Christopher Lippitt’s Legacy

By Sam Gentile

Located in the National Guard Memorial Museum is a Mobilization Order, written by Captain Edward Knight, ordering Corporal James Briggs and the 3rd Company of Cranston Rhode Island’s militia to appear at Christopher Lippitt’s home the next day. But who is Christopher Lippitt and why was his name mentioned in the mobilization order?

Cpl. James Briggs Militia Mobilization Order
(Courtesy of NGEF Collection)

Christopher Lippitt was born October 28th, 1744, in Cranston. There isn’t much information on his early years, but that soon changes when Christopher turned 21. He was elected to the Rhode Island General Assembly and shortly after turning 22, he was made captain of a militia company and Justice of Peace.

The American Revolution began on April 19th, 1775, when colonists, like Lippitt, took up arms against the British at the battles of Lexington and Concord. The next day, Capt. Edward Knight issued the Militia Mobilization Order to Cpl. James Briggs and Cranston’s 3rd Company of militia gathered at Christopher Lippitt’s farm. There, the enlisted men in the company awaited orders from their superior officers.

We can assume that Knight ordered Briggs and his men to Lippitt’s farm because it spread over 110 acres – giving the company plenty of room for preparation and organization. While some men from Rhode Island did participate in the Battle of Bunker Hill, it does not appear that Lippitt or Briggs did. Their company probably stood down soon after gathering at Lippitt’s farm.

Christopher Lippitt’s Home on Lippitt Hill in Cranston, Rhode Island.
(Courtesy of Elizabeth S. Warren, Principal Historic Preservation Specialist)

Later in 1775, Lippitt was appointed Lieutenant Colonel of a militia regiment then he was then appointed Lt. Col. of a regiment of Minutemen – volunteers ready for service at a minute’s notice. Minutemen were the first line of defense, before a militia, a military force raised from the civilian population. In January 1776, he was appointed Lt. Col. in Henry Babcock’s Regiment of infantry to be raised for one year’s service.

Within a few months, Lippitt took command of the regiment when Babcock was deemed insane. Babcock’s father Dr. Joshua Babcock wrote to Governor Nicholas Cooke, his son’s “Drinking anything strong is pernicious. Anxiety for success of the Service, added to a bad Habit of Body with sleepless Nights destroyed his Flesh. He is mere Skeleton.”

Colonel Henry “Harry” Babcock by Joseph Blackburn
(Courtesy of Frick Photoarchive)

On May 11th, 1776, the regiment was incorporated into the Eastern Department of the Continental Army and stationed at Newport, Rhode Island. In September, as the British threatened New York City, Lippitt’s regiment was sent there to join the main Continental Army.

Lippitt’s regiment was involved in some of the most pivotal battles of the war. They were present during the Battle of Long Island, which resulted in the British capturing New York City. They also participated in the Battles of Trenton and Princeton, which inspired patriotism and proved that the colonies could defeat the British.

Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze
(Courtesy of Fine Art America)

Decades later, another member of the regiment recalled the battle of Trenton. Private John Howland remembered Lippitt’s regiment was on the south side of the Assunpink Creek that enters Delaware. Soon, Howland and the rest of his brigade were given orders, “…to cross the bridge and march through the main town street, to cover the retreat of the artillery and picket, into and through the north end of town.” The British attempted to gain control of the bridge but were unsuccessful.

Lastly, Lippitt’s Regiment was involved in the Battle of Princeton where they carefully approached and defeated the British, taking in their goods as well as some prisoners, which increased patriot morale and encouraged recruitment. The regiment was demobilized January 18th, 1777, and returned to Rhode Island.

Washington Leading the Battle of Princeton
 (Courtesy of Library of Congress)

Lippitt continued his service in the military as a Brigadier General in Rhode Island’s militia until 1783. That same year, Lippitt was elected to the Rhode Island General Assembly and appointed Justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court. His service in the Supreme Court was cut short in its fourth year because he supported ratification of the Constitution. “Being a zealous advocate for the adoption of the Constitution of the United States I was cried down,” he recalled. At this time, many in the state were against ratification – they wanted to be isolated from the Union. Rhode Island feared federal taxes and the new government structure. On May 18th, 1790, Rhode Island ratified the Constitution after the US Senate threatened to ban all trade with the state.

After Lippitt left the Supreme Court, he, and his brother Charles along with other investors raised $40,000 to begin a cotton textile farm named Lippitt Mill. In 1805, Charles and Christopher Lippitt Jr. incorporated the Lippitt Manufacturing Company in West Warwick, a twenty-minute drive from Cranston, where his service in the American Revolution began.

Christopher Lippitt lived an extraordinary life, serving in the Rhode Island General Assembly, the American Revolution, the Rhode Island Supreme Court, and establishing a textile business. His actions during the American Revolution launched his status and his family’s legacy in Rhode Island. Four Rhode Island governors descend from Lippitt: Charles W. Lippitt, Henry Lippitt, John Chafee, and Lincoln Chafee.



Remembering the Battle of New Orleans

By Kevin Brown

Andrew Jackson leading his troops during the Battle of New Orleans-January 1815
(Courtesy of Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage)

The War of 1812, launched by the James Madison Administration to expand territory and prevent British impressment of American sailors, ended in disappointment. The British were able to mobilize the forces of their empire to inflict painful defeats upon the young American Republic, including the destruction of the White House.

British troops razing the White House in August 1814.
(Courtesy of C-Span)

Both sides were eager for peace by the fall of 1814 when American and British delegations signed the Treaty of Ghent in Belgium on Christmas Eve. The Treaty restored the pre-war status quo, dictating the return of all captured prisoners and the resumption of trade between the two belligerents. In an era that lacked today’s technology, news of the peace treaty did not reach North America in time to prevent further fighting.

John Quincy Adams meets with British Representative Lord James Gambier in modern day Ghent, Belgium.
(Courtesy of PBS)

British Secretary of War Henry Bathurst was skeptical that President James Madison would honor any peace treaty. He believed the pre-war Louisiana Purchase was not legitimate and that the populations of that newly acquired territories did not support the American government. Bathurst also resented the American government’s tolerance of slavery and felt Britain could do more to combat it once Napoleon was defeated in Europe.

Bathurst issued orders to Major General Sir Edward Packenham in the months before Ghent to continue the war against the United States until a treaty was ratified by the Americans. Major General Packenham, regarded as one of the top commanders in the British Army, set out for New Orleans soon after receiving his orders. He was not only a respected career British Army officer but the brother-in-law of Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington.

Maj. Gen. Edward Packenham
(Courtesy of the US National Park Service)

Packenham was unenthusiastic about his new assignment, chosen only to replace Maj. Gen. Robert Ross, who was killed in Baltimore earlier in the year. Packenham would rendezvous with Vice Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane, the senior British commander in the theater. Packenham prided himself on his duty to the Crown and being a gentleman.

