They served out of a sense of duty \u2026 whether voluntary or mandated \u2026 but most importantly, they served with honor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The members of the Johnnie Baker 291 Post of the American Legion gather monthly \u2013 almost exclusively \u2013 at the legion hall, 2038 W. Broadway Ave., Minneapolis. However, the Oct. 24 meeting convened down the road at 1815 Bryant Ave. N., home to Insight News.<\/em> The change in venue was to allow the members to talk candidly via a live-to-Facebook broadcast of the \u201cFront Room Sessions\u201d hosted by post member and Insight<\/em> founder and editor-in-chief Al McFarlane. Less about \u201cwar stories,\u201d the members of the predominantly African-American post shared \u201clife stories.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThey (the U.S. Army) came and got me \u2026 I was drafted,\u201d said World War II veteran Wayne Glanton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Glanton said he was a student at Dunwoody (now College of Technology, then Technical Institute) studying engineering and drafting when in 1940 he was drafted. A gifted student, Glanton ran into problems due to ethnicity almost immediately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen I got my orders they sent me to an all-white outfit. When I showed up they asked what I was doing there and I showed them my orders and the guy called for the captain,\u201d recalled Glanton. \u201cThe captain came out and screamed, \u2018This is a segregated unit\u2019 and I asked, \u2018Well, why did you send for me\u2019 and the captain told me I scored in the top five percent of my class.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Glanton was sent to an all-Black unit but he said there was resentment from white soldiers who had to learn their engineering skills from Black soldiers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBoy was I glad to be back home and not have to deal with that (mess),\u201d said Glanton, talking about returning to civilian life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At 97, Glanton is the oldest active member of the American Legion in Minnesota.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Rev. Sam Reuben has conflicted emotions about his time in service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Originally scheduled to be drafted in 1961, Rueben was allowed to finish college at Tuskegee Institute (now University). A week after he was set to join his active duty combat unit, but newly married, his wife was diagnosed with cancer and he was granted emergency leave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMy unit left without me,\u201d said Rueben. \u201cSome of those guys I trained with I never saw again. I\u2019m sure some of them got killed. My wife died; it was like bad luck and good luck at the same time. I think about it a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Elton Johnson, who served during the Vietnam War, told harrowing stories of his time in uniform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI was over in Vietnam and our planes we were in were getting shot at and it scared the (mess) out of me,\u201d said Johnson, a commander of the post. \u201cBut I was lucky; I was fortunate to come back home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Andrew Rose is also a commander of the Johnnie Baker post and served during the Vietnam War era. He said the post is a needed resource for veterans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe do a lot in the community, offering programs for middle and high school students and turkeys and things like that for the community, but most of all we\u2019re here to provide support and services for our veterans,\u201d said Rose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Renee Day is one of those who benefitted from the Legion. Day is a Vietnam era veteran but didn\u2019t serve in the war. Thus, he didn\u2019t believe he was entitled to the benefits to which other soldiers were entitled. Because of that belief Day suffered through homelessness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI went in not knowing about benefits or anything. I was sending all my money back home to get my mother out of the projects,\u201d said Day. \u201cI don\u2019t want to feel like I didn\u2019t deserve what I received, so I didn\u2019t know anything about different types of discharges. So I had this honorable discharge and didn\u2019t know anything about what that offered to me. I was 30 years lost \u2026 out on the streets, but because of Johnnie Baker I\u2019m receiving benefits \u2026 VA benefits and such. (Because of the Johnnie Baker post) I\u2019m in the apartment I\u2019m in today.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n