home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
- <text id=91TT0957>
- <title>
- May 06, 1991: American Notes:Honors
- </title>
- <history>
- TIME--The Weekly Newsmagazine--1991
- May 06, 1991 Scientology
- </history>
- <article>
- <source>Time Magazine</source>
- <hdr>
- NATION, Page 27
- American Notes
- HONORS
- Better Late Than Never
- </hdr><body>
- <p> On Sept. 28, 1918, Corporal Freddie Stowers led a squad from
- Company C of the all-black 371st Infantry Regiment against a
- German unit dug into a hill in France. After a brief fight, the
- Germans appeared to surrender but suddenly blasted Stowers' men
- with machine-gun fire and mortar rounds, killing nearly half of
- Company C. Mortally wounded, Stowers, a 21-year-old South
- Carolina farmer, urged his men on to victory until he died. His
- commanding officer recommended Stowers for the Medal of Honor,
- but for 73 years he received no medal at all.
- </p>
- <p> Although a handful of black soldiers have been awarded the
- Medal of Honor since 1863, questions about possible bias have
- been raised in Congress. Last week President Bush named
- Corporal Stowers as the first black soldier to receive the Medal
- of Honor for service in World War I or II. The medal is the
- nation's highest award for valor. "He fought not for glory,"
- said Bush as he presented the award to Stowers' sisters, "but
- for a cause larger than himself--the cause of liberty."
- </p>
-
- </body></article>
- </text>
-
-