Tennessee militiaman and rising star Andrew Jackson was settling into New Orleans by December 1814 after ensuring American dominance over the deep South during the Battle of Horseshoe Bend in Alabama. Jackson had served in southern militias during the Revolutionary War and rapidly rose in ranks when the War of 1812 broke out. His troops called him “Old Hickory” due to his toughness.

Jackson’s pragmatic leadership forced him to put his support of slavery as an institution aside. He aggressively recruited freed black men with promises of equal pay and recognition, in stark contrast with most plantation owners, who forced their slaves to fight for the American cause without any compensation for their service. Though Jackson’s words were often inconsistent with his actions, keep black troops out of New Orleans to avoid agitating the city’s white residents, and eventually reneged on his promises of emancipation.  

General Jackson also towed a tough line toward civilians in New Orleans. He put the city under martial law shortly after arriving there. Jackson, ironically, shared the same views as the British in that he didn’t see Spanish or Creole communities existing in New Orleans as loyal to the United States. Old Hickory even imprisoned a Federal Judge who ruled his actions were unconstitutional.

Meanwhile, Jackson constructed defensive lines outside New Orleans to take on the superior British attackers. Old Hickory instructed his roughly 4,000-strong force to fashion forts made of clay and cotton bales along the city’s Mississippi River approaches, obstructing navigation of the waterways. The Tennessee Militiaman diversified his troop strength by not only employing African Americans but also enlisting Jean Lafitte’s band of pirates, whom Jackson termed hellish banditti,” to harass the Royal Navy along the Gulf Coast.

Infamous Gulf Coast Privateer Lean Lafitte.
(Courtesy of the American Battlefield Trust)

Combined British forces under Admiral Cochrane were massing off New Orleans’s coast, awaiting reinforcements’ arrival under Maj. Gen. Packenham. In the meantime, Cochrane’s forces engaged in several naval skirmishes with the Americans, culminating in an altercation within Lake Borgne outside of New Orleans on December 14th.

Admiral of the Blue Sir Alexander Cochrane
(Courtesy of the UK National Portrait Gallery)

Despite a quick British victory within Lake Borgne, disinformation from prisoners of war asserting that Andrew Jackson’s forces were much more formidable than previous reports gave attacking commanders cause for concern. These rumors undermined British confidence in a quick victory.

Delays and miscalculations plagued Packenham’s journey from Britain to America. Initially planning to meet with existing flotillas in Jamaica on his way, Pakenham did not arrive in New Orleans until Christmas Day. Frustrated by his transatlantic journey and the inability of the existing British forces to capture New Orleans, he landed his troops at the Chalmette Plantation right outside the city.

The British Army became bogged down at the plantation between December 27th and early January after repeated head-on attacks on Jackson’s hardened positions along the banks of the Mississippi River. Andrew Jackson’s rudimentary fortifications provided a significant force multiplier to his much smaller army.

Fighting at Chalmette Plantation.
(Courtesy of the US Naval History and Hertiage Command)

Maj. Gen. Packenham opted for an even larger frontal assault on Chalmette despite previous failures. This time it turned out no different as Tennessee and Kentucky militiamen within the improvised forts decimate the advancing British Redcoats: Packenham and his second in command, Maj. Gen. Samuel Gibbs were both mortally wounded in the failed attack.

A Kentucky soldier commented, “When the smoke had cleared, and we could obtain a fair view of the field, it looked at first glance like a sea of blood. It was not blood itself but the red coats in which the British soldiers were dressed. The field was entirely covered in prostrate bodies.”

British forces promptly embarked on their ships after the defeat, with the Royal Navy retreating into the Gulf of Mexico. The Battle of New Orleans cemented America’s dominance of its newly acquired territory and Andrew Jackson’s reputation.

Andrew Jackson emerged as a newfound American hero of the final battle of the War of 1812. Jackson used his wartime fame over half a decade later to run for the Democratic nomination for President. He would eventually win a vicious Presidential contest against John Quincy Adams, becoming one of American history’s most influential and controversial presidents. 

Andrew Jackson taking the oath of office upon his Presidental inauguration in March 1829.
(Courtesy of Encyclopedia Britannica)

Faces From the Past

By William Roulett

A Rendering of Abel Chapin from a Family Register
(Courtesy of National Archives)

At the National Guard Memorial Museum, we’re always researching something. It could be anything from an outside research request, future Minuteman Minute episodes, a new exhibit, or an existing one. Thanks to our access to the resources of other organizations and our ability to communicate with partners, we can learn more than ever before about something that has been in our collection for decades!

The National Archives and the National Park Service recently launched a crowd-sourced transcription campaign of their Revolutionary War pension files. In celebration of the forthcoming 250th anniversary of American Independence, they are seeking volunteers to transcribe case files of pension applications based on Revolutionary War service. Several items on display in our Militia Era Gallery are connected to veterans of the American Revolution and this project prompted us to see if we could learn anything new about their service.

In 1978, the Historical Society of the Militia and National Guard, now the National Guard Educational Foundation, purchased two sabers and other items from a private collector. The items were displayed in the National Guard Heritage Gallery, the precursor to the National Guard Memorial Museum. Those sabers belonged to the father and son Abel and Harvey Chapin of Massachusetts. They are each engraved with their owners’ dates of birth, dates of commission in the Massachusetts militia, dates of rank, and dates of death. A level of detail that seemed almost too good to be true 200 years later. Then, the Revolutionary War pension records corroborated and added to what we know about the Chapins.

Harvey Chapin saber (top) and Abel Chapin saber (bottom).
(Courtesy of NGEF Collection)

According to his saber’s inscription, Abel Chapin was commissioned by Massachusetts Governor John Hancock as a 1st Lieutenant in the 8th Company, 1st Regiment on July 1st, 1781. However, his pension records reveal this was not his earliest military service. In the summer of 1776, he enlisted in Springfield, Massachusetts for a term of six months, which took him to Fort Ticonderoga, New York. During the summer of 1776, American forces, who had been repulsed from an attempted invasion of Canada, reinforced Fort Ticonderoga in anticipation of a British counterattack. The details of Chapin’s service during that summer are known to us thanks to an affidavit given by Moses Bliss in May of 1841, almost 10 years after Abel had died.

Affidavit of Moses Bliss in support of Dorcas Chapin’s widow’s pension claim.
(Courtesy of National Archives)

Abel Chapin passed away on October 10, 1831, at the age of 75, having never filed for a pension. In July 1838, Congress passed an act (5 Stat. 303), granting 5-year pensions to widows whose marriages had taken place before January 1, 1794. This allowed Abel’s widow, Dorcas Chapin, to apply for a pension. However, pension seekers were required to provide their own proof of qualifying service in the form of eyewitness accounts given before justices of the peace as sworn affidavits. In the case of Dorcas Chapin, Moses Bliss’ account helped her claim the pension earned by her late husband’s service.

