Sunday 10 June 2012

Soldier of Patton's Army in Unmarked Grave in Illiniois

 Where is Theodore Lovejoy's Arlington Burial
Black soldiers played a big part in the liberation of Europe.  Much of their history has gone unnoticed.  France, which had many colonies in Africa had lost 17,000 black soldiers when Paris fell to Adolf Hitler in 1940. 

During the invasion of Normandy many of the black soldiers were left behind in Britain by both American and British Forces, but they joined the fight later, sweeping across Europe with General Patton's Army. 

"Paris was freed from Nazi rule on August 25th 1944 by the 2nd Armoured Division of the Free French army, a few months after D-Day. The strange thing is that all the soldiers seemed to be white – even though the French army at the time was two-thirds black. As it turns out the British and Americans who ran D-Day would only let an all-white division across the Channel. Even the black American soldiers were left behind in Britain and joined the fighting only later. France in those days ruled much of Africa and had black soldiers in its army. In 1940 when Paris fell to Hitler 17,000 black soldiers had lost their lives defending France. In spite of that no black soldiers were allowed to take part in the liberation of Paris four years later. And to this day there is no monument in Paris to honour them."  Read More "Yes there were Black Soldiers

This story is an account of a soldier that was part of Patton's Army.  Theodore Lovejoy passed away in 1993, having suffered Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Alzheimer's Disease.   His daughter Joan Flowers, an actress in the Chicago area, was promised a funeral for her father at Arlington National Cemetery, however the promise was never fulfilled.   Today Theodore Lovejoy rests at Mount Glenwood Cemetery in an unmarked grave. 

Joan has made pleas to Senator Durbin and Colin Powell to ask President Obama to make the burial happen at Arlington.  Her story, which follows below,  shows an injustice that needs to be corrected.  In 2012 this should no longer be a question that requires much of a decision.  According to Joan, her father never even knew that he had received medals for the campaign, which weren't issued to black soldiers until 1947.  

Three males,  including her uncle and father suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), a disease never recognized. The family dealt with those mental scars the best they could.   Her account of her uncle's death when she was just a child is chilling and demonstrates how devastating PTSD can be.   Many of our warriors from the Vietnam and Afghan/Iraq error silently suffer, albeit the situation on treatment has somewhat improved.

What happened to Theodore Lovejoy and the request,  followed by a promise, for his Arlington funeral is an injustice that must be rectified.  Read Joan's account and listen to her interview with Tom Garcia here. 

