Philadelphia's Aces Museum for Black Veterans and NABVETS celebrated Black History Month on Feb 28, 2014. SJ Dodgson MJoTA 2014 v8n1 p0430
We gathered in the auditorium of Aces Museum, old, young, veterans, relatives of veterans and other peacemakers, chatted quietly together, toured the exhibits from World War II, from the civil rights movements, from survivors of African wars, and remembrance of Holocaust heroes.
A few of those gathered were veterans of Vietnam, as was our keynote speaker, Ron Armstead. Aces Museum's newly inducted commander, Mr Jim Douglas, was in Vietnam in 1966. And when I walked in I saw Ron Armstead talking to a man dressed in Civil War uniform. He had been a Green Beret and he told me that the US were winning the war in Vietnam when he was there. Because they were not shooting Vietnamese. And they were not being shot. "Once the regular army came in, they shot at everyone, and that was what escalated the war." Above picture, he is being honored by the Aces Museum Proprietor, Dr AV Hankins, who honors every veteran who comes to Aces Museum for Black Veterans.
We settled down to listen to Ron Armstead, who is the Executive Director of the Congressional Black Caucus Veterans Braintrust. He told us how veterans influenced the Civil Rights
Movement. After dark, at 6pm, Ron Armstead talked about Minority Veterans at Pointman Soldiers Heart Ministry Triumph Baptist Church at Germantown Avenue and Hunting Avenue and City Council's Jannie Blackwell & Minister Ari Merretazon were honored.
After that, we drove in the rainy night across Germantown to a reception at the Most Worshipful Royal House of the Dairmontcy of West Africa at 634-38 East Chelten Avenue honoring Ron Armstead,
Pennsylvania Representative Vanessa Lowery-Brown (below in red and white) and Commander Jim Douglas.
The Dairmontcy is also the Philadelphia honorary consulate for Sierra Leone, and is run by His Majesty Dairamont Chief Methuselah ZO Bradley IV, who is a paramount chief in Sierra Leone and who is seen being honored by Dr Hankins in the bottom picture. The Dairamont is a lawyer, and a volunteer at the Dairamontcy is Emma Oh, who is also a lawyer and is the sister of Philadelphia Councilmember David Oh.