Approval of Dorcas Chapin pension
(Courtesy of National Archives)

Although illiterate, Dorcas submitted her application along with the Moses Bills affidavit and other documents in May of 1841. The following month it was approved at the amount of $20 dollars and back dated to March of 1836 because the Act of July 7, 1838, entitled her to a five-year pension. Dorcas received $100 in 1841, equivalent to $3,640.14 in 2024. Dorcas Chapin passed away soon thereafter, on July 30, 1841.

The mark of Dorcas Chapin is “X” in the center.
(Courtesy of National Archives)

As with many Guardsmen, then and now, Chapin’s military career continued after a term of federal service. Thanks to the Massachusetts National Guard Museum and Archives, we can corroborate Abel’s militia service from 1781 to 1794. During that time, he attained at least the rank of Lt. Col., possibly full Colonel, and was likely called out during Shay’s rebellion.

Discharge of Abel Chapin from 1st Brigade, 4th Division,
Massachusetts Militia dated 31 July 1794.
(Courtesy of the Massachusetts National Guard Museum and Archives)

One of the truly remarkable documents we were able to access thanks to the National Archives is an annex to Chapin’s pension records, which features a likeness of him and his wife. It was commissioned by their son-in-law Eber Wright in about 1820 and contains a record of the marriage of Abel and Dorcas along with the births and deaths of their children. We can not only learn more about the service of a Revolutionary War veteran whose saber we display in our museum, we can put a face to a name almost 200 years after his death.

Chapin Family Register featuring Dorcas (left) and Abel (right).
(Courtesy of National Archives)

The Louisiana Maneuvers of 1941

By Kevin Brown

The rise of Hitler’s Germany and new strategies like Blitzkrieg (“lightning war”), which combined tanks, infantry, and artillery to overwhelm enemy forces, shocked the American military establishment. The Third Reich’s rapid sweep through Poland and France from 1939 to 1940 made the dire situation clear, The American military was unprepared for modern war.

The German Blitzkrieg-1939-1942
(Courtesy of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum)

Hitler’s Wehrmacht Enters Paris-June 1940
(Courtesy of Granger NYC)

Rapid changes in technology and tactics in the 1930s left strategists with outdated impressions of what a future war would look like. Observers in the interwar period failed to imagine another global conflict after the catastrophes of the Great War left millions of dead. Popular thinking perpetuated the lie that any future fight would resemble the First World War, with forces clashing along static lines rather than rapid movements.

America’s armed services were in poor condition in the early 1940s; the Great Depression had plunged the world into a deep financial crisis, and challenging economic times translated into cuts to the US military, harming morale and manpower. This significantly impacted the Army, with this branch comprising less than 200,000 poorly trained and equipped men in 1939.

FDR Signs the Nation’s First Peacetime Draft into Law-September 16, 1940
(Courtesy of the New York Daily News)

These developments prompted President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to institute the nation’s first peace-time draft and federalize the National Guard in a push to increase the readiness of the nation’s forces. Over a year before the US was drawn into the war by the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, National Guard divisions were mobilized for year-long exercises. The administration tasked the Guard with leading the charge to modernize the Army with a series of war games known as the Louisiana Maneuvers with a yearlong initial mobilization. Conducting these exercises contributed to the development of senior leaders like General(s) George Patton, George C. Marshall, and Lesley McNair who rose even further in their careers during WWII.

These exercises set in Louisiana’s swamplands took on a renewed sense of urgency after Hitler’s Wehrmacht, which had invaded the Soviet Union in June quickly approached Moscow. The National Guard played the leading role in the exercise, with notable divisions like the 34th, and  35th, serving critical roles throughout the war. Guardsmen like Maj. Gen. Ralph E. Truman (a cousin of future President Harry Truman) served as commanders during the maneuvers.

The plans for the Louisiana Maneuvers called for two forces- a Blue Army and a Red one to engage in a series of actions against each other. These armies represented fictitious countries that were warring over rights to the Mississippi River. Planners divided the battle narrative into phases, giving each Army a chance to act offensively.

The Red Army was under the command of Lt. Gen. Ben Lear, one of the most senior general grade officers at the time. The Blue forces were led by Lt. Gen. Walter Krueger at the height of his career in the early 1940’s. Strict directives to all commanders that the exercises held under wartime conditions added to the realism of the Louisiana Maneuvers. All commanders from company grade upwards were allowed maximum flexibility to foster creativity and the ability to adapt to unexpected circumstances.

Lt. Gen. Ben Lear-Commander of the Red Army
(Courtesy of FindaGrave.com)

Lt. Gen. Walter Krueger- the leader of the Blue Army
(Courtesy of US Army South)

Phase I called for the Red Army to invade blue territory and destroy forces concentrated around Louisiana’s Lake Charles. This phase tasked Red Forces to move quickly to overpower the enemy. Blue troops stalled the red advance and prevented their armored concentrations from breaking through defensive lines. The Phase I mission was meant to test American land forces’ mobility and striking power against a potential foe like the Wehrmacht.

Troops Listening to Briefings During the Louisiana Maneuvers.
(Courtesy of the National WWII Museum)

In the second phase of the maneuvers, the roles were reversed, with the Red Army now on the defensive against a numerically superior Blue force for control of Shreveport. Lt. Gen Lear planned a delay and withdrawal to trade territory for a time.

Lt. General Krueger’s blue Army planned a blunt force attack on Red’s front like a German blitzkrieg. Krugear also relied on Major General George Patton to drive the main thrust of his armored heavy offensive towards the Red forces.

General Patton became the show’s star when he took his 2nd Armored Division outside the designated maneuver area and decapitated the rear flanks of the Red forces. Patton’s actions during the Louisiana Maneuvers spoke to the spirit of the wargames as he demonstrated ingenuity by shopping at local gas stations along his advance route instead of using his Army-supplied rations to sustain his forces. These moves allowed the blue parties to reach Shreveport, with one of the blue battalions capturing the entire staff of a red task force.

Maj. Gen. George Patton During the 2nd Phase of the Maneuvers.
(Courtesy of US Army TRADOC)

Maj. Gen. Patton’s unconventional moves to seize the upper hand for the blue Army during the Louisiana maneuvers prompted protest from Lt. Gen. Ben Lear. Patton responded, “I am unaware of the existence of any rules in war.”

The Louisiana Maneuvers put the American Army on a better footing than its enemies through sustained maneuver warfare practice. The exercises reformed the Army’s leadership; for example, Chief of Staff General George C. Marshall pushed out 31 out of 41 senior Army commanders to make way for younger leadership. 

