most dangerous, most difficult, and most satisfying moments she experienced working on international flights. In the ‘80s when she started working with the airline industry, flight attendants were expected to look attractive, they have to be slim, have their nails done, and their her hair up. It took time and work to change the requirements for applicants to meet the real focus of the position ‘the main reason that a flight attendant is on the airplane is if there's an emergency, to get you out of that airplane safely. It's not to look good. It's not to serve you meals really. You're there by law, federal regulations, to get people out of a plane in a certain amount of time if there's an emergency." At the end of '80s early '90s McKee and her coworkers organized a union to demand better regulations regarding the scheduling and number of hours they were forced to work. She became the secretary/treasurer of her union and was part of the negotiating committee. Because of her experience, she went to Washington, D. C. to testify before a legislative subcommittee about duty time legislation. Mckee moved to Charleston in 1996 and around 1998 Tower Air closed and she was out of work. She thought that her vast experience with unions would help her to find a job quickly but her background was not seen as an asset in a right to work state. She finally started working with American Income Life Insurance and then with Electrical Workers' Building Trades Local IBEW776. In 2013 she became the President of the State Labor Council (AFL- CIO).
Civil rights leader and community activist William Saunders was born in 1935 and has resided most of his life in Johns Island, South Carolina. In this interview, Saunders reflects on the economic and cultural changes he has witnessed over the years. Many of the changes had a negative impact on the health and life expectancy of the African American community. Regarding land ownership and access to natural resources, he states- both poor white and black landowners lost their properties because of shark loan practices. He criticizes government policies that facilitated city annexations, profuse housing development, and promoted tourism industry without considering their impact in the life of folks residing in rural and urban areas of Charleston. He thinks organic farming is a positive practice but one that does not benefit poor families. Saunders states he keeps working on his community as a member of the Gullah/ Geechee Commission. He also co-chairs with Tommy Legare the organization Concerned Citizens of the Sea Island, which is against the extension of I-526. Saunders states that activism can carry a heavy toll. "If you got the knowledge, and you care, then you have to suffer. You really have to suffer because you’re the one that gets involved."
Paula Tejeda was born in San German, Puerto Rico in 1946. Besides her daily job as Charleston School of Law Associate Law Librarian and Head of Technical Services, Tejeda is the president of Círculo Hispanoamericano de Charleston. In the interview, she remembers her childhood, her college years, and her vast career as a professional librarian in Puerto Rico, Santo Domingo, Florida, and South Carolina. In 1985, she moved with her husband to Santo Domingo because he was employed at Gulf and Western Industries. Four years later, they relocated to Florida and lived there until her two sons reached adulthood. Then, she received a proposal to join the newly opened Charleston School of Law and decided to accept the challenge. In 2004, Tejeda and her husband moved to the Lowcountry and were surprised to find a very diverse Hispanic population in terms of nationalities of origin. Soon, Tejeda and her husband joined the Círculo Hispanoamericano de Charleston. Tejeda describes the history, mission, and goals of Círculo Hispanoamericano de Charleston, an organization she has fully embraced, serving as treasurer and president. Descripción: Paula Tejeda nació en San Germán, Puerto Rico en 1946. Se radicó en Carolina del Sur en el año 2004 para desempeñarse como subdirectora y jefa de Servicios Técnicos de la Escuela de Derecho de Charleston (Charleston Law School). En la entrevista, Tejeda recuerda su infancia en Puerto Rico, sus años en la universidad y su vasta carrera profesional en Puerto Rico, Santo Domingo, Florida y Carolina del Sur. En el año 1981, Tejeda y su esposo se establecieron en Santo Domingo donde él trabajaba para la compañía azucarera Gulf and Western. Cuatro años más tarde se trasladaron a Florida. Cuando sus hijos crecieron y dejaron la casa paterna, Tejeda recibió la propuesta de unirse al cuerpo profesional de la nueva Escuela de Derecho de Charleston. En Carolina del Sur, encontró una población hispana diferente a la de Florida, una comunidad que ella describe como mucho más diversa en términos de nacionalidades de origen. Al poco tiempo de llegados, ella y su marido se unieron al Círculo Hispanoamericano de Charleston, organización en la que se ha desempeñado como tesorera y presidenta. Finalmente, Tejeda describe la historia, misión y objetivos de esta institución.
