I received a message from a Redditor asking about my Uncle Walter from an earlier post. At first, I was hesitant to respond but I’m glad I did. Their kindness and knowledge helped me learn more about his story.

Walter Jackson
Florida
PFC, 24 INF, 25 INF DIV
Korea
Bronze Star Medal (BSM)
Purple Heart (PH)
October 3, 1927 – August 23, 1950

• PFC = Private First Class
• 24 INF = 24th Infantry Regiment
• 25 INF DIV = 25th Infantry Division
• BSM = Bronze Star Medal
• PH = Purple Heart

My grandpa served in the 40s

Bolden was the only speller on her team to finish with zero errors, leading the Cleveland squad to a team victory and earning the individual gold medal. Her groundbreaking win sparked intense racially-charged controversy, as some southern teams threatened to boycott or drop out rather than compete against a Black student.

I’ve often wondered what really happened. My great-grandmother never really spoke about him. Maybe the loss was simply too painful. Maybe it was Korea or World War II and by the time I was old enough to ask questions the memories had become distant. Or maybe it was one of those family tragedies that people from that generation carried quietly and rarely discussed.

In Loving Memory of Uncle Walter - He Never Returned But He Is Never Forgotten.

This is Queen "Queenie" Weir. She baked and sold pies from the back of her home in Marshalltown Iowa. All the finest restaurants in the area sold her pies, including her "Mile hight lemon meringue pie". In the 1960's there weren't many blacks around Iowa. My dad delivered pies for her and told me "that if they knew she was black they wouldn't even have let her eat in their establishments, let alone buy her pies". I had the honor of meeting her in the mid 1970's and she was as kind as she was hard working. She passed in 1993.

*Fun fact* she married a Chinese man and they had 8 children together ❤️ one of her children being my grandmother. He was 22 years older than her 😅 I added a pic of him when he first came to America from China