WW1 Letter All African American 368th Inf. Son Was B - 25 TUSKEGEE AIRMAN In WWII
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:23932211 |
It is not often you see a letter of this caliber for sale on Ebay. Most letters of this type are sold in finer east or west coast auction houses. With that said I am honored to offer this original WWI letter written by an African American Soldier in WW1 and played an important role in the Civil Rights Movement.
The letter was written by Sgt. William Beal Ramsey, Jr. I believe Sgt. Ramsey may be from a long line of a military family but not sure. This would... be a great letter and family to research. Sgt. Ramsey, and his wife Hazal had three Sons in the Army in Ww2 and amazingly two of them become officers during WWII.
Two Sons trained at Kessler Field, Mississippi and one became a B-25 Bomber Tuskegee Airmen.
About the letter content:
Sgt. Ramsey is great writer and the letter is personal, covers family matters with some Army related content, here is some of what he writes:
"He had better have saved that money to buy a mileage book to come home on when he got a pass. But they may go to Camp Dix. Yes Honey, I have frequently spoken of you as the best Wife in the world, but not often because the men with whom I come in contact here, are not of the class with which I would deign to discuss my Wife."
Sgt. Ramsey in WW1 served with the all African American, 368th Infantry Regiment. The letter is written by him addressed to his wife, Miss Hazel Thomsend, 752 South 18th Street Philadelphia Penn.
The letter comes with the original envelope and has a return address of Company "D" 368 Infantry on the back of the envelope, dated April 24, 1918, it is 4 pages long with Y. M. C. A. watermark.
Included with the letter are three recently printed photos of Sgt. Ramsey's Sons and three facsimile letters of different dates, one of the facsimiles is a letter written by son Pierce Theodore Ramsey where he is writing his father and mother about being considered for West Point.
About Sgt. Ramsey sons: One of Sgt. William Beal Ramsey sons was Pierce Theodore Ramsey who became an officer and a B-25 pilot at Tuskegee. While at Tuskegee Pierce Ramsey became a personal friend of Lt. Emery Smith who was the officer at Tuskegee what the famous article, Pittsburgh Courier, Sept. 16th 1944 story written by the anonymous "Jack Day" titled: "The inside Story of Tuskegee". In this Pittsburgh Courier story it told of the White officers living off base and returning every day to work.
This and other types of segregation practices did not sit well with the mostly Northern Yankee Tuskegee Airman and the result was the beginning of the modern Civil Rights Movement. Sgt. William Beal Ramsey, Jr. other sons were John (Jack) Ramsey who trained at Mackell Field and Billy Ramsey who became an officer while in the army. Family Background: The Ramey Family were Philadelphians and light skinned African Americans. This impacted the way they were treated in the Military and when they were on furloughs. It was tricky navigating racial discrimination in the military and in the letters I have read, there is almost a code language The Ramsey's use in describing their treatment and the situations they were involved in. Lt. Bill (Billy) Ramsey, I believe entered WWII service first out of the three Brothers and he would give advice to his other Brothers on how to get along and get ahead in the military. Billy, Jack and Ted Ramsey grew up in the North but received most of their military training in the South. In doing so they were not a custom to the way African American were treated in the South.
Lt. William (Billy) Ramsey (I think the oldest) would write about the importance of laying low and obeying orders in getting along. They were all very supportive of each other as a family. Despite the hurdles all these men encountered it is clear how patriotic the WW1 Father and his WWII Sons were and the importance of winning the War against Fascism.
You can find videos on Youtube about Lt. Ted Ramsey if you do an online search: " Pierce Ramsey, TUSKEGEE " See photos for content and condition.
This letter and envelope is guaranteed original. The letter comes with 3 recently printed WWII photos of Lt. Ted Ramsey, Bill Ramsey and Prt. Jack Ramsey and three Facsimile letters printed on 25% cotton paper.
The letter was written by Sgt. William Beal Ramsey, Jr. I believe Sgt. Ramsey may be from a long line of a military family but not sure. This would... be a great letter and family to research. Sgt. Ramsey, and his wife Hazal had three Sons in the Army in Ww2 and amazingly two of them become officers during WWII.
Two Sons trained at Kessler Field, Mississippi and one became a B-25 Bomber Tuskegee Airmen.
About the letter content:
Sgt. Ramsey is great writer and the letter is personal, covers family matters with some Army related content, here is some of what he writes:
"He had better have saved that money to buy a mileage book to come home on when he got a pass. But they may go to Camp Dix. Yes Honey, I have frequently spoken of you as the best Wife in the world, but not often because the men with whom I come in contact here, are not of the class with which I would deign to discuss my Wife."
Sgt. Ramsey in WW1 served with the all African American, 368th Infantry Regiment. The letter is written by him addressed to his wife, Miss Hazel Thomsend, 752 South 18th Street Philadelphia Penn.
The letter comes with the original envelope and has a return address of Company "D" 368 Infantry on the back of the envelope, dated April 24, 1918, it is 4 pages long with Y. M. C. A. watermark.
Included with the letter are three recently printed photos of Sgt. Ramsey's Sons and three facsimile letters of different dates, one of the facsimiles is a letter written by son Pierce Theodore Ramsey where he is writing his father and mother about being considered for West Point.
About Sgt. Ramsey sons: One of Sgt. William Beal Ramsey sons was Pierce Theodore Ramsey who became an officer and a B-25 pilot at Tuskegee. While at Tuskegee Pierce Ramsey became a personal friend of Lt. Emery Smith who was the officer at Tuskegee what the famous article, Pittsburgh Courier, Sept. 16th 1944 story written by the anonymous "Jack Day" titled: "The inside Story of Tuskegee". In this Pittsburgh Courier story it told of the White officers living off base and returning every day to work.
This and other types of segregation practices did not sit well with the mostly Northern Yankee Tuskegee Airman and the result was the beginning of the modern Civil Rights Movement. Sgt. William Beal Ramsey, Jr. other sons were John (Jack) Ramsey who trained at Mackell Field and Billy Ramsey who became an officer while in the army. Family Background: The Ramey Family were Philadelphians and light skinned African Americans. This impacted the way they were treated in the Military and when they were on furloughs. It was tricky navigating racial discrimination in the military and in the letters I have read, there is almost a code language The Ramsey's use in describing their treatment and the situations they were involved in. Lt. Bill (Billy) Ramsey, I believe entered WWII service first out of the three Brothers and he would give advice to his other Brothers on how to get along and get ahead in the military. Billy, Jack and Ted Ramsey grew up in the North but received most of their military training in the South. In doing so they were not a custom to the way African American were treated in the South.
Lt. William (Billy) Ramsey (I think the oldest) would write about the importance of laying low and obeying orders in getting along. They were all very supportive of each other as a family. Despite the hurdles all these men encountered it is clear how patriotic the WW1 Father and his WWII Sons were and the importance of winning the War against Fascism.
You can find videos on Youtube about Lt. Ted Ramsey if you do an online search: " Pierce Ramsey, TUSKEGEE " See photos for content and condition.
This letter and envelope is guaranteed original. The letter comes with 3 recently printed WWII photos of Lt. Ted Ramsey, Bill Ramsey and Prt. Jack Ramsey and three Facsimile letters printed on 25% cotton paper.