Charles Moore, a member and business manager of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 776, was born in Florence, South Carolina, on July 19th, 1961. Soon after, his family moved to the Isle of Palms, where he spent his youth. Directly after graduating from high school, Moore joined the Marine Corps and served from 1979 to 1983. He spent most of his service time overseas, first in Japan and later in Korea. After completing his years of service at the age of twenty, Moore attended Embry-Riddle College in Daytona, Florida, aspiring to become a helicopter pilot. However, he returned to South Carolina before finishing his training and, needing a steady job, decided pursue a civilian job and continued on to join the local union. He explains that transitioning from military life to the union was not difficult, as both systems provided similar structure and order. Moore talks about IBEW, the union which represents electricians and workers of the communication and broadcasting industries, and describes its role in negotiating with contractors and ensuring benefits for the workers. His pride in his work with the union, in his trade, and in the Charleston-based projects on which he has participated is evident. He says proudly, “I can walk around here and see every building I worked in. I’m a part of the community. I love being a part of the community. My children get tired of it because every time we ride around, [I say], ‘Yeah, I built that. I built that.’”
"Herbert Lee Frazier was born at the Charleston Naval Base Hospital. The son of a Navy cook, Herbert grew up wandering King Street, enjoying cartoons, and maturing under the love and support of his close-knit family. Frazier also describes his youth and the neighborhood he grew up in, including the damage it suffered from Hurricane Hugo and the following gentrification. Frazier attended The University of South Carolina, majoring in journalism. Although he gravitated towards an advertising career, he found himself working as an intern at The Post and Courier in a newly integrated news room. Frazier notes that his career in journalism allowed him to “follow his curiosity.” Frazier went on to work at papers such as The State Newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, The Times-Picayune in New Orleans, Louisiana, The Dallas Times-Herald, in Dallas, Texas, and The Charlotte Observer in Charlotte, North Carolina. In 1990, he was named the journalist of the year by the South Carolina Press Association in recognition of his work with the South Carolina Association of Black Journalists. Frazier also recalls such experiences as teaching at Rhodes University in South Africa, participating in journalism organizations, and leading training sessions in developing countries with the State Department. In the interview, Frazier reflects on the ethics, integrity, and technological advancements in journalism . He also talks about the challenges he faced as an African American journalist and remembers some of the most interesting stories he wrote. "
Luz Alvarado was born in Mexico in 1984. She is a single mother of two, a college student, a full-time worker, and a volunteer. In the interview, Alvarado tells about growing up in poverty and how America resonated in her young mind as the remedy for her family problems. When she was fourteen, she was sent to spend a few weeks with her grandmother who lived in a small town. There she met a man much older than her and was flattered by his attentions. He told her he was on his way to the United States and invited her to go. She decided to go without letting anybody know, excited about the prospect of achieving the American dream, and seeing her brother who was living in Florida. Soon, she realized this man had not been honest about his intentions, but by then she was crossing the border. In the interview, Alvarado tells about the complex relationship she had with this man who became her husband and the father of her two daughters. It took her several years but finally, she was able to leave the relationship, and since then she has been the sole provider for her kids. Because she was a victim of criminal abuse, she was able to apply and obtain a visa that allows her to stay and legally work in the United States. Alvarado says that changing her legal status enormously improved her quality of life; she is no longer living in fear of being deported and separated from her children. Finally, she talks about being a Meals on Wheels’ volunteer, helping her church, and the dreams she has for her future and her daughters’. Descripción: Luz Alvarado nació en México en 1984. Cada día, Alvarado cumple muchos papeles diferentes: es madre soltera de dos hijas, estudiante universitaria, trabajadora de tiempo completo y voluntaria en su comunidad. En la entrevista, Alvarado recuerda que creció en la pobreza y que los Estados Unidos resonaban en su mente joven como el remedio para los problemas de su familia. Cuando tenía catorce años, fue enviada a pasar unas semanas con su abuela que vivía en un rancho. Allí se encontró con un hombre mayor que ella que pronto la hizo sentirse halagada con sus atenciones. Le dijo que estaba en camino a Estados Unidos y la invitó a ir, insistiendo en que debía decidirse pronto. Alvarado pensó que era su oportunidad para trabajar y ganar dólares para ayudar a su familia y también de volver a ver a su hermano que vivía en la Florida. Sin dejarle saber a nadie, emprendió el viaje. No había pasado mucho tiempo cuando se dió cuenta de las verdaderas intenciones de su acompañante y se arrepintió de su decisión, pero para entonces, ya estaba cruzando la frontera. En la entrevista, Alvarado habla de la compleja relación que mantuvo con este hombre que se convirtió en su marido y el padre de sus dos hijas. Cuando finalmente fue capaz de dejar esa relación abusiva se convirtió en el único sostén de sus hijas. Debido a que fue víctima de abuso criminal pudo aplicar y obtener una visa que le permitió quedarse y trabajar legalmente en Estados Unidos. Alvarado explica que adquirir documentos para residir y trabajar legalmente ha mejorado enormemente su calidad de vida, que gracias a ello ya no vive con el temor a ser deportada y separada de sus hijas. Por último, cuenta de su trabajo voluntario en Meals on Wheels of Charleston y en su iglesia y acerca de los sueños que tiene para su futuro y el de sus hijas.
