World War II veteran who fought for racial justice after slight by the Army laid to rest with full military honors
Nearly 75 years after Nelson Henry Jr. was kicked out of the Army, a review board found that an injustice had occurred and upgraded his discharge to honorable.
A member of the honor guard presents the children of WWII veteran Nelson Henry Jr., of Philadelphia, with a folded American flag, at Washington Crossing National Cemetery, in Newtown, Pa. Thursday, May 20, 2021. Henry's children are (from l to r) Lydia Henry: Dr. Nelson Kent Henry Sr.; and Dean Henry,Read moreJESSICA GRIFFIN / Staff Photographer
World War II veteran Nelson A. Henry Jr., of Philadelphia, who battled for racial justice for nearly 75 years after the Army kicked him out because of the color of his skin, was laid to rest Thursday with military honors.
Henry died in May 2020 after complications from the coronavirus. He was 96. His burial was delayed because of restrictions on gathering. His family was determined to give him the military service he so desperately wanted. His remains were interred at Washington Crossing National Cemetery along with those of his wife of 71 years, Lydia, who died in 2016.
As the family sat under a pavilion Thursday, an honor guard fired a 21-gun salute, played Taps, the mournful bugle call, saluted, and then marched away solemnly.
WWII veteran Nelson Henry Jr. was laid to rest today at Washington Crossing National Cemetery with military honors. He fought for nearly 75 years to get the Army to overturn his 1945 racially discriminatory discharge. Follow my story later @inquirer.com pic.twitter.com/0RfcE6uv5m
After folding an American flag, a serviceman presented it to the family, saying, “On behalf of the president of the United States, the United States Army, and a grateful nation, please accept this flag as a symbol of our appreciation for your loved one’s honorable and faithful service.” The family also received three brass casings from the rifle volleys, representing the words duty, honor, and country, and a memorial certificate signed by President Joe Biden.
Henry began trying to clear his name shortly after he was evicted from the Army in 1945 and given “blue discharge,” which was neither honorable nor dishonorable but was considered a badge of shame. He was among more than 48,000 soldiers given such between 1941 and 1945, a disproportionate number of whom were Black, gay, or lesbian.
An Army review board found an injustice had occurred and changed Henry’s “blue discharge” to honorable, entitling him to full military benefits, including burial at a national cemetery.
During Thursday’s service in Newtown, about a dozen mourners recalled his decades-long fight to overturn his discharge. His three children, Dean, Kent, and Lydia, offered remembrances and a grandson said a prayer.
“We admire the tenacity, the perseverance, and the stick-to-it-ness displayed, fighting against all odds,” said Bill Smith, a member of the Philadelphia chapter of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity veterans group, of which Henry was a member. “He made history.”
Lincoln University will posthumously award Henry an honorary degree at commencement Friday. He was supposed to graduate with the Class of 1944 but left to join the Army. He later graduated from Temple University.
Members of the Military honor Nelson Henry, Jr., during a ceremony at Washington Crossing National Cemetery, in Newtown, PA, May 20, 2021.
Nelson Henry Jr. fought for nearly 75 years for the right to be buried in a military cemetery, he was kicked out of the Army in 1945 because he was Black and given a "blue discharge," the discharge was unjust, and barred Nelson from receiving veterans benefits that he deserved. In 2019, the Army upgraded his discharge to honorable. .Read moreJESSICA GRIFFIN / Staff Photographer
Members of the military fold a flag at a ceremony for Nelson Henry Jr., at Washington Crossing National Cemetery, in Newtown, PA, May 20, 2021.
Nelson Henry Jr. fought for nearly 75 years for the right to be buried in a military cemetery, he was kicked out of the Army in 1945 because he was Black and given a "blue discharge," the discharge was unjust, and barred Nelson from receiving veterans benefits that he deserved. In 2019, the Army upgraded his discharge to honorable. .Read moreJESSICA GRIFFIN / Staff Photographer
(Left to Right) Lydia Henry, Nelson Kent Henry Sr. MD, and Dean Henry, receive the folded flag that was presented to them by a member of the military, in honor of their father's service, at Washington Crossing National Cemetery, in Newtown, PA, May 20, 2021.