Also Read General Patton's Forgottten Troops

After reading Joan's account,  please contact your Congressman, the Obama White House and your State Senators to put pressure on them to rectify this injustice. 
I DID NOT KNOW UNTIL DEC 11, 2011 WHEN I OPENED UP DAD'S VETERAN AFFAIRS HOSPITAL PAPERS THAT "HE TRIED TO KILL HIMSELF" IN 1950!!! 5 YEARS AFTER WAR!!!! LIKE MY UNCLE "WHO DID" INFO BELOW!!!! NO ONE KNEW THESE SOLDIERS HAD 'PTSD"  THE DOCTORS ASKED MY DAD TO "PROMISE" HE WOULD NOT TRY TO "KILL HIMSELF AGAIN" HE "PROMISED" & NEVER TRIED AGAIN!!!!! HE HAD "MALARIA" EACH YEAR FROM WAR WITH "FEVER,CHILLS & SWEATS FROM WAR & "MEGA MIGRAINE HEADACHES AS "AMMUNITION HANDLER"& "WARRANT OFFICER" TOPS IN HIS DAY AS A BLACK "WW ll" SOLDIER  HE DIED OF "ALZHEIMERS" JUNE 30, 1993 & WAS OFFERED"ARLINGTON WHITE HOUSE EXCEPTION BURIAL" BY "LIAISON DEPT""SUSAN" WHO SAID: "JOAN THIS IS THE LEAST WE CAN DO FOR A YOUR SOLDIER DAD & A SOLDIER OF "GENERAL GEORGE S PATTON" & HISTORY THAT WAS "LESS THAN KIND TO A SOLDIER WHO FOUGHTFOR HIS COUNTRY" MY DAD LIES IN "UNMARKED GRAVE TODAY PEOPLEWALK ON!! ASKING PRESIDENT CLINTON ON TWITTER @ CLINTON TWEETS & CLINTON GLOBAL TO "STEP IN" & GO TO PRESIDENT OBAMA & ASK HIM TO"CARRY OUT" "PREVIOUS EXECUTIVE OFFER" CLINTON'S ADMIN OFFERED A SOLDIERTHAT "COULD NOT BUY A HOME" "OR "VOTE" IN 1945 BUT FOUGHT FOR THE WORLD!!  PLEADED WITH SENATOR DICK DURBIN TO ASK PRESIDENT OBAMA FOR DAD'SBURIAL & HE HAS NOT GONE AS REUESTED BY DAUGHTER OF W"FRANK BUCKLES"   I AM A SOLDIERS DAUGHTER! If My "Father & Uncle Were "ARMY SOLDIERS  Of "WW ll" & My Brother A "Marine" Marksman In "Vietnam" Had Counseling After Returning From WAR- "Maybe My Uncle's Suicide Might Have Been Prevented"   My dad is awaiting ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY BURIAL "OFFERED/PROMISED" to him during the CLINTON ADMINISTRATION LIAISON DEPT When "I BECAME PRESIDENT CLINTON'S FIRST WHITE HOUSE HUMAN RIGHTS CASE"   I am Asking SENATOR DICK DURBIN & GENERAL COLIN POWELL to ASK PRESIDENT OBAMA TO "CARRY OUT" OFFER to dad as "SUSAN'' OF LIAISON DEPT PROMISED-   My Uncle "JOSEPH "JR came home from war a handsome yet damaged man- we were told he had CANCER but we never knew for sure-Black Soldiers did not get the care needed & were often used as EXPERIMENTS OR CONSIDERED LESS THAN ACCEPTABLE to fight during the war.   My father "THEODORE LOVEJOY" LOVED GENERAL GEORGE PATTON! & Told how he would give MORAL SUPPORT & PEP TALKS & if he caught those he put in charge of Black Soldiers Disrespecting them- THEY WOULD HAVE GENERAL GEORGE PATTON TO ANSWER TO!   The War left MY DAD + UNCLE+ BROTHER "DAMAGED" not only with Visible War Wounds For Life Physically-But Also Psychological- They Were MOODY,SHORT TEMPERED,CONSTANT NIGHTMARES- AND HAD ANGER ISSUES BEYOND THEIR CONTROL- WE AS A FAMILY could not understand how come our loved one was NOT THE SAME person that left for War- THEY WERE NOT THE SAME! War makes them OLDER and WISER beyond their years-   WE AS A FAMILY could only watch & give our love & try to understand the DEMONS THESE SOLDIERS HAD TO DEAL WITH WHEN THEY CAME HOME! THEY HAD NO SUPPORT OR COUNSELING TO DEAL WITH THE "HORRORS OF WAR"   Our lives were one of not knowing which MOOD our loved one would exhibit or how to deal with it! WHEN THEY COME HOME-WE EXPECT THEM TO "GET ON WITH LIVING" BUT THEIR WORLD HAS STOPPED "ON ALL LEVELS" & CAN LEAD TO "SHATTERED FAMILIES" If not dealt with in COUNSELING.   THESE SOLDIERS "MUST HAVE COUNSELING" & IT MUST BE "MANDATORY" before they leave the bases that have become "THEIR HOME AWAY FROM HOME" COUNSELING TO GET THEM BACK ON THEIR FEET IN ORDER TO "DEAL WITH SOCIETY" If NOT Just as my dad was A KIND & HARDWORKING MAN-HE WAS ALSO "VOLATILE" AT TIMES IN A "QUIET WAY"   My UNCLE JOSEPH "COULD NO LONGER STAND HIS DEMONS" "UNCONFIRMED CANCER" & "LOVE NOT GIVEN TO HIM IN RETURN" "HE PUT A BULLET TO HIS HEAD & DIED "INSTANTLY" IN OUR HALLWAY!   SEPT 27,1957- I WAS "3 YEARS OLD" & SAW MY UNCLE ON FLOOR & "PULLED HIS CLOTHES" ASKING HIM "UNCLE JR" GET UP!" But IT WAS NOT MEANT TO BE! We Children were sent to the back porch while my Mother & Great Grandparents cleaned up his blood!


PRESIDENT CLINTON'S ADMIN OFFERED THE BURIAL & I  AM ASKING HIM ON "TWITTER"@ CLINTON TWEETS & CLINTON GLOBAL TO "ASK PRESIDENT OBAMA " TO CARRY OUTEXECUTIVE OFFER FROM CLINTON ADMIN "LIAISON DEPT" "SUSAN" ALONG WITH SENATOR DICK DURBIN & COLIN POWELL & ALL OF "TWIITER FAMILY" WHO ENJOY THE "FRUITS OF WHAT SOLDIERS"FOUGHT FOR FREEDOM OF SPEECH=HUMAN RIGHTS=JUSTICE FOR ALL!

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