Veterans helping fellow servicemen: Fellowship bonds Black military police alumni

By Chelsea Retherford | Living 50 Plus

When U.S. Navy veteran Riley Young returned home from Vietnam, he found work as a security officer at the former Reynolds Metal Company factory in Sheffield.

When he heard there was a military police reserve unit in the Shoals, he admits that he assumed it was open to Army veterans only.

“One of the former members, a guy by the name of Jesse Brown, came by the house and asked if I was interested in joining,” Young recalled. “I said, ‘Jesse, you know I was in the Navy. I know nothing about the Army,’ and I didn’t. I didn’t know anything at all about the Army.”

Brown reassured him that the job would be similar to his work on security detail at Reynolds, so Young decided to take the chance.

He attended basic training, where he learned first aid, CPR, and was cross trained as a firefighter. Young said he was even asked to step up and lead several classes, teaching reserve units in Opp and Tuscaloosa.

“I started out brand new,” he said. “We were a military organization, and we’d go to summer camps and annual trainings. We’d go to various Army bases around the country. We’ve been all the way up to Fort Bragg in North Carolina, and over to Fort Leavenworth in Kansas.”

As a member of his local MP unit, Young met several veterans and reservists from north Alabama and formed lasting friendships with those men. Among them was U.S. Army Sgt. Andrew Watkins, who had been drafted for the Vietnam War almost immediately following his high school graduation.

“My coach at Central High School in Courtland had got me a scholarship to Alabama A&M. I wanted to get out of Courtland and out of the cotton fields, so I went to A&M for about six or seven weeks,” Watkins said. “I was gone for probably less than two months, and then I got drafted. I went to Fort Benning (Georgia) for basic, and then Fort Polk (Louisiana) for AIT (Advanced Individual Training), and I guess the rest is history. I went to Vietnam after that.”

Back stateside, Watkins — like many of his fellow reservists who gave up dreams they’d had before their enlistments — found employment in specialized law enforcement with the armed forces.

“It was cheap,” said James Burt, a local military police officer. “You were drawing your money from the Veterans Administration (V.A.), and back then, unemployment here was about $90 a week. We couldn’t live off $90 a week. We had to go join the reserve. It was like starting all over again.”

Burt said he chose to enlist in 1973 alongside four other friends who had volunteered for the Army right out of high school.

“All of us went in on a buddy-buddy system. We went to Fort Polk for basic training, but after basic, they separated all five of us,” he said.

“Those five he’s talking about were all my classmates,” Frank Averhart chimed in. “They all joined the service, and I was sitting at home. Back then, they’d send you a draft card. I got mine, and I said, ‘Shoot! Everybody’s gone. I might as well join the service. They’re going to draft me anyway.’”

Like Watkins and Burt, Averhart felt his options were limited beyond the service.

“There weren’t a lot of jobs back in those days when you got out of the military, but you had the chance to go to school with your V.A. benefits,” he said. “That’s probably where a lot of us started — in trade schools, getting our trade like electricians.”

Watkins said finding a trade helped others find specialized work through the military police (MP) unit. He and several others spent a majority of their careers in the unit until it deactivated in the early 1990s.

While some like Watkins and Young decided to take the opportunity to retire, others opted to join a MP opportunity in Nashville, Tennessee.

After the old unit had disbanded, the alumni stayed in touch through the years, often getting together for breakfast or for drinks to reminisce about their time in the military. The group saw each other sporadically from time to time until about 10 years ago when Watkins got a call from his former MP friends Averhart, Burt and Willie Gunn.

“They called me and said, ‘Man, let’s get the guys together and see what we can come up with,’” Watkins said. “At the time, I was the only Black platoon sergeant in the group, so they called me and asked if I would help spearhead this thing.”

The friends were looking for more than camaraderie. Together, they formed an organization aimed at giving back to their community and helping other veterans. They called themselves the 330th 450 Military Police Alumni — after the two units that formerly existed in Sheffield.

“My goal was to make sure all the guys got sent to the V.A.,” Watkins said, adding that although their combat service was over, many veterans came home from the fight to join a new battle — the fight for health and financial services through Veterans Affairs.

“It is a fight. There’s a struggle there for some of us for some reason, but we’ll continue to fight,” he said. “I got mine started several years ago. I got to where I needed to be, and I wanted to reach out and help other guys. I’ll go the extra mile to help anybody, but especially veterans.”

At the group’s monthly meeting in April, Watkins asked those in attendance — about 15 men — whether any of them suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and went undiagnosed after their service. About a third of those in the room raised their hands.

“Guys come back home not just physically, but emotionally, torn,” Young said. “They are deserving of whatever help they receive. We’ve been blessed to get things like medication. I’ve been able to get the things I needed, but I didn’t realize when I came back home the impact that it had on my life.”

Young said discriminatory practices still going on in the 1970s hampered the efforts of many Black veterans to obtain benefits through the V.A. when they returned from Vietnam. Banding together, the men work for one another and for other veterans to ensure those who need it do receive help.

“There’s still segregation,” Young said, acknowledging racial lines that still exist among veterans’ groups around the Shoals.

“From the Revolutionary War all the way up until today, Black men and Black women have shed blood for this country, but we’re not recognized,” Young said. “When I was in the Navy. I served with Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, Native Americans, Filipinos and Pacific Islanders. It needs to be told that this country is comprised of people of all nationalities who have fought for this country.”

Young said his Naval experience, coupled with his race, hampered his educational experience beyond high school. Recalling a time when the University of North Alabama would not allow Black students to enroll on campus, Young said the only option for many Black students was to travel away from home to attend a predominantly Black school.

Young is proud of the fact he crossed the stage to accept his degree in Biblical Studies from Heritage Christian University in Florence at age 60.

“Things were tough, but we didn’t give up,” he said of those years he served in the military. “We helped defend the Constitution of the United States. Black lives were lost, and Black men and women came back injured, physically and emotionally. We’re still here, and we’re striving to make things better.”

Young said that continues to be an aim of the 330th 450 MP Alumni, which holds several fundraisers throughout the year to aid local veterans and provide scholarships to area students.

Among those fundraising efforts are an annual fish fry the group holds in May. Watkins said the men also hold several “bucket drops,” where they post buckets outside local businesses like Sam’s Club in Florence, taking up donations for their scholarship fund.

In one of their first bucket drop collections, Watkins said the crew raised more than $1,900 in four hours for their scholarship fund.

“Also, we gave out free hotdogs and hamburgers to the neighborhood over in the Bottom (a predominantly Black community) in Sheffield,” Averhart added. “We gave them out for free. All they had to do was come by and pick up. We served food for at least three or four hours. That was another way for us to give back to our community.”

While the members remain dedicated to serving their community, assisting veterans and furthering education, Watkins, Burt, Averhart, Young and several others in the group said friendship and fellowship are at the heart of all they do.

“As far as my time in service, it wasn’t all bad,” Young said. “I’ve learned to respect people, and I’ve learned to see the best in people. My life is richer because of my service.”