During a Flag Day celebration on June 12, four African American veterans were honored at the Mormon Battalion Historic Site.
During the ceremony, Agin Shaheed, program manager of the San Diego Unified School District’s Race Relations and Advocacy Department, stated that any person can look at their personal genealogy in order to remember ancestors who have fought in war, served in government or lived their everyday lives courageously.
African Americans have served on behalf of the United States in every American War. Stories of some of the heroes were told at the ceremony through reenactments.
LDS.org lists those recognized during the ceremony as follows:
- 1st Sergeant, Charlie Lewis
- Chuck Ambers, U.S. Army
- Odell “Ranger” Wilson, U.S. Army
- Charles Adams, U.S. Navy Corpsman
Elder David Barnes, director of the Mormon Battalion Historic Site, closed the ceremony stating, “The African American veterans we honor today chose to leave the safe confines of a comfortable life to protect the rest of us … for which we are deeply grateful. … It is now up to the rest of us to follow their fine patriotic examples and to do our part to maintain the freedoms we so abundantly enjoy in this great land.”