(Courtesy of the National WWII Museum)

By serving as a laboratory for new concepts, the Maneuvers also helped lay the seeds for an “American way of War” that brought the Army into the modern era and allowed it to develop its own operational concepts. The Louisiana Maneuvers were so historically successful that the US military would hold another round of exercises in the early 1990’s. This phenomenon would see the Army through WWII and the Cold War to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, as the Total Force became a master of maneuver warfare.

A Distinguished Flying Cross First

By Samantha Burnett

The minuteman has long served as a symbol of the leadership and sacrifice of the National Guard. Today, Air Force Major Katie Lunning acts as a modern-day example. An intensive care unit manager at the Iowa VA hospital, the then Captain Lunning answered a short-notice deployment to serve with the 379th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, in 2021. It was here that Lunning’s remarkable dedication and courage earned her the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Captain Katie Lunning of the Minnesota Air National Guard.
(Photo courtesy of NGEF)

Born to an Army veteran, Lunning’s own entrance into military service began in 2002 when she joined the National Guard in the hope of furthering her education and contributing to her local community. Eventually, Lunning, like many individuals in her family, continued to pursue her passion for nursing. In 2012, Lunning received her bachelor’s degree from Bethel University. Such commitment led to Lunning’s commission as an officer in 2013, marking a significant milestone in her military journey.

Significantly, Lunning’s experiences as a nurse in the National Guard and VA-run hospitals played a critical role in preparing her for the life-altering emergency she would face almost a decade later.

While deployed, Lunning’s primary duties involved providing critical care to wounded soldiers and civilians, as well as medical evacuations from Afghanistan. In reflecting on the nature of this care, Lunning explained that “Kabul was chaotic and unprecedented.” “When Afghanistan fell to the Taliban and the country descended on Kabul to try and escape, we were tasked with flying out the most critically injured. We flew almost non-stop for three weeks.” Lunning recalled, “We had a lot of people who had flash bangs to the face, some gunshot wounds.” “We had a little girl who had some sort of disability that required her to have a [tracheotomy tube] long term… and quite a few pregnant people that were able to give birth,” she recalled.

Captain Katie Lunning, critical care air transport team registered nurse, hard at work.
(Courtesy of Major Katie Lunning)

Yet, it was one particular mission on August 26, 2021, that would act as a defining moment in Lunning’s military career. Amidst the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan, a suicide bombing rocked the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, resulting in the deaths of 13 Americans and over 150 Afghans, while wounding hundreds more.

Lunning, having just completed a twenty-hour mission, was called to duty on the first responding flight. From here, as an active member of the Critical Care Air Transport Team (CCATT), she was tasked with the challenging mission of transporting twenty-seven critically injured Afghan civilians and U.S. service members to the Landstuhl Region Medical Center in Germany. “We had no idea who we were going to be picking up, what the patients were going to be like, how many patients, we had no clue. It was really flying blind,” Lunning said.

The situation was dire as Lunning’s team navigated unprecedented pandemonium with victims ranging in age from adults to an eighteen-month-old child. While many survivors bore an array of trauma wounds from the bombing, others had gunshot wounds from the intense fighting that had broken out in the area. Lunning’s expertise as a CCATT nurse proved invaluable as she provided immediate medical attention to patients in need of specialized care.

Such efforts were especially commendable given the exhaustion Lunning and her team experienced after continuous operations. “We’re all fighting being awake for like 40 hours,” she said. “We would hit walls from time to time. You try to help each other out, like, ‘Hey, I’ll take the vitals, you sit down for a minute or take a lap around the airplane.”

U.S. Air Force Captain Katie Lunning checks equipment on a C-17 Globemaster III in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Courtesy of Major Katie Lunning)

Despite this fatigue and lack of sufficient medical equipment and staff, Lunning and her team managed to evacuate six critically injured and sixteen injured patients to Landstuhl in an eight-hour flight. All arrived alive. The dedication, coordination, and unwavering determination of Lunning and her team proved critical in ensuring the safe transfer of patients to higher levels of care.

Captain Katie Lunning and other Air Force medical personnel pose for a photo.
(Courtesy of Major Katie Lunning)

Reflecting on her experience, Lunning acknowledged the gravity of the danger both she and her team faced. However, it was in witnessing the resilience of survivors and the impact of her actions that the significance of her role that day was illuminated: “They’re not just living. A lot of them are thriving,” she said. “Everything we did was worth it.”

U.S. Air Force Lieutenant General Michael A. Loh, Director of the Air National Guard, awards Major Katie Lunning with the Distinguished Flying Cross in St. Paul, Minnesota on January 7, 2023.
(U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Amy Loygren)

For her exceptional contributions, Captain Katie Lunning became the first flight nurse in the Air National Guard to be awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross on January 7, 2023, one of the highest military honors for courage in aviation. Lunning’s heroic efforts during a critical moment in history solidified her legacy as an exemplary national guardsman who selflessly rose to the challenge, ultimately making a difference in the lives of countless individuals.

Major Lunning, her husband, and her daughter visited the National Guard Memorial Museum in July when her uniform was temporarily on display in the library. (Photo courtesy of NGEF)

Major Lunning donated the uniform she wore during missions to Afghanistan to the National Guard Memorial Museum. It will soon be on permanent display as a symbol of the National Guard’s important role during the American presence in Afghanistan.


The 29th at Normandy

By Kevin Brown

The National Guard’s 29th Infantry Division stands out for its service at Omaha Beach on D-Day, June 6th, 1944. The 29th was dubbed the “Blue and Gray,” represented in a yin-yang symbol patch, because the Division traced its history to Union and Confederate Civil War units. In World War I, the 29th participated in the Meuse–Argonne offensive, ending the bloody conflict. Upon returning home in 1919, the decorated 29th was demobilized, and its citizen soldiers returned to civilian life.

The Yin-Yang Representing a Unification of the North and South After the Civil War
(Courtesy of the 29th Infantry Division Association)

The 29th Division was activated in February 1941 by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in response to Hitler’s Blitzkrieg. Former National Guard Association President Lieutenant General Milton Reckford oversaw the Division’s training drills at Maryland’s Fort Meade before shipping off to Britain. While there, the 29th trained as one of the National Guard Infantry Divisions selected to participate in the Operation Overlord-Day landings.

Former National Guard Association President Lt. Gen. Milton Atchison Reckord.
(Courtesy of the American Legion)

Allied planners selected the 29’s 116th Infantry Regiment to spearhead the assault on Normandy’s Omaha Beach. Allied intelligence considered Omaha the most challenging landing beach due to its rocky terrain and high bluffs, providing defenders an advantage over any attacking amphibious force. Allied command divided the 116th’s responsibility for the Beach into four sectors Easy Green, Dog Red, Dog White, and Dog Green.