JoDee Robinson (b.1969), a child of Cuban immigrants, was born in New York and grew up in New Jersey. Her father owned a restaurant that was at the center of family life. There, Robinson learned to work, made friends, and met her future husband, Richard Robinson. In the interview, Robinson tells about her childhood and teen years as a first-generation American child, and reflects on how their parent’s background, language, and culture colored her experiences. She married an Irish man and soon they realized had very different expectations about roles and responsibilities in the family. Soon after marrying, the Robinsons decided to move south. They lived for a while in Miami, Florida, but finally got established in Summerville, South Carolina. Robinson worked as an interpreter at Midland Park Elementary and did volunteer work with a Hispanic Methodist Pastor. She experienced firsthand the needs of the children and families and was moved to give a creative and positive answer. With that goal, the Robinsons created the nonprofit organization, Nuevos Caminos. In 2011, they were deeply involved in challenging the South Carolina Immigration Law SB 20. Robinson says she was outraged because she realized her own father, a Cuban-American with a strong accent, was at risk to be singled out, stopped and detained if the law passed with full force. In the interview, she also talks about the racism she has encountered while living in South Carolina. Descripción: Hija de inmigrantes cubanos, JoDee Robinson (1969) nació en Nueva York y se crio en Nueva Jersey. Su padre era dueño de un restaurante que fue el centro de la vida familiar. Allí, Robinson aprendió a trabajar, hizo amigos y conoció a su futuro marido, Richard Robinson. Robinson reflexiona acerca de sus años de infancia y adolescencia como hija de inmigrantes y explica como la historia de sus padres, su cultura y lenguaje matizaron todas estas vivencias tempranas. Al poco tiempo de casados, los Robinson decidieron mudarse al sur. Residieron por un tiempo en Miami, Florida pero finalmente se radicaron en Summerville, Carolina del Sur. Robinson trabajó como intérprete en la escuela Midland Park e hizo trabajo voluntario con un pastor de la Iglesia Metodista. Caminando los barrios fue testigo de las necesidades de los niños y las familias. Así nació su determinación de dar una repuesta apropiada y para hacerlo fundó junto a su esposo la organización sin fines de lucro, Nuevos Caminos. En 2011, los Robinson participaron activamente en la recusación de la ley de inmigración de Carolina del Sur SB 20. Robinson cuenta que el proyecto de ley la afectó de manera personal porque se dio cuenta de que su propio padre, un cubano-americano que habla inglés con acento extranjero, corría el riesgo de ser detenido y maltratado si la ley se aprobaba en toda su extensión. Finalmente, cuenta sobre el racismo que ella ve en Carolina del Sur y cuales son sus planes para el futuro.
