Shaping History: 101st Soldiers have big impact on Little Rock
9
By Jakki Williams
From http://www4.army.mil/ocpa/read.php?story_id_key=7967
African-American high school students exit a station wagon escorted
by two gun-mounted 101st Airborne Division jeeps in September
1957.
Photo courtesy Pratt Museum
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (Army News Service, Sept. 23, 2005) A group of
Fort Campbell Soldiers helped shape history in Little Rock, Ark.,
48 years ago.
In 1954, the U.S. Supreme court ruled in Brown vs. Board of
Education that segregation in schools was unconstitutional.
Three years later, nine African-American students tried to make the
ruling a reality by attending Little Rock Central High
School.
The Little Rock School Board had offered the chance to attend the
all-white high school to the African-American students in the
district. However, only the Little Rock Nine, as they would come
to be known, accepted.
On Sept. 23, the students tried to go to school, but Arkansas
Governor Orval Faubus had the Arkansas National Guard stationed at
the school to prevent the students from entering.
President Eisenhower federalized Arkansas National Guards 153rd
Infantry and deployed the 1st Airborne Battle Group, 327th
Infantry, 101st Airborne Division to escort the students to
school.
In September 1957, 15-year-old Elizabeth Eckford was part of the
group of African-American students.
On the 25th, we gathered at the home of the state president of the
NAACP, Eckford said. We were picked up there by the 101st. They
had gun-mounted jeeps and a military station wagon. They
transported us [to school] for about a week. And they dispersed the
mob. That was the most important thing they did -- allowed us the
opportunity to get in school.
Some protestors rioted when the students entered the school, but
the 101st allowed the students to get past them and into the
school.
After a short deployment, the 101st went back to Fort
Campbell.
Photographs showing Eckford and the other students escorted by the
101st past angry crowds became part of the history of
segregation.
Notably missing from the photos were African American Soldiers from
the 101st. Although the Army was fully integrated, leaders
determined that the presence of African American Soldiers might
further incite the angry crowds and additionally endanger the
students.
The emotional images told the story of the tense 3-week deployment
to an entire nation.
When they left, the 101st turned the guard duty over to the
Arkansas National Guard.
When they first turned the guard duty over to the National Guard,
they students laughed at them, Eckford said. So the 101st
provided some training to the people who were to be our
guards.
Even at her young age, Eckford noticed the professionalism of the
men who had been her guards.
I could see the difference between professional Soldiers and those
who, at that time, did not have very much training. You could see
the pride in the 101st with their starched uniforms and shiny
boots.
That impression stayed with Eckford, and she later joined the Army
herself. She was in the Army for five years, with her first two
years as a military pay clerk. She then reenlisted to become an
information specialist. In that position, she wrote for the Fort
McClellan, Ala., and Fort Benjamin Harrison, Ind.,
newspapers.
She now works as a probation officer for Pulaski County Courts in
Arkansas.
The only one of the nine living in Little Rock, Eckford speaks to
students about her experiences in integration and life.
Education is always my point, she said. When I speak to
students, it is my opportunity to teach.
At the Pratt Museum on Fort Campbell, school children take tours
through the museum.
Do you ever wonder why in your class you have blacks, whites, all
races? asks John Foley, museum technician. Thank the
101st.
The 101st played a vital role in the enforcement of a court ruling
made years prior to the Little Rock Central High School
integration.
It is easy for a court to issue a proclamation, but who carries it
out? Foley asked. The executive branch carries them out. But who
carries out the executive branch orders? The military does.
When the military carries out those orders, people for generations
can benefit.
Some debts can never be repaid -- when I say that I am talking
about the 101st, Eckford said.