German Wehrmacht commanders viewed France as a safe space for their forces to recover from the horrific fighting against the Soviet Union on the Eastern Front. The defense of Omaha fell on the  352nd Infantry Division, consisting of hardened Eastern Front veterans. The Third Reich’s forces at other Normandy beaches were mainly “Static Divisions.” These units consisted of forcibly conscripted Soviet and Eastern European men poorly trained, led, and equipped.

Members of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (German General Staff) Inspecting Normandy’s Defenses (Courtesy of the National World War II Museum)

Most of the 29th Division embarked from Trebah in Cornwall for the shores of Normandy. Due to the unit’s unique mission, the Virginia National Guard’s 116th Regiment left for France separately from the rest of the Division on June 3rd, 1944. The 29th disembarked into their Higgin’s Boats off the coast of France in the early hours of June 6th, 1944, entering the unknown.

Allied Landing Plans for June 6, 1944.
(Courtesy of the British Broadcasting Corporation)

A bombardment operation targeting German positions at Omaha Beach was unsuccessful, alerting the Wehrmacht to an incoming offensive. Heavy winds and rough seas significantly complicated the landing for the 116th. Poor conditions caused landing craft to sink, losing many men. Most of the 116th’s tanks and assault vehicles struggled to reach the shore. The bombardment of Omaha also failed to create cover and concealment for troops landing on Omaha, leaving them vulnerable to German firepower.

The first-wave companies of the 116th Regiment were either completely wiped out or missed their assigned Omaha landing sectors. Strong morning ocean currents, fires, and obstacles on the Beach complicated operations for American service members struggling to gain a foothold onshore. This initial chaos on D-Day created a situation where exhausted troops had to charge over 200 yards up dangerous beaches to escape German fire.

Problems were compounded by the arrival of the second wave, facing the same conditions as the initial assault. The three reinforcing companies of the 116th’sFirst Battalion faced heavy fire, disorientation, and fatalities among company-grade leadership. Some of the 29th’s men sought refuge along the walls of the beaches’ embankments.

“Into the Jaws of Death” a Famed Photo Taken at Omaha.
(Courtesy of the National Gallery of Art)

At the behest of the 29th‘s Deputy Commander Brigadier General Norman Cota, the remaining troops on the Beach finally managed to storm Omaha’s Bluff and break through the German Army’s defensive lines.

Resistance was also beginning to wear down in Omaha’s various sectors as German forces ran low on ammunition and stamina. Allied troops at other Normandy Beaches like Juno, Gold, Utah, and Sword were also pushing inland. German defenses were thrust into chaos due to Allied paratrooper landings across Normandy’s interior, diverting critical Wehrmacht troops from Omaha Beach. The overwhelming force deployed at Normandy and the Third Reich’s increasingly desperate strategic situation by the spring of 1944 made defending Omaha as tricky as capturing the Beach.

The elements of the 29th Division began establishing a beachhead despite the heavy casualties endured while landing. The 121st Combat Engineer Battalion of the Washington DC National Guard managed to secure the area directly beyond the Beach despite suffering significant losses, clearing the way for the rest of the division’s elements to pierce German lines. Spearheaded by the 116th Regiment, the 29th Division captured Omaha entirely by mid-afternoon despite delays caused by holdout enemy positions.

American Reinforcements Pouring onto Omaha Beach.
(Courtesy of NBC News)

However, the 29th Division still had bloody fights ahead even after the Omaha landings. The Division faced fierce fighting in Normandy’s agricultural hedgerow country as it advanced toward the important crossroad town of St. Lo, commencing battle with Hitler’s forces on July 7th, 1944. The North Carolina-based 30th and Plains state-centered 35th Infantry Divisions joined the 29th to take the critical town.

Maj. Thomas Howie of Staunton Virginia.
(Courtesy of Findagrave.com)

The 29th Division suffered further fatalities from German artillery strikes and fierce house-to-house fighting within St. Lo. One prominent American fatality of the action was career Virginia Guardsman Major Thomas D. Howie. Howie single-handedly led his troops to rescue their division’s 2nd Battalion, where they also successfully broke through German lines at Martinsville. A mortar round killed Major Howie shortly after radioing 29th Commander Charles Gerhardt, “See you in St. Lo!”

The Body of Maj. Howie resting on the rubble of St. Lo’s Cathedral.
(Courtesy of the Staunton News Leader)

On the anniversary of D-Day, stars and Stripes war correspondent and famous media personality Andy Rooney remarked .“More American soldiers were killed taking Saint Lo than on the beaches. A major named Tom Howie was the battalion leader that captured Saint Lo. At least he was the leader until he was killed just outside town. After he died, his men picked him up, carried him into town, and placed him on a pile of stones that used to be a church wall. I guess there never was an American soldier more honored by what the people who loved him did for him after he died. Undoubtedly, Thomas Howie was a charismatic leader, a courageous soldier, and a man of outstanding character.”

The Grave of Maj. Thomas D. Howie in France.
(Courtesy of Normandy American Heroes Tours)

The 29th and its various elements engaged in heavy fighting throughout France for the rest of 1944. Though the 29th did not participate in the Battle of the Bulge, the Division led efforts directly south of the Ardennes Forest to cross the Rhineland’s Roer River, which swept across central Germany.

During the push through Germany, the 29th Division also liberated Dinslaken-a slave labor camp that was part of the Final Solution. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum considers the Division a Liberating unit

The Division even had a chance to rendezvous with Soviet forces at the Elbe River, enthusiastically exchanging greetings and wartime memorabilia.

After Germany’s unconditional surrender to the Allies in May 1945, the 29th Division settled into post-war occupation duties.  

The 29th Division’s personnel earned high-level decorations throughout the Western European campaign, including two Medal of Honor recipients and numerous other citations. Films like The Longest Day (1962), Saving Private Ryan (1998), and segments of HBO’s Band of Brothers series pay homage to the 29th Division’s actions at Omaha Beach.

The National Guard Monument Built on a Former German Pillbox at Omaha Beach.
(Courtesy of the National Guard Educational Foundation)

The National Guard and WWII Coastal Defense

By Kevin Brown

Coastal defense was an ongoing theme in American military history from 1776 to the beginning of the Cold War. The country’s leadership saw the United States as vulnerable to attacks and invasions. The rise of fascism in the 1930s under Adolf Hitler, Hideki Tojo, and Benito Mussolini only heightened anxieties. Increasingly belligerent Axis nations heavily invested in their air and naval forces for impending global conflicts.

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt federalized the National Guard in August 1940, after the previous year witnessed the rapid fall of Poland and France to Nazi Germany. In addition to training for conventional warfare with the Great Maneuvers, the Guard took responsibility for homeland defense on the east and west coasts.