Born in Newberry, South Carolina on August 21, 1933, Marlene O'Bryant-Seabrook calls herself "an educator who quilts". In 1975, Seabrook became the first African American and second women to join The Citadel as full time faculty and in 2009 she was one of the forty-four fiber artists chosen to participate in an exhibition to honor president Obama's first inauguration. Her quilt entitled "They Paved the Way" and many others she has created are featured in national and international publications and exhibits. A third generation educator, in this interview, she asserts that growing up among teachers left a indelible mark on her which guided her career choices and shaped her attitude towards life's challenges. "If I'm prepared to do something, then the rest of it does not make any difference. It never occurred to me that my being black or female should have stopped me from doing something." Seabrook attended Avery Normal Institute and then pursued higher education at South Carolina State, The Citadel, and finally the University of South Carolina where she completed her Ph.D. During her tenure at The Citadel, she was treated with respect. However,she taught mostly graduate students and only after a year of employment she was allowed to work with cadets, which she did in a very limited fashion. After leaving The Citadel in 1980, she returned to Charleston County Public School System where she worked until she retired "from employment but not from work."
John Asbury Zeigler, Jr., Citadel Class of 1932, was born in 1912 in Manning, South Carolina. He was a poet, philanthropist, and co-owner of the Book Basement, a bookstore which once operated on the present campus of the College of Charleston. His family had deep roots in Charleston. His parents were Virginia Elfe and John Zeigler. His family lived many years in Florence, where his father founded a newspaper, the Florence Morning News. He recalls his earliest childhood memory with a poem he wrote when he was eight years old. He states the best thing about attending The Citadel was meting his roommate, the man that later would marry his sister and whose family gave him great joy. Zeigler Jr. explains that he survived by avoiding bringing attention to himself. He was active in the campus culture scene: founded The Citadel literary magazine and was introduced to the Poetry Society of South Carolina by General Days. After graduation, Zeigler Jr. worked as a teacher in Charleston and then moved to Washington, D.C., where he resided for several years until his return to Charleston to focus on his writing. Zeigler Jr. states he was always loved and accepted by his family for who he was, and that his family equally embraced his long-life partner, Edwin Peacock. He tells about their love story with two poems he asks the interviewer to read and remembers how they kept their relationship during WW II. Finally, Zeigler Jr. talks about the Book Basement bookstore they co-owned for twenty-five years at 9 College Street, the prominent visitors they hosted, and the reasons why it became an iconic cultural space in Charleston. The transcript includes several annotations by Mary Jo Potter, Zeigler’s niece.
Born in Charleston, SC on September 11, 1976 and raised in nearby Pinopolis, Lindsay Holler is a singer, composer, and guitar player who has additionally been a strong advocate for local musicians and a fixture of the music scene. In this interview she recalls her musical influences, including her parents’ mainstream pop records and her brother’s enthusiasm for the Black Crows. In addition to playing flute in the middle school band and taking piano lessons, Holler also studied voice with opera singer June Bonner. That association led to a visit to Broadway at age 13, where she saw Gregory Hines and Phylicia Rashad in Jelly’s Last Jam. “I kind of fell in love with New York a little bit, and I was like, oh, man, that’s where I want to go,” Holler recalls. Following her high school graduation, Holler studied jazz at the Berklee College of Music before returning to Charleston to complete her musical education at the College of Charleston. She has recorded and performed with several locally-based groups, including the Dirty Kids, the Western Polaroids, and Matadero. Though often in the spotlight as the lead singer, Holler is ambivalent about the attention that it brings her and worries that that ambivalence may undermine her success: “Everybody is me, me, me, show me, let me show you, you know, it’s such a prevalent posture nowadays, where it’s in your face, and who’s going to be the loudest, and who is going to be the most out there, and that’s never been my thing. But I worry do you have to be like that in order to be successful?”
This panel brought together for the first time in the City of Charleston a group of Jewish Cadets who shared their memories in a public forum (September 29, 2013). The program was possible thanks to the collaboration between the Jewish Studies Program at The College of Charleston and The Citadel. Martin Perlmutter introduced the program and Dr. Sam Hines introduced the moderator, Dr. Joelle Neulander. The event was dedicated to the memory of Maurice Fox, Citadel Class 1953. The panelists recall their experiences as Jewish cadets at The Citadel and reflect on how those experiences shaped their lives when they left the institution. All together the panelists experience span over seven decades. They provide a glimpse into the history of The Citadel from the WWII years to the present. The panelist include, Bernard Warshaw, Class of 1942, Bernard Solomon, Class of 1947, Les Bergen, Class of 1969, Steve Josias, Class of 1970, Alan Reyner, Class of 1972 and Jonathan Rosen, Class of 2014.
