Valor Tales

A recent comment over at valorguardians.com pointed out that there has never been a company “J” in the US Army, leaving the letter J to be a bit lonely and left out. Being a student of military history, I realized that I’d never heard of a company J, but there are India, Kilo, and Lima companies in most modern 3rd battalions. So where did the missing J go and why? First come the popular, modern theories. These are the ones brought up by scuttlebutt, rumor, and theories passed down from generation to generation as gospel. Most of these have to do with the phonetic alphabet used. Most people if you ask now would say the reason for there not being a company J is that no self-respecting man wants to be in “Juliett” company. Apparently serving in a company with a woman’s name would be too emasculating. While on its face, this might seem like a plausible and entirely reasonable explanation to a young inquiring private, it doesn’t pass the sniff test. Is “India” any less effeminate? By ...

Aaron Fisher was born the son of a Civil War veteran just before the turn of the 20th Century. His father, being black, had served with the Colored Troops during the war. Fisher, following in his father’s footsteps enlisted with the Army in 1911. Initially assigned to the segregated 9th Cavalry Regiment he was then assigned to the 24th Infantry Regiment, another segregated unit. By 1916 he’d been promoted to Corporal and was taking part in General Pershing’s in service along the Mexican border. They joined the Punitive Expedition against Pancho Villa into Mexico. After that, Fisher and the 24th Infantry was sent to guard Camp Logan near Houston, still under construction. Here the all-black regiment was met with significant animosity by the local white population. Fisher had been transferred to the 366th Infantry Regiment and promoted to Sergeant before 150 black soldiers of the 24th Infantry, protesting against discrimination they’d received, went on a march into Houston on ...

As we commemorate the 75th anniversary of the largest amphibious assault in human history, I’d like to highlight one man amongst the 150,000+ there on June 6, 1944. Of the tens of thousands of Americans that fought on D-Day, 12 received Medals of Honor. Nine of those awards were made posthumously. The subject of my article is one of those posthumous awards. Most people will have heard the name Theodore Roosevelt, I mean he is a legendary American historical figure. His face is one of only four on Mount Rushmore, and the only one from the 20th Century. He influenced American military and foreign policy all through today. He was a staunch conservationist and we have many national parks and the entirety of the US Forest Service due to him. He was also a true badass, surviving an assassin’s bullet to his chest, but not before giving a 50 page speech over the course of 90 minutes before seeking medical help. However, President Teddy Roosevelt’s contributions to today’s subject are purel...

Unfortunately, there are many American heroes that have been denied proper, timely recognition. Thankfully we have gotten better at rectifying this. Today’s subject, John R Fox, was posthumously once forgotten and twice denied for his incredible heroic last act. Recognition at all was delayed almost 40 years due to lost paperwork, and then another 15 years passed before that award was upgraded to one befitting his sacrifice and final deed. Graduating the historically black Wilberforce University in Ohio in 1941 with an engineering degree, John R Fox was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant after participating in the college’s ROTC program. In ROTC, Fox had come under the command of Chief Warrant Officer (former Captain) Aaron R. Fisher, a highly decorated black soldier from WWI. Serving in the still segregated Army, Lieutenant Fox was assigned to the 366th Infantry Regiment of the 92nd Infantry Division (Colored), coincidentally the same regiment and division his mentor “Cap” Fish...