Nelson Henry Jr. fought for nearly 75 years for the right to be buried in a military cemetery, he was kicked out of the Army in 1945 because he was Black and given a "blue discharge," the discharge was unjust, and barred Nelson from receiving veterans benefits that he deserved. In 2019, the Army upgraded his discharge to honorable. .Read moreJESSICA GRIFFIN / Staff Photographer
Grandson Nelson Kent Henry Jr., center, leads friends and family in prayer in honor of his grandfather Nelson Henry Jr., at Washington Crossing National Cemetery, in Newtown, PA, May 20, 2021.
Nelson Henry fought for nearly 75 years for the right to be buried in a military cemetery, he was kicked out of the Army in 1945 because he was Black and given a "blue discharge," the discharge was unjust, and barred Nelson from receiving veterans benefits that he deserved. In 2019, the Army upgraded his discharge to honorable. .Read moreJESSICA GRIFFIN / Staff Photographer
Dean Henry, Lydia Henry, and Nelson Kent Henry Sr. MD, hold the folded flag that was presented to them by the military, in honor of their father's service, at Washington Crossing National Cemetery, in Newtown, PA, May 20, 2021.
Nelson Henry fought for nearly 75 years for the right to be buried in a military cemetery, he was kicked out of the Army in 1945 because he was Black and given a "blue discharge," the discharge was unjust, and barred Nelson from receiving veterans benefits that he deserved. In 2019, the Army upgraded his discharge to honorable. .Read moreJESSICA GRIFFIN / Staff Photographer
Nelson Kent Henry Sr. MD, speaks to family and friends during a ceremony in honor of his father's military service, at Washington Crossing National Cemetery, in Newtown, PA, May 20, 2021.
Nelson Henry Jr. fought for nearly 75 years for the right to be buried in a military cemetery, he was kicked out of the Army in 1945 because he was Black and given a "blue discharge," the discharge was unjust, and barred Nelson from receiving veterans benefits that he deserved. In 2019, the Army upgraded his discharge to honorable. .Read moreJESSICA GRIFFIN / Staff Photographer
Lydia Henry holds the folded flag that was presented to her family by the military in honor of her father, at Washington Crossing National Cemetery, in Newtown, PA, May 20, 2021.
Nelson Henry Jr. fought for nearly 75 years for the right to be buried in a military cemetery, he was kicked out of the Army in 1945 because he was Black and given a "blue discharge," the discharge was unjust, and barred Nelson from receiving veterans benefits that he deserved. In 2019, the Army upgraded his discharge to honorable. .Read moreJESSICA GRIFFIN / Staff Photographer
The three shell casing that were presented to the family of Nelson Henry Jr., in honor of their father's military service, at Washington Crossing National Cemetery, in Newtown, PA, May 20, 2021.
Nelson Henry Jr. fought for nearly 75 years for the right to be buried in a military cemetery, he was kicked out of the Army in 1945 because he was Black and given a "blue discharge," the discharge was unjust, and barred Nelson from receiving veterans benefits that he deserved. In 2019, the Army upgraded his discharge to honorable. .Read moreJESSICA GRIFFIN / Staff Photographer
A view of Section 31 at Washington Crossing National Cemetery, where Nelson Henry Jr. and his wife Lydia Henry will be buried, in Newtown, PA, May 20, 2021.
Nelson Henry Jr. fought for nearly 75 years for the right to be buried in a military cemetery, he was kicked out of the Army in 1945 because he was Black and given a "blue discharge," the discharge was unjust, and barred Nelson from receiving veterans benefits that he deserved. In 2019, the Army upgraded his discharge to honorable. .Read moreJESSICA GRIFFIN / Staff Photographer
A marker in Section 31 at Washington Crossing National Cemetery, where Nelson Henry Jr. and his wife Lydia Henry will be buried, in Newtown, PA, May 20, 2021.
Nelson Henry Jr. fought for nearly 75 years for the right to be buried in a military cemetery, he was kicked out of the Army in 1945 because he was Black and given a "blue discharge," the discharge was unjust, and barred Nelson from receiving veterans benefits that he deserved. In 2019, the Army upgraded his discharge to honorable. .Read moreJESSICA GRIFFIN / Staff Photographer
The document that certifies the military service of Nelson Henry Jr., at Washington Crossing National Cemetery, in Newtown, PA, May 20, 2021.
Nelson Henry fought for nearly 75 years for the right to be buried in a military cemetery, he was kicked out of the Army in 1945 because he was Black and given a "blue discharge," the discharge was unjust, and barred Nelson from receiving veterans benefits that he deserved. In 2019, the Army upgraded his discharge to honorable. .Read moreJESSICA GRIFFIN / Staff Photographer
