-Emily Burke
Today at dinner my table had the pleasure to meet with Robert James. He was a bit hard to understand, but he truly fascinated me. He has spent so much of his time helping others.
He was invited to our dinner because he is the Vice President of the MIA, but his work all throughout his life, even before MIA is extremely impressive. In 1965 (I believe?) he volunteered in the Air Force. He originally wanted the Navy, but he couldn’t pass the entrance exam, so he joined the Air Force. He said it was a lot easier for blacks to join the Air Force while the Navy had pretty high standards for black volunteers. Although Robert was a minority in the military, he made friends with white and blacks through sports. He said it was pretty simple.
Although it was Robert’s job to serve our country he found ways to do more than just his job’s calling. While stationed in Washington he set up youth basketball teams. When he was in Pakistan he played with the kids, and wanted to help them. He said that everyone wants the same thing that the soldiers want, and it’s really just the higher ups, the people at the Peach Orchard, that have beliefs that cause conflicts. He said he especially felt bad for the kids in Africa because the kids he was around didn’t know if they would survive to the next day. They always wanted him to talk about America, and how life was so much easier. He said that it seemed like everybody looked up to America which was hard for him to absorb because the America he knew was racist, segregated, and often times terribly cruel.
Mike asked Robert why he decided to serve his country even while his country hurt him. His country, our country, denied him access to the Navy and to school. Robert said that the military was what he wanted to do when he found out he didn’t pass his entrance exam for school. He wanted to see the world, and he loved the people that he got to meet. He said he met some of the most fascinating people. During Robert’s service he worked in the intelligence field. He compared his job to Snowden’s job, but he said that anyone who would give away that kind of information must really hate America. A person to give away such vital information must be truly hateful and immoral to his/her country. He could never imagine it. Throughout his military career he was awarded many honors for the work that he did and his dedication to keeping his mouth shut. Robert was also given an award for playing Scrabble. During his time in the military Robert would play Scrabble with the men on Friday nights instead of going to the bars. He was awarded for keeping the men out of trouble. Robert’s service to his country and the people that he was near inspires me to always try to serve others.
After the military Robert graduated from college and worked for the local YMCA in Alabama. He wanted to help kids. He spent his whole life trying to help kids. He really cared about other people. He wanted to see kids in Alabama go far in life despite their harsh upbringings. He so proudly told stories of the children from the projects that he worked with at the YMCA who turned into engineers, basketball stars, and government workers.
He still spends his time helping people with his work in the Montgomery Improvement Association - working to make memorials and scholarships for important historical figures. Robert really wants Alabama to progress as a state, and he wants to see Montgomery become a better area to live in. Despite still recovering from open heart surgery, he came out to talk to us! Tonight was his first night out since his surgery, but he thought we were worth it.
He will always keep going no matter what, and that inspires and mesmerizes me.
Today at dinner my table had the pleasure to meet with Robert James. He was a bit hard to understand, but he truly fascinated me. He has spent so much of his time helping others.
He was invited to our dinner because he is the Vice President of the MIA, but his work all throughout his life, even before MIA is extremely impressive. In 1965 (I believe?) he volunteered in the Air Force. He originally wanted the Navy, but he couldn’t pass the entrance exam, so he joined the Air Force. He said it was a lot easier for blacks to join the Air Force while the Navy had pretty high standards for black volunteers. Although Robert was a minority in the military, he made friends with white and blacks through sports. He said it was pretty simple.
Although it was Robert’s job to serve our country he found ways to do more than just his job’s calling. While stationed in Washington he set up youth basketball teams. When he was in Pakistan he played with the kids, and wanted to help them. He said that everyone wants the same thing that the soldiers want, and it’s really just the higher ups, the people at the Peach Orchard, that have beliefs that cause conflicts. He said he especially felt bad for the kids in Africa because the kids he was around didn’t know if they would survive to the next day. They always wanted him to talk about America, and how life was so much easier. He said that it seemed like everybody looked up to America which was hard for him to absorb because the America he knew was racist, segregated, and often times terribly cruel.
Mike asked Robert why he decided to serve his country even while his country hurt him. His country, our country, denied him access to the Navy and to school. Robert said that the military was what he wanted to do when he found out he didn’t pass his entrance exam for school. He wanted to see the world, and he loved the people that he got to meet. He said he met some of the most fascinating people. During Robert’s service he worked in the intelligence field. He compared his job to Snowden’s job, but he said that anyone who would give away that kind of information must really hate America. A person to give away such vital information must be truly hateful and immoral to his/her country. He could never imagine it. Throughout his military career he was awarded many honors for the work that he did and his dedication to keeping his mouth shut. Robert was also given an award for playing Scrabble. During his time in the military Robert would play Scrabble with the men on Friday nights instead of going to the bars. He was awarded for keeping the men out of trouble. Robert’s service to his country and the people that he was near inspires me to always try to serve others.
After the military Robert graduated from college and worked for the local YMCA in Alabama. He wanted to help kids. He spent his whole life trying to help kids. He really cared about other people. He wanted to see kids in Alabama go far in life despite their harsh upbringings. He so proudly told stories of the children from the projects that he worked with at the YMCA who turned into engineers, basketball stars, and government workers.
He still spends his time helping people with his work in the Montgomery Improvement Association - working to make memorials and scholarships for important historical figures. Robert really wants Alabama to progress as a state, and he wants to see Montgomery become a better area to live in. Despite still recovering from open heart surgery, he came out to talk to us! Tonight was his first night out since his surgery, but he thought we were worth it.
He will always keep going no matter what, and that inspires and mesmerizes me.