American strategists saw the Atlantic coast as vulnerable to Axis attacks and sabotage attempts. Hitler’s Kriegsmarine launched a U-Boat campaign targeting global shipping to force Great Britain out of the war. The FDR Administration, in the months before Pearl Harbor, established the Eastern Command in response to Hitler’s threats to the American homeland.

A Kriegsmarine (German Navy) U-Boat Service Propaganda Poster.
(Courtesy of Hunting New England Shipwrecks)

The Eastern Command oversaw the protection of vital ports and coastlines from its headquarters on New York City’s Governor’s Island. National Guard units from around the country contributed to its structure, including locally based coastal artillery formations in Delaware, North Carolina, and New York, among many others.

Observation towers in Cape Henlopen Delaware That were Part of Fort Miles.
(Courtesy of Visit Delaware)

National Guard units occupied fortifications, typically near significant harbors where German activity existed. A prominent example of one of these coastal forts is at Cape Henlopen, Delaware’s Fort Miles, which served as an observation and protection point for the Philadelphia and Baltimore harbor channels.

The Georgia Guard’s 128th Observation Squadron
Poses for a Photo in Atlanta Sept. 8, 1941.
(Courtesy of the Georgia National Guard History Blog)

The National Guard’s aerial squadrons were also active in anti-submarine operations along the southern seaboard. The most notable air squadron to take part was the Georgia National Guard’s 128th Observation Squadron, which, from 1942-43, conducted patrol missions over the Gulf of Mexico using O-47s and B-25 Mitchells to hunt Hitler’s U-Boats. Smaller Guard detachments out of South Carolina also participated in efforts to prevent German attack.

GANG B-25 Mitchells Conducting a Reconnaissance Mission
Over the Gulf of Mexico.
(Courtesy of the Georgia National Guard History Blog)

The threat was more geographically dispersed on the other side of the country. Imperial Japan had built a giant navy since 1900, posing a challenge to America’s Pacific territories.

The New Mexico National Guard’s 200th and 515th coastal defense units played a crucial role in defending the Philippines. The New Mexico National Guard units were chosen because of their high numbers of Spanish speakers, the Philippines having been a Spanish possession until 1898. When Bataan and the Philippines fell after Pearl Harbor, thousands of Americans, including the Guardsmen, and Filipinos died in Japanese captivity.

The New Mexico National Guard’s 200th Band in Bataan.
(Courtesy of the Santa Fe New Mexican)

Following the fall of Bataan, the Japanese also attacked and occupied minor Alaskan strait islands in the Aleutian Islands. This example of Japanese aggression caused some to fear an invasion of North America. However, US and Canadian forces led by Arkansas’s 206th Coastal Artillery Regiment made Japan’s position in the island chain untenable.

These attacks unnerved the American public, making it clear that the Axis powers seriously threatened the homeland. The ill-fated defense of Bataan only added to the feeling that the Japanese would eventually attack American shores. American military planners worried about strikes along the Pacific coast.

Rising concerns among Guard leaders were compounded after Japan staged an attack on Sydney Harbor in Australia. Additionally, Santa Barbara was bombarded by Japanese submersibles on February 23rd, 1942. The result was one of the most significant false alarms of the war, with the Battle of Los Angeles on the night of February 24th, 1942. The Washington National Guard’s 37th Coast Artillery Brigade spent several hours firing at unknown aircraft, believing Japanese forces were launching an assault. This reaction created a national controversy over the Guard’s role in homeland defense, as the incident severely damaged civilian property.

An LA Times Cover Discussing the “Battle of Los Angeles”
a Day after the 1942 Incident.
(Courtesy of the Los Angeles Times)

In June 1942, the FBI uncovered the German Abwehr’s Operation Pastorius, resulting in the capture of eight Nazi agents. Tasked with economic sabotage, they infiltrated New York and Florida via U-Boats. Meanwhile, within the same month, a Japanese submarine shelled National Guard forces at Fort Stevens in Astoria, Oregon.

Craters Caused by Japanese Shelling of Fort Stevens, Oregon.
(Courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration)

Meanwhile, evolutions in military technology made coastal defense an aging concept in modern war. National Guard coastal defense units deployed to various combat theaters worldwide after 1943 when threats to the homeland subsided. By 1950, the armed forces repurposed all coastal defense units and fortifications for other uses. The rapid changes in military technology since World War II including long-range aircraft, ballistic missiles, and advanced warning radars, rendered coastal defense obsolete.

Massachusetts Army Guardsmen at Boston Logan Airport
After 9/11 in October 2001.
(Courtesy of Getty Images)

The National Guard’s contributions to coastal defense during World War II was critical. The Guard protected the American homeland, providing capabilities and staffing to protect shipping from further Axis attacks. A WWII Sea coast defense legacy continues today, where the Guard has taken a leading role in protecting American infrastructure from terrorism and great power threats.

Andrew’s Raiders and the First Medals of Honor

By Will Roulett

Visitors to the National Guard Memorial Museum have probably walked through the Medal of Honor Gallery. It is a tribute to 147 Guardsmen who received the Medal since 1898. However, the Medal of Honor was first presented on March 25, 1863, to six of the surviving members of Andrew’s Raiders. Their exploits are also known as the Great Locomotive Chase.

Medal of Honor Gallery at the National Guard Memorial
(Courtesy of the NGEF Collection)

Central Tennessee in April of 1862 was swarming with Union and Confederate forces. Confederates had been forced to abandon Nashville and Union General Ormsby M. Mitchel had his sights set on Chattanooga. Mitchel’s movement towards capturing Chattanooga included seizing over 100 miles of railroad. Before closing in on Chattanooga, he authorized an unconventional raid deep into enemy territory that, if successful, would cripple the Confederate ability to reinforce Chattanooga.

James J. Andrews
(Courtesy of Daring and suffering: 1887 by William Pittenger)

James J. Andrews had done some spying and scouting for Major General Don Carlos Buell., Andrews proposed to lead a group of volunteers deep into enemy territory in April 1862 to steal a locomotive. They could ride north from there to Chattanooga, cutting telegraph lines, tearing up tracks, and burning bridges all along the way.  Mitchell approved the plan because it was bold and risked the lives of only a few Union soldiers.

Andrews recruited 22 soldiers from the 2nd, 21st, and 33rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiments for the mission. Andrews, fellow civilian William Hunter Campbell, and the 22 men were to depart on April 7, travel in twos and threes, dressed as civilians, and meet in Marietta, Georgia. The volunteers were not deterred by the fact that soldiers captured wearing civilian clothes could be hanged as spies. Four men were captured or overslept missing their trains along the way. The remaining men were in place and ready to put the plan into action by April 12, 1862.

