Military Experience as A Black Man

“My daddy used to tell me… boy you got to be twice as good to come up even.”

Introducing Ron

Taylor had the pleasure of interviewing her grandfather, Ronald Harris Sr. He was born in Jacksonville, Florida on December 14, 1948. His father, Junia Harris, was in the Navy and at the time of his birth was stationed in Jacksonville. His mother, Margie Harris, was a lifelong educator. She opened one of the first daycare centers in Virginia Beach after Junia was stationed in Virginia when Ron was only 6 years old. Because of his mothers educational background and love for teaching, he was able to skip the 1st grade. Ron says, “She [Margie] had me so well trained… that she went to the school, she and dad, and they gave me some little test and just put me in the 2nd grade, so I never went to the 1st grade.”

Ron also had two sisters, Joan and Adrienne. Joan was 2 years older than Ron, and Adrienne is 10 years younger than Ron. He says, “At that time, that was considered to be a very small family… especially in the black community.” Most families he knew at the time had 6 or more children. However, in the neighborhood he grew up in, many of those families only had 2-3 children. He says, “...most only had 2, maybe 3. And they were executives, teachers…”

When discussing his high school experience, he says the best part had to be chorus class. Not necessarily because of his deep love for the music, but he says it is because that's where all of the girls were.

Military & Career

After graduating high school in 1966, Ron then attended the Norfolk Division of Virginia State University. At this time, it was a requirement in many state schools to take ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps) for two years. So, he joined the Army ROTC, despite being raised by a Navy man. He says, “I did my 2 years in the Army ROTC and I didn’t want anything else to do with the military. The Navy had already raised me…”

Ron talked about how in the midst of the Vietnam War and the death of Dr. King, his draft notice was fueled. The civil unrest within the country played a drastic role in how the nation reacted to global crises. He talked about how the riots in Washington, DC and various places across the country led to the Army drafting as many young black men before the summer as possible. Though he didn’t know it at the time, the Army wanted to draft as many young black men before the summer in order to occupy their time while they weren’t in school. These men were being drafted in an effort to prevent more riots across the country.

In 1968, he was drafted and immediately stationed in Germany, but after a year, he came back to the states on leave and married his high school sweetheart, Carolyn Walker in August of 1969. Ron didn’t have a honeymoon, but he did return to Germany with a wife.

From 1968-1971, he was on active duty in the Army but continued to serve as an Army reservist for an additional 13 years. When asked what it meant to serve this country as a black man during this time period, he says, “It turned my whole entire life around. But it also gave me direction, because you really didn’t know what you wanted to do and back at that time, especially as a black man, it was hard to get direction because you were up against so much.” He talked about how serving his country was

honorable to his family and his father specifically. His grandfather was a WWI veteran, so continuing the legacy meant a lot to Ron, especially as the only son. Ron’s father always instilled in him the lesson of “defending what was yours.” With this lesson in mind, he talked about the importance of assuring young black people that they are fully entitled to the things of this world, just as much as any white woman or man.

After his time in the Army, Ron became a full time civilian federal employee. Between Ron and his wife, Carolyn, they have a combined 70 years of service working for the United States Government.

Looking Up

When asked about the most significant changes he has seen for individuals of color in this country over the course of his lifetime, he said, “The biggest changes I’ve seen have been in regards to the ability for better education.” We discussed the importance of access to education and how it has truly changed the game for black people and African American’s in this country.

Furthermore, we asked Ron to reflect on the world he hopes to see. He said, “I hope that we have instilled some old values that we know work.” We discussed the importance of having a foundational hold that our generation will continue to learn from and add onto as time goes on.

“Legislation doesn't change the mind of man.”