The party boarded a Northbound train on the morning of April 12th at Marietta. In 1862, trains made frequent stops for water and fuel where passengers had the chance to disembark for a meal. Big Shanty (present-day Kennesaw, Georgia) was one such stop and of note because there were no telegraph lines there. Andrews and his raiders planned to use this opportunity to steal the train and be on their way before Confederate forces further down the tracks could be alerted. And that is exactly what they did when they hijacked the General, which is on display today at the Southern Museum of Civil War & Locomotive History in Kennesaw, Georgia.

The locomotive the General today.
(Courtesy of the Southern Museum)

The Confederate pursuit of Andrew’s Raiders began with the General’s conductor, William Fuller, and others chasing the train on foot. He eventually acquired a handcar and then a series of locomotives as he chased after the Raiders. The Raiders were delayed multiple times due to oncoming trains. Fuller and the growing party of pursuers were delayed by the sections of track Andrews’ men had removed. However, they commandeered the locomotives Yonah, the William R. Smith, and finally the Texas in their pursuit of the General. The Texas is currently on display at the Atlanta History Center.

The locomotive the Texas today.
(Courtesy of the Atlanta History Center)

The Raiders attempted to slow the Texas by releasing two of the General’s boxcars and setting fire to the last boxcar on the bridge of the Oostanaula River. However, the bridge, damp from rain, failed to ignite and the pursuers failed to slow. The Confederates were too close on their tracks to affect anymore damage or allow them to refuel. The General ran out of fuel less than 20 miles from Chattanooga and Andrews and his men scattered into the woods. All were captured within two weeks and Mitchel failed to take Chattanooga.

Eight of the men, including Andrews, were tried as spies and hanged. Fearing the same fate, the remaining Raiders attempted to escape. Six of them were recaptured, including Private Jacob Parrott of the 33rd Ohio’s Company K. Once again in captivity, Parrott was beaten over 100 times by Confederates trying to extract information. Finally, in March 1863, Parrott and the remaining prisoners were exchanged.

Private Jacob Parrott
(Courtesy of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society)

Jacob Parrott has the distinction of being the very first recipient of the Medal of Honor. It was presented to him and the five other Raiders who had been freed by the recent prisoner exchange. 19 of the 22 Union soldiers who volunteered for the raid were eventually presented with the Medal. Their citations read “One of the 19 Medal recipients from a group of 22 men who, by direction of Gen. Mitchell (or Buell), penetrated nearly 200 miles south into enemy territory and captured a railroad train at Big Shanty, Ga., in an attempt to destroy the bridges and track between Chattanooga and Atlanta.”

Next time you visit the National Guard Memorial Museum, you can take a moment to reflect on the selfless dedication of heroes of the National Guard like Parrott. Our Medal of Honor Gallery features depictions of six Medal of Honor actions taken by Guardsmen.

(Mitchel’s (Andrews) Raiders)
Courtesy of the NGEF Collection.

Norma Parsons-Erb and Guard Trailblazers

By Kevin Brown

Several years after President Harry S. Truman signed Executive Order 9981 ending racial segregation in the United States armed services, Congress allowed women to serve as reserve officers with Public Law 845 on July 30th, 1956. Public Law 845 only allowed women to serve as appointed nurses and other medical specialists in the reserve, but this added to the few military service options for women in the 1950s.

Captain Norma Parsons-Erb made history by becoming the first female reserve officer when she took her oath with the New York Air National Guard on August 1st, 1956, only a couple of days after Congress opened reserve service options for women. Parsons-Erb, who lived and worked as a nurse in New York City, became one of the first officers within the newly created U.S. Air Force Nurse Corps upon joining the Guard.

Nurse Norma Parsons-Erb of the New York Air National Guard
(NGEF)

Parsons-Erb was born in October of 1915 in the town of Caribou, Maine, in rural Aroostook County in the far north of the state along the Canadian border. She attended Caribou High School, where according to her, “she didn’t do anything outstanding.” After completing high school, she enrolled in a nursing education program at Caribou’s Carey Memorial Hospital. She then registered for follow-on training at the Portland Memorial Hospital and made a final move to Fordham in New York City. [USAF Medical Service Oral History Program, Pg .1, November 7, 1991]

Capt. Parsons-Erb was no stranger to military service before commissioning in the Air National Guard. She served in the Army Women’s Air Corps as a flight nurse at the outbreak of World War II. She held nursing roles in European and Pacific theaters during WWII. Parsons-Erb once saw President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill during a layover in Casablanca. [USAF Medical Service Oral History Program, Pg.13, November 7, 1991]

African American WWII era Women’s Army Corps (WAC) Nurses
(Library of Congress)

Parsons-Erb also stepped forward to serve again when the Korean War broke out in 1950, helping run medical evacuation flights from combat zones to Japan. [USAF Medical Service Oral History Program, Pg.15, November 7, 1991]

Captain Parsons-Erb assumed various responsibilities and leadership positions within the New York Air National Guard while balancing a demanding civilian nursing career. She served as a chief nurse, flight evacuation coordinator, and educator during her Guard career. During her Guard service was active in professional military medical organizations and became the first female member of the National Guard Association of the United States. She retired from the New York Guard as a Colonel in 1969 after nearly 27 years in and out of uniform. [USAF Medical Service Oral History Program, New York News Day Obituary, October 1991]

Norma Parsons-Erb was Also the First Female Member of the National Guard Assocation of the United States (NGAUS)
(National Guardsman-1956)

Norma Parsons-Erb wasn’t the only female reserve officer commissioned at this time. Over the next two years, 1st Lt. Sylvia Marie St. Charles Law of Alabama was the first woman to join the Army National Guard in January 1957. Law’s and Parsons-Erb’s service options by today’s standards were limited; their Guard service opened more opportunities for women to serve in the coming decades beyond nursing.

Alabama ARNG 1LT Slyvia Marie St. Charles Law-the First Woman to Serve in
the Army National Guard
(Army National Guard)

It was not until after the Vietnam War’s ending that more military service opportunities opened for women as Congress pushed reforms as part of the Total Force Policy. From 1967 to 1972, Congress passed legislation mandating the Army National Guard open enlistment options for women. The Guard then began aggressively recruiting women as part of an effort to recover from Vietnam’s negative impact on the reserve forces.  The end of the draft also forced the Pentagon to make the National Guard more representative of American society. Though barred by law from combat positions, close to 30,000 women by the 1990s were serving in the Army National Guard alone.

Maj. Gen. Roberta V. Mills who Served as the National Guard’s First Female General Officer
(NGEF)

The Post-Vietnam War decades also saw several trailblazers within the Guard, such as fellow nurse Major General Roberta V. Mills, the first female general officer in the National Guard. Women in the Guard also demonstrated themselves in combat. Sgt. Leigh Ann Hester became the first female to receive the Silver Star since World War II and the first ever to be cited for valor in combat for actions she took during an ambush in Iraq in 2005. Most recently, Capt. Katie Lunning was the first Air Guard nurse to receive the Distinguished Flying Cross for saving American and Afghan lives during the 2021 Afghanistan Evacuation flights.

SGT Leigh Ann Hester Awarded the Silver Star for Combat Actions in Iraq
(United States Army)

MNANG Nurse Capt. Katie Lunning Became the First Air Guard Nurse to Receive the Distinguished Flying Cross for Actions During the
2021 Afghanistan Evacuation
(CENTCOM USAF)

Norma Parson Erb’s uniform and Leigh Ann Hester’s uniform is on display at the National Guard Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C, as a testament to their groundbreaking service.

Gen. Henry V. Graham and the Schoolhouse Door

By Kevin Brown

The civil rights movement propelled meaningful changes to the country’s tapestry in the decades following World War II. Alabama Army National Guard officer Henry Vance Graham was a witness who facilitated these changes during the Civil Rights era’s most heated moments in the 1960s.

Henry Graham was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama. He enlisted in the National Guard during the Great Depression in 1934 and participated in responses to labor unrest in Alabama’s mining regions. Graham was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in September 1940 in time for the Great Maneuvers, which tested the US Army’s readiness for a global conflict; he then reported to active duty in November of the same year. A quote by Graham within the National Guard Memorial Museum illustrates his Great Maneuver experiences as a 2nd Lieutenant at Camp Blanding in Florida precisely a year before America entered the war. The only things with a real roof on them for our company of 120 men were a mess hall and a latrine. Everyone was living in a tent.” [Notes by Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Henry V. Graham: On his Years in the National Guard of Alabama]

Graham as a Recently Commissioned 2LT in the Alabama Guard
(Private Contribution)

Graham served in the Army’s active duty, reserve, and National Guard components during World War II and the Korean War before transiting to the Guard full-time. He was appointed Adjutant General of Alabama in 1959 and Assistant Division Commander of the 31st Infantry Division in 1961, which left him federally recognized as a Brigadier General but holding the state appointment of Major General until he left the office of the Adjutant General in 1963.

BG Graham as a General Grade Officer (Early 1960’s)
(Private Contribution)

National debates over racial discrimination and segregation quickly heated as Graham’s Alabama National Guard career progressed. In 1954, the Supreme Court issued its landmark decision in Brown vs. Board of Education, finding segregation in public schools unconstitutional. Chief Justice Earl Warren stated, “We conclude that, in the field of public education, the doctrine of “separate but equal” has no place, and separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.”

The Supreme Court at the Time of Brown v. Board of Education
(National Constitution Center)

Southern governors quickly pushed back on the Supreme Court’s decision via a “massive resistance” policy to Federally mandated integration efforts. These efforts included governors utilizing the National Guard to enforce segregation in defiance of the federal government. Arkansas governor Orval Fabus mobilized his state’s National Guard in 1957 to block integration efforts in Little Rock. [The National Guardsman: Oct 1957] Massive Resistance led Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations to federalize the National Guard to remove obstacles to integration.

Major General Graham’s first interaction with the Civil Rights movement as an Alabama Guard leader occurred during the 1961 summer Freedom Rides. A multiracial coalition of activists converged in Alabama to protest continued segregation with civil disobedience. Local law enforcement and the Ku Klux Klan violently reacted to the Freedom Riders.

A Freedom Rider bus went up in flames in May 1961 when a firebomb was tossed through a window near Anniston, Ala. The bus, which was testing bus station segregation in the south, had stopped because of a flat tire. Passengers escaped without serious injury. (AP Photo)

Graham escorted the Freedom riders throughout the state. As the Freedom Riders were settled on their bus in Montgomery (to go to Jackson, Mississippi) General Graham stepped on the bus and “said they were about to embark on a “hazardous journey. We have taken every precaution to protect you.  I sincerely wish you all a safe journey.” Then he stepped off the bus. 

The National Guard Association’s in-house publication, the summer 1961 National Guardsman, noted his professionalism in the face of the Klan and hostile state officials.

Alabama Governor George Wallace at his 1963 Inauguration
(YouTube)

1963 marked the next major confrontation between General Graham and hardline Alabama Governor George Wallace, the defining moment of his National Guard career. Fulfilling election promises of “segregation now, segregation tomorrow, and segregation forever.” Governor Wallace attempted to stop black students from enrolling at the University of Alabama’s Foster auditorium by blocking the building entrance on June 11th.

An incident that immediately captured national media attention and became one of the civil rights movement’s critical battles. General Graham serving under federal orders at President Kennedy’s behest, was torn between his governor and Washington.

Deputy Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach Demanding Wallace
Step Aside.
(Library of Congress)

Wallace refused the entry of two African American students, Vivian Malone, and James Hood, into the auditorium despite orders from Justice Department officials accompanying the students, including an in-person demand from Deputy Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach. Wallace did not budge despite the high probability of violence erupting at the university and vocal condemnations from President Kennedy. Wallace’s stand worried officials in Washington who feared a political disaster and a constitutional crisis for the Kennedy Administration if the governor did not back down soon.

Gen. Graham Arriving on the University of Alabama Campus
(Alabama State Archives)

The Department of Justice implored General Graham, in his role as a federalized guardsman, to put an end to Wallace’s ploy. The General arrived on the campus later in the day; he approached Governor Wallace, saluted, and ordered him to stand down, saying, “Sir, it is my sad duty to ask you to step aside under the orders of the President of the United States.” Wallace eventually backed down and let the students into the building to complete their registration. [The National Guardsman: August 1963]

Gen. Graham Ordering Wallace to Stand Down
(University of Alabama Libraries)

Graham’s willingness to stand up to his governor by enforcing federal law handed a significant victory to civil rights activists. The incident marked the beginning of the end of massive Resistance as the push for desegregation gained momentum throughout the 1960s. General Graham would also lead federal protection efforts for Martin Luther King’s March on Selma in 1965, eventually leading to Congress’s passage of the Voting Rights Act later that year.

Gen. Graham at the March on Selma
(Alabama State Archives)

George Wallace had a resilient political career throughout the 1960s and 70s despite the university standoff, representing the segregationist “Dixiecrat” wing of the Democratic Party. An assassination attempt while campaigning for President in the 1972 Democratic Primaries seriously wounded Wallace, ending his anti-integration efforts. During his recovery, Wallace moved away from his segregationist views, later serving as Alabama Governor again in the 1980s. Wallace also became friends with James Hood, the latter forgiving him for his segregationist policies.

General Graham concluded his Army career with retirement from the National Guard in 1970. Per the New York Times, he created a prominent Birmingham commercial real estate firm that still exists today.

His son commented to the Times that his father rarely spoke about his interactions with the Civil Rights movement but stated, “In later years, though, he looked back on it as a painful process that the region had to go through to bring it into the 20th century.” General Graham passed away in 1999 at 82, according to a Chicago Tribune obituary.